Take it from Popeye. Spinach is a fantastic fuel for muscle building because it contains iron and nitrates to promote muscle growth. These nitrates also help regulate blood pressure, immune defenses, and cell metabolism. Serve your dinner on a bed of spinach cooked or raw every night for constant, delicious intake.

Greek yogurt. Dairy contains both high-quality protein and a mixture of fast-digesting whey protein and slow-digesting casein protein.

Research has shown that people experience increases in lean muscle when consuming a combination of fast- and slow-digesting dairy proteins. But not all dairy is created equal. Greek yogurt contains approximately double the amount of protein as regular yogurt.

Sunflower seeds. With 23 grams of protein per serving, sunflower seeds are a delicious and healthy snack for building muscle. Only half a cup of cooked soybeans contains 16 grams of protein, healthy unsaturated fats, and several vitamins and minerals.

Soybeans are a particularly good source of vitamin K, iron, and phosphorus. Iron is used to store and transport oxygen in your blood and muscles. You probably already know that chicken is a staple in any high-protein, low-fat diet.

Cottage cheese is also rich in calcium for healthy bones. A g salmon steak contains Salmon also contains omega-3 fatty acids, which have health benefits , including preventing muscle loss in older adults.

Tuna fish is a suitable source of omega-3 fatty acids besides their benefits for general health and inflammation. Research suggests omega-3 fatty acids may also improve muscle size and strength. Tuna contains 7 g of protein per ounce. As long as individuals tolerate milk, it can be a healthy choice to boost protein and hydration after exercise.

Dried beef or turkey jerky contains 10—15 g of protein per oz. Whey protein isolate powder contains 50 g of protein per 3 scoops. If someone tolerates whey protein powder, they can boost their protein intake by making shakes and drinks.

Soy protein powder contains around 25 g of protein per scoop. People who eat a plant-based diet may find soy protein powder a valuable addition to boost their protein intake. They can add it to a smoothie along with some fruit and plant-based milk.

Lean beef contains just over 23 g of protein per 4 oz. It also contains selenium , zinc, and iron, which are essential for energy and recovery. Fresh or frozen edamame beans contain 6 g of protein per half-cup. Adding them to a quick stir fry can make a healthy meal, perhaps with some other beans or chicken for extra protein.

One oz of dry-roasted edamame beans contains 13 g of protein, which is a suitable option as a quick and convenient snack. A review suggests that quinoa has an exceptional nutritional profile due to its:.

The same review indicates that quinoa has a protein content of between 9. Chickpeas, which people also call garbanzo beans, are a suitable source of protein and carbohydrates. A person can choose to eat chickpeas either dried and soaked, canned, or as a ready-made dish such as dahl.

Canned chickpeas contain Hummus, which contains ground chickpeas, has 7 g of protein per one-third of a cup.

A cup of cooked brown rice contains 5. Combining brown rice with beans, chickpeas, or lentils gives a person on a plant-based diet a complete range of amino acids in one meal. Tofu is a suitable protein source for people eating a plant-based diet, containing When manufacturers prepare tofu with nigari, it is also an excellent source of calcium for healthy bones.

It contains milligrams mg of calcium per g. A half-cup of roasted sunflower seeds contains just under 14 g of protein, while a half-cup of roasted pumpkin and squash seeds contains around 18 g of protein. Seafood, such as crabmeat, shrimp, and lobster, contains around 6 g of protein per oz.

Seafood is a rich source of:. However, according to older research , people should be aware that some researchers link eating seafood with risks of toxicity, heavy metals, and pollutants.

One cup of peanuts contains nearly 41 g of protein. Two tablespoons of peanut butter contain 7 g of protein. Peanuts also contain mg of magnesium per cup, which research indicates may enhance exercise performance.

A cup of chopped shelled walnut halves contains Walnuts are also a suitable source of dietary vitamin E, which research indicates may protect the body against physical stress during exercise.

Buckwheat is a seed that people can use as a grain or flour. Retailers sometimes market buckwheat as groats or kasha. A cup of buckwheat contains This is an important health message given the recent as of publication shelter-at-home practices of ongoing pandemics 1.

However, some potential nutritional strategies to minimize the loss of muscle mass and function could include greater protein intake as suggested by Oikawa et al.

This discussion was also extended by Beaudry and Devries who highlighted the potential benefit of dietary protein and potentially that which is dairy-based and exercise especially resistance exercise in countering the metabolic dysregulation and low muscle quality common to clinical populations such as pre-diabetic PD and Type II diabetic T2D individuals.

Incidentally, the original research of Sambashivaiah et al. reported lower muscle strength, but not mass, in PD and T2D Asian Indians compared to healthy controls, suggesting additional research into the habitual activity and dietary practices of pre- and clinical populations is warranted.

Finally, obesity was discussed as a potential direct modulator of the anabolic resistance of skeletal muscle to both exercise and dietary protein by Beals et al.

Thus, these summative reviews represent important information for academics, knowledge translators, and knowledge end-users e. Dietary protein represents a primary nutrient for the remodeling of muscle tissue given its ability to independently stimulate muscle protein synthesis 2.

However, Gwin et al. also demonstrated in healthy young adults entering military service that higher habitual protein intakes are associated with greater overall dietary quality and micronutrient ingestion, which generally supports previous recommendations that position nutrient dense, protein-rich whole foods as critical to maintain muscle health 3.

Aside from total protein intake, Smeuninx et al. provided further evidence that individuals both young and old in the United Kingdom consume their daily protein in a skewed manner, highlighting the potential that redistributing protein from the larger evening meals to the morning may optimize muscle protein remodeling, providing a more efficient means to consume the daily protein intake.

Snijders et al. also provided a comprehensive summary of the ability of pre-sleep protein ingestion to enhance nocturnal rates of muscle protein synthesis as a means to promote tissue remodeling and growth. Interestingly, the authors retrospectively assessed research from the van Loon laboratory at Maastricht University and demonstrated that greater protein intakes than that which maximize muscle protein synthesis in daytime meals i.

This could suggest that a greater provision of amino acid substrates during an otherwise overnight fasted period are required to maximize muscle protein synthesis over an ~8 h sleeping period as compared to a daytime 4—6 h postprandial period.

This apparently greater ability to assimilate dietary protein uptake into skeletal muscle during the overnight period could also explain in part the lack of difference in mixed muscle protein synthesis from ~ to h between 25 g of milk protein or a protein-free placebo consumed prior to bed ~ h despite a positive ~h whole body net protein balance, as reported in this special issue by Karagounis et al.

Thus, daily protein redistribution independent of additional supplemental intake may represent a feasible means to optimize muscle mass and quality, especially if it arises from nutrient-dense sources.

With the deleterious effects of sarcopenia loss of muscle mass and function emerging as a significant health burden with the aging of much of the world's population 5 , older adults represent a prime target for the development of strategies to maintain muscle health.

At the forefront of nutritional strategies, protein intakes greater than the current recommended dietary allowance RDA; 0. In this issue, Durainayagam et al.

demonstrated that consuming twice the RDA for week alters the metabolome in a manner that could be consistent with supporting increased tissue anabolism.

With a growing interest in identifying responder phenotypes for personalized therapies, these results, if leveraged in larger cohorts, could serve as a springboard into additional trials that could advance this scientific and therapeutic aim.

Further research from the Cameron-Smith lab as published by D'Souza et al. also demonstrated a potential role for micro-RNA miR species i.

Original research by the Phillips laboratory, as presented by Bell et al. ostensibly supports this contention as integrated i. Therefore, the present special issue provides important contributions to research and clinical endeavors that aim to maintain muscle mass and function with age.

The growth of new muscle and improvements in functionality e. The review by Slater et al. Conversely, the maintenance of muscle mass and function is of importance for individuals aiming to optimize body composition i.

Given the potential for n-3 PUFA's to increase muscle anabolism in some clinical populations McGlory et al. explored the use of n-3 PUFA-enriched fish oil to help retain lean body mass and muscle strength during a short duration i.

They demonstrated that some measures of muscle strength i. This research highlights the potential for n-3 PUFAs to be an adjuvant therapy for athletes aiming to maintain muscle function during targeted weight loss, possibly via enhanced neuromuscular function.

In addition to adequate energy, it is important to also consume adequate dietary protein to provide the amino acid substrates to support muscle protein remodeling and net protein synthesis during the post-exercise recovery period.