From CharlesPoliquin.com
Nineteen years ago the magazine Muscle Media 2000 put out a list called the Top Ten Best Foods for Body Builders. One food on the list I’d suggest you stay away from entirely due to its toxicity, and at least three foods I’ve suggested you avoid in my blog if your goal is body composition.
Muscle Media does get it right in some cases: Four foods on the list I would recommend for anyone interested in building muscle, getting lean, or achieving optimal athletic performance. Let’s review the list, consider the author’s reason for applauding each food, and see how nearly 20 years of research changes things.#1: Egg Whites
Whole eggs are on my list of best foods for fat loss because, as the Muscle Media author wrote, they are “made up of pure protein—protein that’s considered nearly perfect because of its sublime blend of amino acids.” Eggs also contain a nice dose of choline, which protects the liver from accumulating fat. Consuming more choline elevates levels of the energizing neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which can also increase growth hormone.
Incorrectly feared due to their cholesterol content, recent research shows eggs don’t elevate serum cholesterol. The author of the Muscle Media article had issue with the “fat-laden, cholesterol-rich yolk,” and cautioned readers to avoid it. In fact, the body uses the cholesterol to produce testosterone and other androgenic hormones, which support body composition.
Take Away: Eat whole eggs a few days a week for an excellent protein source and extra choline. Also, the fats in the yolks lower the glycemic response of the eggs, allowing for better glucose and insulin management. Avoid relying solely on eggs for your protein—eat a wide variety of animal proteins for best health, muscle development, and optimal body composition.
#2: Sweet Potatoes/Yams
There is nothing wrong with sweet potatoes and yams in general. The typical sweet potato contains a small amount of protein and fat, and about 24 grams of relatively slow-digesting carbohydrates. Eating them baked or steamed is not a bad idea, but consider that one sweet potato contains about 150 calories, and if you add butter, oil, or other ingredients to it, that number goes up. Get a better calorie bang for your buck from animal protein. Then, replace sweet potatoes with green vegetables, colored peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, hearts of palm, spaghetti squash, and water chestnuts for a vegetable that is better for body composition.
Take Away: Eat sweet potatoes for a flavorful sweet treat, or a refuel day. Unless you are ripped and need to put some muscle mass, don’t make them a staple in your diet and be sure to avoid eating them with added sugar or other such ingredients that you see around the holidays like marshmallows.
#3: Broccoli
I completely agree that broccoli and the related cruciferous vegetables are excellent body composition foods. They contain a compound that helps the body clear excess estrogen, and they provide a nice dose of fiber, a ton of antioxidants, and are very slowly digested.
The Muscle Media author likes broccoli for its cancer fighting properties and high nutritional value. He points out that the typical serving contains 155 percent of the RDA for vitamin C, roughly half the calcium of a cup of milk, and substantial quantities of folate, vitamin B6, manganese, potassium, and beta carotene.
Take Away: Eat broccoli regularly—but not chronically at every meal!—and round out your cruciferous veggie intake with cauliflower, bok choy, kale, collards, arugula, and radishes for optimal body composition.
#4: Tuna
The French nickname for tuna is “la poubelle de la mer,” which means “garbage can of the sea.” All tuna has toxic levels of mercury and should be completely avoided for health and body composition. Tuna does contain omega-3 fats and a lot of protein, but the toxicity level sends it straight to the list of worst foods for body composition and health.
It’s amusing that tuna—a “worst” food makes the MM2K “best” list, whereas cold water fish (herring, mackerel, orange roughy, salmon, and catfish), which is my number one best foods for fat loss, makes the MM2K “worst” list of foods for body builders! This highlights the need for specific, correct, research-based nutritional information for optimal body composition and health.
Take Away: Avoid tuna completely, but include small cold water fish in your diet for a nice dose of omega-3 fats. Opt for salmon, mackerel, white fish, sardines, mackerel, and anchovies, and round out omega-3 intake by taking DHA-rich fish oil.
#5: Oatmeal
If you are serious about body composition, eliminating all grains, including oats, is a good choice for two reasons. First, although oats do not contain gluten, they are often contaminated by gluten, making them allergenic for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. Even if you are completely fine eating gluten, oats themselves can be inflammatory for some people.
Second, they are a grain and they elevate insulin much more than any protein, nut, or lower glycemic vegetable. Better body composition and blood sugar results will come from avoiding ALL GRAINS.
Third, of all foods, according to Dr. William Davis, oatmeal is the top acidifying food after wheat. Increasing acid load takes a toll on the human body. From osteopenia to muscle atrophy, acid load has been associated as being one of the culprits.
Take Away: Simply, oats and oatmeal just cause too many sensitivity and blood sugar issues to be on any list of “best” foods for body composition. In fact, no grain would be on my top ten list, however, if you choose to eat carbs, choose instead the seed quinoa because it contains a better amino acid profile. Besides quinoa is a seed, not a grain, and has been shown to raise IGF-1 levels.
#6: Bananas
The Muscle Media author likes bananas because they are convenient, available year-round, and nutritious—all good reasons, but not good enough for a list of “best” foods for body builders. There are so many BETTER fruits for body composition such as the antioxidant-rich array of berries (blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry), cherries, kiwis, and grapes. All of these fruits have been shown to blunt the insulin response of high-carb foods, and many of them have been called “anti-obesity” foods by food scientists.
In contrast, bananas have a moderately high fructose content (about 7 grams per banana), more calories, and higher glycemic index than berries and other “fat loss” fruits. Bananas have also been shown to increase serotonin, which makes it a terrible pre-workout food. Yet, many fitness/muscle building publications still put them in their pre-workout meals.
Take Away: If you love bananas, eat them occasionally post workout. Instead of relying on them as your “go-to” fat loss fruit, eat a wide variety of in-season fruits, with a focus on antioxidant-rich ones. The best time to take them is as a post-workout feed.
#7: Turkey Breast
The key when eating turkey, as the Muscle Media author points out, is that it needs to be high quality. Ground turkey may have organ meats, other meats, skin, and who knows what else in it. Plus, non-organic turkey will be pumped full of growth hormones, antibiotics, and other nasty things that you need to avoid.
Take Away: Include organic turkey in your diet in moderation. Vary your protein source regularly, opting for cold-water small fish and organic, pastured or wild meat. Avoid all non-organic meat.
#8: Whole Wheat Pasta
“Contrary to popular belief, pasta is not fattening. Fat Italian opera singers got that way because they heap mountains of cheese and fat-willed sauces on their pasta,” writes the Muscle Media author inanely. The idiocy of this statement aside, whole wheat pasta is a processed food that is made from a grain.
It is energy dense, elevates blood sugar, spikes insulin, and should be avoided if body composition is your goal. What very few people know is that pasta has a fake low glycemic index, when measured at the two hour mark. Pasta wrecks havoc on insulin levels 6.5 hours after its ingestion.
Take Away: There is no nutritional benefit from pasta that you couldn’t get from quality protein, “smart” fats, and produce. Avoid pasta and other grains if your goal is to get lean and build muscle.
#9: Carrots
Really, carrots? It’s fine to eat carrots occasionally, but they wouldn’t make my ten “best” list of foods for anything other than to turn you orange. The Muscle Media author likes carrots because they are sweet and have a lot of vitamin A and C, however, there are many more nutritious veggies than the carrot. See that list provided under the sweet potato entry for better veggie choices for body builders.
Take Away: Eating carrots in a salad or on occasion is fine, but don’t rely on them as your go to vegetable. Also, opt for whole carrots rather than diced, shaved, or juiced because this processing speeds digestion and raises the glycemic response to eating them. Raw carrots are relatively low-glycemic—the University of Sydney estimates they have a glycemic index of about 20, but cooking them raises that number to about 40.
#10: Legumes (lentils, peas, and beans)
Legumes are a great protein and fiber source, and best body composition results come from eating a wide variety daily. The Muscle Media author correctly points about that they make up the “absolute best source of plant protein” but he doesn’t like peanuts and chick peas due to their higher fat content.
Chick peas provide a minor amount of “good” fat, and supplementing the diet with chick peas has been shown to improve cholesterol level and glycemic control in one study. In another study of a population of Australians, eating chick peas daily was shown to blunt hunger. So, there’s nothing wrong with chick peas, and peanuts contain antioxidants such as resveratrol. Plus, studies show regularly eating peanuts along with other nuts can promote health and body composition.
Take Away: Eat a wide variety of beans, peas, and lentils regularly for a great protein source and nice dose of fiber. Opt for whole versions rather than processed or mashed for the best body composition results. It’s not that organic peanut butter or hummus are bad for you, they will simply require less energy to digest, and may contain added oils or other ingredients. Obviously, avoid eating any one type of legume daily because this can lead to food intolerances.
