There are A LOT of different foods, but you’re limited on how much you can eat every meal. So what is the single best bodybuilding food?
In this article, I’m going to take a look at the nutritional properties of 6 amazing bodybuilding foods to help you gain muscle and stay lean. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the top 6 contenders:
Eggs
If you're eating raw eggs, get organic free-range eggs. There is a MUCH lower chance of the eggs being infected by salmonella.
Eggs have 12.6 grams of protein per 100 grams. While its protein content is lower compared to some of the other contenders, it is one of the most easily digested and absorbed foods in its raw form. The bodybuilding food will benefit you if you can digest and absorb the nutrients, only then can your body use the protein to repair and build muscle.
When you’re eating eggs, eat the yolk as well. Contrary to popular belief, recent studies have proven that the cholesterol in raw egg yolk does not contribute to heart disease. However, cooking egg yolk will lead to the oxidation of its cholesterol. Oxidized cholesterol is what clogs up our blood vessels and contributes to heart disease.
There is an essential nutrient in egg yolk called ‘Biotin’. Biotin helps you metabolize fats, keep your blood sugar levels balanced and even prevents hair loss. While in egg whites, there is a compound called “Avidin”. This compound distract’s the body’s ability to absorb biotin. Long term consumption of plain egg whites will lead to a biotin deficiency. Some symptoms of this includes early hair loss and also ‘leaky gut’. So make sure that you eat both the white and yolk of the egg to keep up your biotin levels.
If you can, eat the eggs ‘raw’. It is the form that is most easily digested and absorbed by the body. The taste and texture might be a turn off for most people, but you can easily solve that problem. Mix it in with your smoothie or protein shake and you won’t be able to notice it at all.
Another benefit of eggs is how cost effective it is compared to other forms of protein. Whether or not eggs is the best bodybuilding food, it’s definitely one of the best sources of protein and should be a staple in your diet.
If you’re interested in checking out the study about the cholesterol in eggs, go here.
Quinoa
This is quinoa in its uncooked state. Add one part quinoa and 2 parts water when cooking.
Quinoa is similar to rice or couscous, except it tastes much better (in my opinion anyways).
Every 100 grams of Quinoa contains 14 grams of protein, that’s even higher than eggs! It’s also loaded with other nutritional benefits (gluten free, source of complete protein, rich in vitamins and minerals, etc). If you decide to try it out, let it soak in water and then rinse it out before cooking. Quinoa has a coating of saponin, which irritates your stomach, so make sure you wash this off.
Quinoa makes a perfect alternative to rice or oatmeal. Replace the rice in a stir fry, or make breads and pastas with quinoa flour. This bodybuilding food can create a lot of variations with your usual meals.
Milk
Milk is the cheapest bodybuilding food that helps you gain a lot of mass in a short time. While it only contains 3.3 grams of protein per 100ml, you can drink a lot of it. This is probably the best food if you want to get big fast. If this is something you’re interested in, check out my post on How To Get Big Fast. Unfortunately, if you plan on drinking a crap load of milk…you will gain a lot of fat as well. Stay clear of this one if you want to stay lean.
On a side note, I’ve always loved the milk commercials, I think they’re hilarious. This one below is one of my favourites.
Beef
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It has 26 grams of protein per 100 grams. Out of all the foods, Beef contains the highest amount of carnitine. Carnatine is responsible for the breakdown of fat. It also produces metabolic energy (energy used for bodily functions). It is also a natural source of creatine. Beef is filled with other nutrients that support muscle growth, recovery, and function.
In my opinion, beef is the best meat when it comes to bodybuilding foods. It has much higher nutritional value than any other animal.
Whey Protein
The protein content of whey protein can vary from 25%-95%. The two forms that it comes in are isolate and con
centrate. Isolate normally contains 90%-95% protein, while concentrate normally contains 25%-89%. Check the container label to find out how much protein content there is. For weight gainer products, the protein powders contain more lactase (a form of sugar) and less protein. I recommend that you get the higher protein content products, I’m not a fan of extra empty calories.
However, I do not recommend Whey Isolate…if you want to know why, check out my post on What To Eat After A Workout.
Whey can be digested very quickly and become integrated into body for protein synthesis. Take it right after a workout.
Whey protein is a rich source of amino acids. One of the amino acids is BCAA, which helps increase protein synthesis and it is also be used as energy by your muscles. This is almost pure protein along with other great nutrients, this definitely makes it a great bodybuilding food.
Tuna
Like beef, tuna also has 26 grams of protein per 100 grams. But tuna contains twice the amount of creatine that beef has. The trade off is that beef is richer in other nutrients. While I do enjoy fresh tuna sashimi, beef tastes better in my opinion, there is MUCH more variation in how you can cook it. Tuna is more plain and I get tired of it real fast. Tuna is still a great bodybuilding food and it’s good once in a while.
Now for the Final Verdict…
Every one of these foods are amazing, but if it had to come down to just 1, I would have to pick whey protein. The protein content is 25%-95% (that’s almost pure protein!), fast to digest, easily integrated by your body…this has to be the winner of ‘The Single Best Bodybuilding Food’. After an intense workout, the blood in your body becomes more available to the muscles that you have just worked. This temporarily draws some blood away from other parts of your body such as your digestive system. Your digestion becomes slightly weakened for this duration, whey protein is perfect for a post workout meal because of this.
As for a whey protein shake, I like to blend mine with raw eggs. Can’t notice the eggs at all and it tastes great.
P.S.
If you enjoyed this article, you might be also interested in my article on a Get Ripped Diet.
http://getthisripped.com/diet/the-single-best-bodybuilding-food/
