Vitamins do not make your muscles grow on their own, like regular exercise does. Yet if you do workout on a regular basis, you need to make sure that you consume enough essential vitamins to help promote muscle growth. You may even need higher doses than average, depending on how much energy you burn. Also, your muscles will not grow properly if you exercise but eat nothing but junk food. According to bigmusclebuilding.com, the most essential vitamins for muscle growth are vitamins A, B, C, D, and E.
Vitamin A
There are two sources of vitamin A: retinol, found in animal foods, and beta-carotene from various plant foods. Beta-carotene promotes muscle growth more than retinol, according to the muscle builders' website secretsofmuscle.com. Sources include carrots, cabbage, kale, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and mangoes.
Vitamin B
A lack of vitamin B can disrupt the nerves that promote muscle tissue growth, according to bigmusclebuilding.com. Vitamin B also aids in metabolism, which helps you burn fat and gain more muscle. The B vitamins include: thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin (vitamin B3), biotin, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. Eat oatmeal, cereal, whole wheat, whole grains, brown rice, chicken, potatoes, pork, and hazelnuts.
Vitamin C
According to secretsofmuscle.com, vitamin C fights free radicals that can destroy cells that aid in muscle growth. Also, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology states that vitamin C helps form muscles by synthesizing collagen. Sources of vitamin C include oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, cranberries, lemons, squash, tomatoes, peaches, honeydew, asparagus, spinach, and cantaloupe.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, which is vital to bone strength. Muscles do not grow properly if the skeletal structure is frail. Vitamin D is found in foods such as eggs, fish, oatmeal, milk, and yogurt. You can also try a fish oil supplement. Sunscreen-free exposure to the sun's UVB rays is also a source of vitamin D. Just limit your exposure to five to 15 minutes up to three times a week, MIT recommends.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E, like vitamin C, helps protect muscle cells from free radicals. The body does not absorb vitamin E from supplement pills well, according to MIT, so you must consume it from food sources. Such sources include almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, canola oil, corn oil, broccoli, asparagus, avocado, spinach, and sweet potatoes.
Tags: muscle growth, essential vitamins, free radicals, grow properly, promote muscle, sweet potatoes, vitamin helps