An amino acid in some popular protein supplements that bodybuilders use to boost their workouts could be undermining their goals. Not only that, this amino acid, aka L-norvaline, might even eventually kill the very cells you’re trying to build up.
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Researchers said some non-protein amino acids are toxic because they deceive the body into making faulty proteins that, in the end, do the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve, Times News Now said.
One of the common misconceptions about building muscle definition is you need to eat a lot of protein and carbohydrates. However, nutritional concepts are just not that simple. For example, even when deprived of food, your body has a mechanism to build muscle. Additionally, amino acids and proteins are not just building blocks for tissue and muscle.
Some amino acids also signal genes to build protein during times of food deprivation — most notably branched chain amino acids like leucine — as long as you have them circulating in your bloodstream.
While carbohydrates do fuel muscle, high-carb diets are a disaster as they promote insulin and leptin resistance, which promotes chronic disease. Similarly, eating more protein than your body uses may promote elevated blood sugar and kidney stress, and even stimulate the growth of cancer cells.
If you want to promote muscle growth, a number of foods can be helpful when trying to improve muscle growth and definition, and incorporating these foods into your meals on a regular basis may help you get lean and toned. Eighteen helpful foods include ones high in healthy fats and high quality protein, such as wild salmon, raw nuts, grass fed beef, whey protein, coconut oil, olive oil, MCT oil and avocados.
Beneficial fruits and vegetables include spinach, kale, broccoli, sprouts, berries, bananas, watermelon, grapefruit, papaya and mushrooms.
If you’re going to supplement, one of the most potent vitamins necessary to utilize proteins to repair and build muscle is vitamin A. It is also necessary for the utilization and production of testosterone and human growth hormone, both of which are necessary to grow strong muscle — and high-protein diets deplete vitamin A reserves necessary for the synthesis of new protein.
Researchers also found that vitamin B9, in combination with B6 and B12, helps to reduce homocysteine levels and improve nitric oxide production, the end result of which is improved blood flow and delivery of nutrients to your working muscles.
While vitamin B complex deficiency affects muscle growth and development, and also may lead to dementia, respiratory conditions and psychiatric symptoms, it’s also important to know whether you’re actually deficient in it before you start supplementing. Some of the signs of a B-vitamin deficiency are fatigue, anemia, nausea, digestive issues, nerve problems, weakness and mental confusion.
That said, if you’re looking for muscle growth and definition, there’s no getting around exercise and proper diet, as you can never exercise your way out of a poor diet. And when it comes to muscle definition, one of the keys is to lose body fat, or else you will not be able to see the muscles in the first place.
To do this, consider eating a ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting, and incorporating the Nitric Oxide Dump exercise, all of which combined can help address the main issues of body fat, weight, bodybuilding and proper nutrient supplementation through foods.