Muscles

Muscles

Jamie Risedorph, Nutritionist

Muscles are one of the most misunderstood of all the body’s tissues, and the best way to build muscle is a controversial topic. There is so much money to be made by selling protein supplements that claim to build muscle that the facts have become hugely distorted. Here’s a fact: muscles are built with amino acids (protein), but to utilize those nutrients to make muscles larger, you need to work the muscles! There is rarely any need to add extra protein to the diet in order to build more muscle.

"Protein builds and repairs body tissue which might be damaged during exercise," says Jackie Berning, PhD, RD, assistant professor at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs and a nutrition consultant to the US Olympic swimming team, the Denver Broncos, and other professional teams. Eating too much protein, however, strains your kidneys as they remove the excess from your body. Excess protein may also interfere with calcium absorption and make it more difficult to get the recommended 55 to 60 percent of your calories from carbohydrates.

For instance, regular walkers need just 0.7 g of protein per pound of body weight each day. For a 135-pound woman, that's 95 g of protein. This is the amount of protein found in 1 cup of yogurt plus 2 cups of soybeans, or a veggie burger and 1/4 pound of chicken.

Even sporadic exercise increases your need for the B vitamin riboflavin, and vitamin B6 is involved in metabolizing protein, which your body needs for repairing muscle. What's more, though the Daily Value for vitamin B6 is 2 mg, exercise stresses the metabolic pathways that use this vitamin, so athletes and active women may need up to two times the Daily Value.

Good food sources for B vitamins include: chicken breast, acorn squash, watermelon, banana, tomato juice, spinach, broccoli, and rice.

Your muscles burn stored glucose (glycogen) when you exercise. Glucose is derived form carbohydrates. There are two types of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are found in foods such as sugar and milk. Complex carbohydrates are found in the fibers and starches of plant foods. Whole grains and pasta contain complex carbohydrates, as do vegetables and legumes. Because complex carbohydrates are usually lower in fat and higher in nutritional value than simple carbs, they're a better choice for everyone. Complex carbs also offer healthy amounts of fiber, a substance that encourages weight loss because it's bulky and therefore fills you up quickly, so you'll eat less.

Iron is essential to the production of red blood cells and plays a vital role in transporting and helping the body use oxygen. It's estimated that about 16% of all American women are iron-depleted- not bad enough to be considered anemic, but still low enough to affect physical performance. The Daily Value for iron is 18 mg.

Never take iron supplements except under the direction of your doctor. Iron can be found in: lean red meats, poultry, eggs, legumes, Cream of Wheat cereal, baked potatoes, soybeans, and clams.

Think of zinc as the FedEx of the blood system. It's a zinc-containing enzyme in red blood cells (carbonic anhydrase) that helps the cells pick up carbon dioxide in the body and drop it off in the lungs for exhaling. Without it, our muscles couldn't contract and produce energy. Even slightly reduced levels of zinc can make you feel sluggish.

The more fit you are, the more important zinc is to proper functioning because your body uses more carbonic anhydrase when you're working out than when you're resting. Women need at least 12 mg of zinc a day. Oysters, lean ground beef, sirloin steak, turkey thighs and drumsticks, and lentil soup are all good food sources of zinc.

Calcium-poor diets can lead to stress fractures and osteoporosis and may also be a cause of muscle cramps, since calcium plays an essential role in muscle contraction

Nutrients and Supplements

Nutrients that help build and maintain muscle strength and promote the repair of damaged muscle:

                     Riboflavin (B2)

   B6

   B12

   Iron

   Zinc

   Calcium         

Food Sources

1.      Riboflavin-    Brewer’s yeast is the richest natural source of vitamin B2. Other sources include oysters, lean meat, green leafy vegetables, asparagus, broccoli, avocados, Brussels sprouts, salmon, mackerel, trout, Nori seaweed, eggs, shellfish, wild rice, dried peas, beans, and sunflower seeds.

2.      B6- sweet potatoes, avocados, brown rice, sunflower seeds, chick peas, salmon, pork, chicken, turkey, potatoes, bok choy, beans, bananas, tuna, peanut butter, spinach, broccoli, acorn squash

3.      B12: fish, eggs, meat, poultry and dairy products

4.      Iron- lean red meats, poultry, eggs, legumes, Cream of Wheat cereal, baked potatoes, soybeans, and clams.

5.      Zinc- oysters, lean red meat, dark turkey meat, and lentils

6.      Calcium- dairy products, leafy dark greens like spinach, kale, broccoli, collards, escarole, tofu and sardines

Supplements Defined

You may have noticed I did not recommend any supplements for building muscle, even one’s like creatine, which is a substance our bodies naturally produce. I firmly believe that we can get all the muscle building nutrients from our foods and by maintaining a healthy exercise program, Too many of the commercially produced supplements can cause kidney and liver damage. Even creatine, which if we have excess amounts, our bodies just excrete it. Some studies have shown that older individuals who are producing less natural creatine can benefit by supplementing with it. I feel the risk is to great. Take this link http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/performance-enhancing-drugs/hq01105 to the Mayo Clinic’s website and see if you agree.

Exercise

All forms of exercise, from walking to weight training, tone and strengthen your muscles. The only time you need to alter your healthy diet to improve muscle mass is if you are training to be a body builder, and in that case you should be working closely with a personal trainer who should be able to recommend healthy menus for muscle gain. DON’T OVERDO THE PROTEIN!!

Negative interactions and foods to avoid:

Overeating protein, especially animal based proteins, can cause bone loss. Remember the.0.7 gram of protein per pound of body weight rule

Ironically, one of the most important vitamins in maintaining nerve health, B6, can also cause nerve damage if taken in excess. While you are highly unlikely to get too much B6 just from eating the healthy food sources listed above, if you supplement with more than the recommended daily allowance (RDA) you can cause damage. The RDAs for Vitamin B6 for healthy adults are 1.3 mg/day in males and females 19-50 years old. The RDA rises with age. Males age 51 years and older need 1.7 mg/day; females age 51 years and older need 1.5 mg/day. The Tolerable Upper Intake Level for pyridoxine (synthetic B6 is called pyridoxine) is set at 100 milligrams a day. Nerve damage occurs at 10 to 20 times the UL. The nerve damage causes a temporary deadening of the nerves in the feet and a change in gait.

Please note:

It is extremely rare for healthy people to get too much of any vitamin or mineral simply by eating the foods that contain them. This can be untrue for people with health issues such as cancer, diabetes and kidney or liver problems.  Please see the cautions listed on the pages concerning your health issues.

Healthy people can experience vitamin or mineral toxicity by consuming too many in the form of supplements. Please be sure to check your multiple vitamin labels and individual supplement labels for the RDA and UL levels and add the amounts together to be sure you are not over-supplementing.