Can vegetarians get enough nutrition to build muscle?

It's not just about doing muscle training to build muscle, but the content of your diet is also very important. Meat and fish are excellent sources of protein that make up muscle, but vegetarians do not eat meat and fish, so these ingredients cannot be a source of protein. Dietitian Charlotte Cliff explains how such vegetarians get the nutrients they need to build muscle.

Do you really need meat to build muscle? --New Food Magazine

Cliff, who argues that even vegetarians can build muscle, points out that it's important to first understand 'how muscle is built' in order to build muscle. Muscle growth and hypertrophy are achieved by increasing the amount of fibrous cells called muscle fibers, and it is possible to increase muscle fibers by stimulating muscle fibers through muscle training. When stimulated by muscle training, muscle fibers are destroyed, but in the process of recovery of damaged muscle fibers, it becomes a little thicker than before and is repaired, so it is said that muscle hypertrophy by performing muscle training thing.

In addition to damage to muscle fibers, muscle training causes an increase in body temperature and dehydration, which puts a strain on the body. Therefore, eating a proper diet not only helps build muscle, but also helps to effectively recover from muscle training, as well as stretching, hydration, and rest, Cliff explains.

Protein is a very important nutrient that is a material that makes up muscle, but in fact, protein is a high molecular compound made by linking a large number of L-amino acids, which exist in 20 types, in a chain, and it is a single substance. It is not a word to refer to.

Some amino acids are called 'essential amino acids' that cannot be synthesized by the body and must be taken from the diet. It seems difficult to get all the essential amino acids such as isoleucine, leucine , lysine , methionine , phenylalanine , threonine , tryptophan , valine , and histidine, but because meat contains all these essential amino acids, 'muscle' You should eat meat to add lysine. '

Many plants, including nuts, which are said to be rich in protein, do not contain all of these essential amino acids, so vegetarians are generally considered to have difficulty building muscle. However, soybeans, buckwheat, and quinoa are protein sources that contain all the essential amino acids, and vegetarians can get enough protein if the recipe is carefully considered, Cliff said.

In addition, it is not only necessary to take protein to build muscle, but it is important to take multiple nutrients in a well-balanced manner. The following nutrients are important for Cliff to build muscle:

・Calcium : Many people think of calcium as bones and teeth, but calcium is deeply involved in muscle contraction exercise, and calcium deficiency may cause excessive fat accumulation. That thing. That's why Cliff says calcium should be taken from leafy vegetables such as spinach.

-Iron : Iron is used by hemoglobin in the blood to carry oxygen and help deliver oxygen to the muscles during exercise. Meat is generally considered to be the main source of iron, but dark leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale , lentils and nuts are also rich in iron.

-Vitamin C: Vitamin C, which helps absorb iron, is abundant in fruits and vegetables, making it an easy nutrient to consume in a vegetarian diet.

・Vitamin D : Vitamin D does not affect muscles as directly as calcium and iron, but deficiency causes loss of muscle mass. Vitamin D is not so much contained in vegetables, so it is recommended to biosynthesize it in the sunlight or supplement it with supplements.

・Vitamin B12 : Vitamin B12 helps the production of hemoglobin in red blood cells, so it indirectly supports the supply of oxygen to muscles. Generally, vitamin B12 is scarce in plant-derived foods, but it can be ingested by eating nutritional yeast and cereals containing vitamin B12.

By eating a variety of foods and sometimes supplementing effectively with supplements, Cliff claims that even vegetarians can build muscle. Also, instead of limiting the number of meals to three times a day, it is recommended to increase the number of meals to 5 to 6 times a day and to eat snacks containing protein and other nutrients as snacks.