This last point is important essential amino acids are the key building blocks of muscle, and leucine is the one that directly stimulates muscle growth. This is why studies show that the leucine content of a meal directly affects the amount of protein synthesis that occurs as a result. In other words, high-leucine meals have a higher muscle-building potential than low-leucine meals.
So, the foods that best meet these criteria are lean meats (beef, pork, chicken, and turkey), dairy, fish, eggs, soy, tempeh, tofu, rice, quinoa, almonds, and beans, and more or less in that order.
As you can guess, that’s a lot of animal products, but you can build plenty of muscle as a vegetarian or even vegan if you make good protein choices. Many people think that plant proteins are “incomplete” and thus incapable of building muscle, but research shows otherwise. Plant proteins are not incomplete, but some aren’t digested and absorbed very well, and some are too low in essential amino acids, and in leucine in particular, to make them viable options for muscle building.
For example, 275 calories of broccoli–which is about 18 cups, I might add–will provide you with just 1 gram of leucine, whereas the same amount of calories of steak will provide you with about 2.5 grams.
We also know that plant proteins generally aren’t absorbed as well as animal proteins, but again, if you’re smart in your meal planning, you can do just fine with little or no meat or animal products.
As far as protein supplements go, your best bets are egg, whey, casein, pea, and rice, and my personal favorite for general muscle-building purposes is whey isolate, because it’s almost pure protein, it’s digested and absorbed incredibly well, and it’s rich in essential amino acids and leucine in particular.
That’s why I created a 100% whey isolate protein powder that’s naturally sweetened and flavored, and sourced from small dairy farms in Ireland that produce exceptionally high-quality milk.
What’s your take on the best protein for building muscle? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below!
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Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you live in the UK, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Puerto Rico, or Guam, your order ships free when it’s over $199.
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Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
Free Worldwide Shipping & Returns
Many companies use shipping and handling fees to increase their profit margins, but here at Legion, we hate profits, so our shipping is free!
Okay, so we do dig on profits, but we also go in for happy customers, and free shipping works like gangbusters. So, if you’re outside the USA, your order ships free when it’s over $299.
Why the restriction on international orders? Unfortunately, shipping abroad is very expensive, and if we didn’t require a minimum order size, we’d lose a lot of money. But! We're also hustling to improve our international logistics and will be passing our savings along to our international customers.
Also, if you don’t absolutely love our stuff for whatever reason, we don’t request you deliver it to a PO box in the Gobi Desert by carrier pigeon.
We just . . . wait for it . . . give you your money back. No returns. No forms. No nonsense. Holy moo cows.
That means you can say “yes” now and decide later. You really have nothing to lose.
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