Muscle & Fitness

Crunch Time

December 2006

Bodybuilders can’t live on chicken breasts alone. Raid the produce section if you want to gain mass and lose fat.

Are you a bodybuilder who scoffs at the thought of giving up your beloved protein for some boring carrots. Big Mistake! You need your veggies if you want to reach your full bodybuilding potential. Lauded by health experts, doctors and your mom (remember “You’re not getting any dessert until you eat all your broccoli”?), vegetables don’t have a sexy rep, but their therapeutic and healing properties are essential to keeping you as healthy as possible for maximum gym efforts. And a bodybuilder in optimal health will make gains faster than one who isn’t. So ignore vegetables at your muscle-gaining peril. Here’s the dirt on why, along with what’s best to keep in the crisper.  

VEGGING OUT

From fighting disease to revealing your washboard abs, there are so many reasons to spend more time in the produce aisle that we could fill this entire issue. These are the most important reasons to say, “More, please,” when it comes to vegetables.

Mighty Phytos

Unlike fiber and vitamins, what you don't see in those vegetable nutrition charts are the powerhouse antioxidant chemicals called phytochemicals. A vegetable will produce them to protect itself during growth, but many phytochemicals, such as lycopene in tomatoes and carotenoids in carrots, can also protect us against many ailments. There’s even a group of phytochemicals called indoles (found in cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage and broccoli) that stimulate enzymes to make estrogen less effective – a definite advantage if you yearn for more mass. Acting as antioxidants, phytochemicals also aid in postworkout muscle repair.

Bulking Up

Vegetables are a great source of something often neglected in the bodybuilding world – fiber. And as a source of bulk, veggies can slow digestion, which helps regulate blood sugar levels. Spikes in blood sugar (which often comes from eating high-carbohydrate, low-fiber foods like white bread) promote fat storage, and sudden drops can cause energy “crashes,” making it less likely you’ll push serious weight at the gym. Add vegetables to your lunchtime stir-fry and you can say adios to those ups and downs. You’ll also tend to eat less because low-calorie, high-fiber veggies take up room in the stomach and release chemicals that tell the brain to shut down appetite. And don’t overlook that by improving digestion, vegetable fiber can support the absorption of vitamins, minerals and amino acids – all of which your muscles need for further growth.

Burn, Baby, Burn

Vegetables are a “free food” with very low calorie-density, so you can almost eat unlimited amounts while still burning fat. This lean indulgence is all because of a biochemical quirk that only veggies (accept the starchier ones like corn and beets) enjoy - the body uses almost as many calories to digest vegetables as they contain in the first place. The leftover calories don't even have a fighting chance of being stored in a fat cell.

A BETTER SALAD

Go with a variety of color. Deeply hued veggies reign supreme when it comes to disease-fighting, immune-boosting chemicals.

Green

Green vegetables are loaded with the B vitamin folate, which is essential for the growth of new muscle cells and is involved in nitric oxide production. Best picks include:

Artichokes
Arugula
Asparagus
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Romaine

Cucumber

Kale
Spinach

Swiss Chard
Watercress
Zucchini

Tip: Broccoli sprouts trump mature broccoli in the antioxidant department, keeping you healthy so you’re fully primed for workouts. Try tossing BroccoSprouts (www.broccosprouts.com) on your next tuna sandwich for added flavor.

Orange and Yellow

This group is high in vitamin C and beta-carotene, which fight cancer and promote heart-health and muscle recovery. Best picks include:

Butternut squash
Carrots
Yellow peppers
Pumpkin
Rutabagas
Yellow summer squash
Sweet potatoes
Yellow tomatoes

Tip: Though white potatoes contain much more niacin, sweet potatoes are more nutritious overall: They are higher in fiber, beta-carotene and folate, and digest slower than white potatoes. White potatoes are good for postworkout meals; sweet potatoes are good for meal at just about any other times of day.  

Red

Red vegetables are best known for harbouring lots of lycopene – a powerful antioxidant that aids in muscle recovery. Best picks include:

Beets
Red peppers
Radishes
Radicchio
Red onions
Red potatoes
Rhubarb
Tomatoes

Tip: Concentrated tomato products like tomato paste and sauce are higher in lycopene than whole, raw tomatoes.

White

Allicin, a phytochemical found in the onion family, is stellar at maintaining healthy testosterone levels and inhibiting cortisol production. It also helps prevent cardiovascular disease. Best picks include:

Cauliflower
Garlic
Mushrooms
Onions
Parsnips
White potatoes

Shallots
Turnips

Jicama

Tip: To get the most out of allicin-containing foods such as garlic and onions, don’t heat them for too long - this chemical is very heat-sensitive and will break down easily.

VEGETABLES 101

Filling your grocery cart with more vegetables is only half the battle - you need to know what to do with them once you get home. This can sometimes be more challenging than developing arms like Ronnie’s, so let us help.

Selection

“Seek out vegetables that are at their peak ripeness,” says Cathy Thomas, a food editor for the Orange County Register, a newspaper in Southern California. Ripeness varies, but as a general rule, avoid leafy greens that are wilting and firmer produce such as peppers and zucchini that have soft spots and discoloration. “Peak produce has more nutrient content than overripe or underripe versions,” Thomas advises. Farmers’ markets will have the best selection of perfectly ripe vegetables.

Storage

Because flavors and textures are at their peak right after picking, the best advice is to shop often, and to store fresh vegetables for only 2-3 days. “Different vegetables prefer different storage situations,” says Thomas. “Some, such as salad greens, prefer the fridge, whereas others, such as artichokes and tomatoes, respond more favorably to the counter.” Check out Cathy Thomas’ book, Melissa’s Great Book of Produce (Wiley, 2006) for proper storage techniques for every imaginable vegetable.

Cooking

When it comes to moving vegetables beyond their raw state, your goal should be to preserve as much of their nutrients as possible. Contact with boiling water can cause water-soluble nutrients like B vitamins and Vitamin C to leach out into the water. Steaming is best for preserving nutrients since there’s no direct water contact and the temperature is more moderate. The microwave and the high heat of the frying pan can damage some nutrients, but tomatoes, corn and carrots are actually more nutritious when slightly cooked.

Fresh vs. Frozen

If you can be sure that the fresh vegetables are indeed fresh, then that would be the most nutritious choice. The longer a 'fresh' vegetable travels across the country or sits in the store, however, the less nutritious it becomes. That’s why frozen-food processors ‘flash-freeze’ their vegetables as soon as they’re picked, thus preserving most of their vitamins. This makes those bags of mixed frozen vegetables a nutritious option when you’re in a rush. To preserve nutrients, steam, don’t boil, your frozen delights.