A healthy diet and regularity exercise are essential if you want to build lean muscle and while it’s important to propel your body through exercise, without the right nutritional support its development will stall. Protein-rich foods are crucial for building muscle, but energy must also come from carbohydrates and fats.
If your goal is to gain lean muscle, eating more calories from foods that promote muscle growth every day and exercising regularly should be your top priorities. In an interview with HT Lifestyle, functional nutritionist Mugdha Pradhan, CEO and founder of iThrive, shared a list of nutrients to consume to build muscle health:
1. B vitamins: B vitamins, especially B6, folate and B12 are important for muscle growth and recovery. Both B6 and 12 help in protein metabolism. Also, because B vitamins are soluble, our body tends to excrete them. Therefore, regular intake of B vitamins is necessary.
2. Magnesium: Magnesium supports healthy muscle functions. It helps improve training performance and also helps muscles relax after a hard training session. One of its most outstanding functions is its impact on other nutrients. For example, vitamin D is activated in the presence of magnesium.
3.Omega 3: It helps minimize inflammation in the body, which helps improve your strength and post-workout recovery. All in all, it helps maintain muscle health.
4. Creatinine: Creatine helps build lean muscle mass and muscle recovery. Assists in energy production which can help athletes get the energy boost needed for short bouts of exercise.
Aman Puri, founder of Steadfast Nutrition, revealed: “Exercise is intense activity that improves overall health and wellness, leads to the release of feel-good hormones, and helps maintain an active lifestyle. However, exercise can lead to the production of more stress in the body, which increases the demand for certain nutrients to support normal and healthy functioning of the body.”
He made a list of the macronutrients that contribute to an important part of our daily diet:
1. Protein: Proteins are made up of amino acids that play an important role in muscle synthesis, repair and recovery. Protein can be obtained from foods such as fish, chicken, eggs, beans, lentils, legumes, soy products, yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, nut butter, seeds, and certain vegetables.
2. Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are another macronutrient that ensures the supply of much-needed calories and energy to the body while you exercise. Whole grains, legumes, legumes, oatmeal, vegetables, and fruits are some of the many sources of complex carbohydrates that can be included in the diet to enhance muscle development.
3. Fats: Fats are equally important in the muscle-building game as they aid in muscle movement, blood clotting, protection of cell membranes, absorption of other important nutrients like vitamin A, D, E and K, and help maintain hormone levels. that are very necessary for muscle growth, such as testosterone, a hormone that naturally decreases with age and supports muscle building. People who follow a low-fat diet may have low testosterone levels, which can make it difficult for them to gain muscle. Include healthy forms of unsaturated fats in your diet through foods such as avocados, almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds and their oil, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, fatty fish, olive oil, and others.
4. Micronutrients: Micronutrients like iron, calcium, vitamin D, magnesium and potassium also play a vital role in supporting muscle growth by optimizing performance during training sessions. These micronutrients are generally required in small amounts by the body, therefore one can easily obtain them by maintaining a balanced diet or including a multivitamin supplement in their daily routine. Ensure adequate water intake throughout training as it helps prevent dehydration, improves digestion and transports nutrients to all muscles.
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