10 Best Leucine Rich Foods
Did you know that Leucine is one of the best amino acids for building muscle mass? Ever wondered what foods contain high amounts of leucine? If you did not know about leucine or haven’t even thought of the foods that are high on it, you need to read this post.
In This Article
Leucine – A Brief
Leucine is an essential amino acid that is used by the fat tissue, liver and muscle tissue. Recent studies have also pointed to leucine and its suspected muscle stimulant properties. Moreover, leucine helps slow muscle deterioration with age. Your body needs around 39mg of leucine per kilogram of your body weight. If you weigh around 70kg, ideally you should have around 2,730mg of leucine per day.
Why Include Leucine In The Diet?
Now that you know what leucine is, let’s look at why it is so important. Eating a diet high on leucine provides your body with a steady supply of this amino acid, as the body cannot synthesize or store leucine for longer periods of time. This is why it needs to be included in your diet.
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Benefits Of Leucine
Apart from stimulating muscle tissue growth and improving liver function, leucine also has other health benefits, which include:
- Controlling blood sugar levels by stimulating insulin production (1)
- Controlling obesity (2)
- Lowering and controlling cholesterol levels
- Leucine also has many positive effects on your liver and muscles (3)
These benefits make leucine an important part of the diet, one which must be included for stable growth. Its muscle stimulant nature makes it an important pre and post workout supplement.
So, leucine has many important health benefits and is an essential amino acid, which your body cannot produce. But how do you get the recommended amount of leucine in your diet? Well, by having foods high in leucine, of course!
Leucine Rich Foods
1. Parmesan Cheese (Raw):
Apart from being wholesome and tasty to boot, parmesan cheese also has the distinction of being one of the richest sources of leucine out there. Parmesan cheese contains a whopping 121% of the recommended dietary intake of leucine, close to 3452 mg in 100g of cheese.
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2. Beef (Grilled):
Beef is hugely popular and steak is probably the most common ways of preparing this luscious meat. Grilled beef is tasty, meaty and high in protein. It is also high in leucine, and boasts of 116% of the recommended dietary intake of leucine.
3. Soybeans (Roasted):
Soybeans have many health benefits and are rich in antioxidants. They are the only vegetables to feature in this list of leucine rich foods. Roasted soybeans contain around 118% of the daily recommended dietary intake of leucine.
4. Tuna (Cooked):
Tuna is one of the most popular canned fish in the world. To get the maximum amount of leucine, consider using fresh tuna and cooking it. Cooked tuna boasts of 84% of the daily recommended dietary intake for leucine.
5. Chicken (Cooked):
Chicken breast is one of the most popular meats in the market today. It is used to make all sorts of chicken based dishes and is quite healthy. Cooked chicken breast is also a good source of leucine, with around 97% of the recommended dietary intake.
6. Pork (Cooked):
Pork has long been considered bad for heart health, owing to its high Trans fat and calorie content. Pork, however, is one of the best sources of leucine and contains around 94% of the daily recommended dietary intake of the amino acid.
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7. Pumpkin Seeds:
are another great source of leucine, boasting a comfortable 87% of the daily recommended dietary intake.
Other leucine food sources include:
8. Octopus (cooked):
Cooked octopus contains around 77% of the recommended dietary intake of leucine.
9. Peanuts:
contain 66% of the recommended dietary intake of leucine.
10. White beans:
White beans contain 22% of the recommended dietary intake of leucine.
Include these leucine rich foods in your diet and start getting into shape from today. Share your progress with other readers here. Leave a comment below.
