Leucine is an amino acid found in foods like cheese, egg or fish.
Leucine serves to increase muscle mass and can be used as a dietary supplement, both for those who exercise and want to gain muscle, as well as for the elderly to improve physical mobility, reducing the speed of muscle atrophy own age.
Leucine supplementation is easily found in natural food stores or handling pharmacies, but despite this, it is possible to ingest leucine by adopting a varied diet and rich in food sources of leucine.
List of foods rich in Leucine
The main foods rich in leucine are meat, fish, egg, milk and dairy products because they are high in protein foods, but other foods also have this amino acid present, such as:
| Foods rich in leucine | Energy in 100 g |
| Peanut | 577 calories |
| Cashew nut | 609 calories |
| Chestnuts | 699 calories |
| Hazelnut | 633 calories |
| Cucumber | 15 calories |
| Tomato | 20 calories |
| Eggplant | 19 calories |
| Cabbage | 25 calories |
| Okra | 39 calories |
| Spinach | 22 calories |
| Bean | 360 calories |
| Peas | 100 calories |
Leucine is an essential amino acid for the body and therefore it is important to consume foods rich in leucine to have the necessary amounts of this amino acid.
The recommended daily allowance of leucine per day is 2.9 g in a healthy individual of 70 kg, for example.
What Leucine is for
Leucine is used to help maintain muscle mass, lower blood sugar levels, increase body defenses and help healing fractured bones.
Before and after any surgery, foods high in this amino acid should be eaten to aid in healing and recovery.
Leucine Supplement
The leucine supplement can be purchased at health food stores, pharmacies or on internet sites and is in the form of powder or capsules.
To take leucine, the indicated is approximately 1 to 5 g of leucine powder, 10 to 15 minutes before main meals, such as lunch and dinner or before exercise. Before taking any supplements, it is important to consult with a health professional, such as a nutritionist, to determine the dosage and how to take it appropriately considering your individual health status.
Although leucine supplementation is generally available, dietary supplements contain leucine, isoleucine and valine together because these amino acids are BCAAs, which make up 35% of the muscles and are indispensable for muscle maintenance and growth, being the most effective supplement with 3 amino acids than with just one of them.
Useful links:
- Foods rich in isoleucine
- Supplements to gain muscle mass
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