10 most essential vitamins for muscle growth
Lets talking about ten most essential vitamins for muscle growth.
Cobalamin (vitamin B12)
Provides carbohydrate metabolism and maintenance of the nervous system tissue (spinal cord and nerves that transmit signals from the brain to muscle tissue).
Stimulating muscles using nerve cells is an essential step in muscle contraction, coordination and growth.
B12 is only available in animal foods such as beef, chicken, fish, pork, etc.
Biotin
Plays a critical role in the metabolism of amino acids and the production of energy from a variety of sources.
Bodybuilders who eat raw egg whites get a substance called Advin. This substance blocks the absorption of biotin.
Sources of biotin are: egg yolk, liver, kidneys, pancreas, milk, soy and barley.
Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
He takes an active part in three main processes:
- glucose metabolism,
- fatty acid oxidation,
- hydrogen cycling through the Krebs cycle (known as the citric acid cycle, where certain molecules are broken down into energy in the form of ATP).
For bodybuilding, riboflavin is linked to protein metabolism. There is a close relationship between lean body mass and a riboflavin diet.
Riboflavin-fortified foods: liver, almonds, soy nuts, seafood, milk and other dairy products, eggs.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A improves vision.
Essential in protein synthesis (muscle growth !!!).
Participates in the production of glycogen (a form of energy for intensive body activity).
Is of great importance in preparing for competitive competitions
Power sources: there are many of them (see the link below and click the button at the very top, under the table of contents). What Foods Provide Vitamin A? Notice that milk is mentioned again. Among the five, we mention milk in four essential vitamins. What is this, a coincidence? I think not?
Vitamin E
As a powerful antioxidant, it takes part in the protection of cell membranes.
Restores and promotes the growth of muscle cells, which are directly dependent on the health of cell membranes.
The most common food sources containing vitamin E are various vegetable oils, nuts, green leafy vegetables, and fortified cereals.
Niacin (vitamin B3)
Participates in sixty metabolic processes associated with energy production.
Nicotinic acid, in the form of niacin, causes vasodilation, which helps to appear more vascular on stage. However, large doses of niacin dramatically impair the body's ability to mobilize and burn fat.
Food sources that contain niacin include turkey meat (the body uses the amino acid tryptophan to create niacin), dairy products, poultry, fish, lean meats, nuts, and eggs.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium and phosphorus. If the required muscle calcium stores are not available, you will not achieve full, hard muscle contractions.
Fast and powerful muscle contractions are provided by phosphorus. You are also require Phosphorus for the synthesis of ATP.
Food Sources: Skimmed or low fat milk.
Thiamin (vitamin B1)
Essential for the metabolism and growth of proteins.
It is directly involved in the formation of hemoglobin, which is a protein contained in red blood cells that provides oxygen to the working muscles of the body.
With an increase in the load and duration of sports exercises, an intensive supply of oxygen becomes more and more important.
The more you increase the amount of exercise, its intensity and duration, the more thiamine you need.
Dietary sources of thiamine include green peas, spinach, liver, beef, pork, navy beans, nuts, pinto beans, bananas, soybeans, goji berries, whole grains and fortified cereals, breads, yeast, brown rice bran, and legumes.
Pyridoxine (vitamin B6)
It is the only vitamin directly related to protein intake. The more protein you consume, the more vitamin B6 you need.
Vitamin B6 promotes protein metabolism, growth and utilization of carbohydrates.
Staple foods containing vitamin B6 include avocados, nuts, liver, chicken, fish, green beans, lettuce, wheat germ, nutritional yeast, sea vegetables, and bananas.
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)
It enhances the recovery and growth of muscle cells and is an antioxidant.
Participates in the formation of collagen, being the main constituent of connective tissue (connective tissue holds your bones and muscles together). When you lift heavier weights, you put stress on your muscular structure. If your connective tissue is not strong enough, you have a fairly high chance of injury.
Helps the absorption of iron. With iron deficiency, the amount of oxygen contained in hemoglobin decreases, which significantly reduces muscle performance.
It dissolves very quickly in water. Since the muscle cell consists mainly of water, the larger the muscle mass of the athlete becomes, the more vitamin C is dissolved, and the concentration of this substance in the tissues of the body decreases. Thus, the bodybuilder's body requires a significant increase in vitamin C.
Helps in the formation and release of steroid hormones, including the anabolic hormone testosterone.
The main sources of vitamin C are citrus and fruit juices.
Conclusion
So, you have the 10 most important vitamins for sports. If you are an athlete, you should eat a lot anyway, and the more of the above foods you consume so that all these vitamins are regularly present in your diet, the less problems you will have.
However, if you think your diet needs some support, you can supplement with food and multivitamins, but remember that getting your vitamins from natural sources is always better. However, once you understand the critical importance of vitamin C in bodybuilding, you can benefit from its pure support.
Finally, you may note how many times milk or dairy products are listed as the main source of the above vitamins. Therefore, three or four glasses of milk a day will certainly be beneficial for your body. If you are lactose intolerant, you may want to consider purchasing milk without it, which tastes no different than regular milk, but is milk with the addition of a lactose-neutralizing ingredient.