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26 Foods That Help You Build Lean Muscle

By Healthline, 02/22/19, 12:00PM PST

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Dairy not only contains high-quality protein, but also a mixture of fast-digesting whey protein and slow-digesting casein protein.

Both nutrition and physical activity are critical if you want to gain lean muscle. To get started, it’s essential to challenge your body through physical activity. However, without proper nutritional support, your progress will stall. High-protein foods are very important for gaining muscle, but carbohydrates and fats are also necessary sources of energy. If your goal is to gain lean muscle, you should focus on exercising regularly and eating more calories each day from muscle-building foods.

1. Eggs

Eggs contain high-quality protein, healthy fats and other important nutrients like B vitamins and choline (1). Proteins are made up of amino acids, and eggs contain large amounts of the amino acid leucine, which is particularly important for muscle gain (12)