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Nutrition Facts for All Natural Bodybuilding
by Bernie Latton
http://www.rhonebodybuilding.com
One of the first things that any bodybuilder learns is that
your body requires the right nutrients to build muscle.
No matter how much you work out and exercise, without the
proper building blocks, your body will not be able to build
the muscle that you want.
Instead, they focus on the important role of diet and all
natural supplements in bodybuilding. And when they speak of
diet, they're including changes in when and how much you
eat as well as the proportions of various nutrients in your
meals. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has
taken a serious interest in competitive bodybuilding. Diet
advice has been a stock in trade of personal trainers since
the very start.
While the importance of protein in a bulking up diet hasn't
changed, it's now only one of many recommendations for diet
and nutrition while you're trying to build your body. The
focus these days is on total nutrition - a healthy balance
of proteins, carbohydrates and other essential nutrients.
The nutrients your body needs break down into these six:
protein, carbohydrates, fats, water, vitamins and minerals.
They each play a particular role in maintaining and
building muscle.
Proteins contain essential amino acids that your body uses
to build new cells. If you're trying to build muscle, it's
obviously important to give your body the material it needs
to build with. Meats, fish, eggs and cheese all contain
protein. You can also get protein from non-animal sources
if you're vegetarian or vegan. The best plant sources of
proteins are legumes and nuts. Every meal you eat while
you're on a bulking diet should include a serving of
protein. Red meat was once considered the ideal source of
protein for a bodybuilder, most nutritionists now suggest
that you get most of your protein from lean meat, fish and
poultry.
Carbohydrates are your body's primary energy source. They
include starches like potatoes, rice and baked beans, as
well as fruits like bananas. Your body needs adequate carbs
to fuel it, or it starts burning muscle mass.
Fats have a bad rap these days. The fact is that your body
needs some fat to build and maintain cells. Too much fat or
the wrong kind of fat will be stored as body fat for your
body to draw on in case it needs the extra fuel. There are
three kinds of fat - saturated, mono-unsaturated and poly-
unsaturated. Overindulging in saturated fat, found in beef
and other red meats, chicken fat and other animal fats, can
raise your cholesterol, contribute to heart disease and
cause other health problems. The fats and oils that are
found in nuts, vegetable oils, fish and seafood can
actually help lower cholesterol levels. They contain the
essential fatty acid omega 3, which is one of the most
important building blocks of cells.
Water - yes, water. Water is a vital part of your diet. If
your body doesn't have sufficient water, it can't transport
nutrients in the blood efficiently. Nutrition experts
recommend that you multiply your body weight by .55 to
figure out how many ounces of water our body needs per day.
An easy rule of thumb is to drink 2-3 glasses of water per
meal.
Vitamins are organic compounds found in fruit, grains,
vegetables and meat. Your body requires a balance of many
vitamins and minerals in order to stay healthy. Many
doctors recommend a daily multivitamin supplement to be
sure that you're getting the proper mix.
Minerals are inorganic compounds that our bodies don't
create, but need. That means that they must be consumed
in your diet. These include iron, magnesium and zinc,
which your body uses for building strong muscles.
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