When trying to gain mass, don’t forget the fat. Adequate dietary fat is essential for proper hormone production -- Including testosterone. As we all know, testosterone is the main hormone responsible for muscle growth.
Now, the bad way to go about adding fat to your diet is to simply eat any type of food that has fat in it. This is not the best approach simply because most high fat foods contain saturated fat and trans-fat. Saturated fat is the artery clogging fat that raises your cholesterol levels and can give you heart disease later down the road. Trans-fat is a mutant fat that is even worse for you than saturated fat!
Instead of gulping down any high fat food, you want to focus on foods that contain large amounts of good fats. The good fats are called unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats are divided into two main categories: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat.
Monounsaturated fats are easily found in olive oil and avocadoes. They are known to help lower bad cholesterol levels, and raise good cholesterol levels. Olive oil is an easy to find, inexpensive oil that can be easily added to your diet.
Polyunsaturated fats contain two essential fats called omega-3 and omega-6. These two polyunsaturated fats are known as Essential Fatty Acids or EFAs. They are essential because they must be provided by your diet.
In addition to providing the same health benefits as monounsaturated fat, omega-3 and omega-6 also have the ability to hinder fat storage and reduce cortisol levels.These fats are found in oils such as sunflower oil, safflower oil, and cod liver oil. I personally like to use flaxseed oil. It is fairly inexpensive and widely available in most health food stores. It contains plenty of omega-3 and omega-6. All I have to do is mix it in with my MRP and voila! I have a high protein meal, with carbs and plenty of good fat.
Unsaturated Fat SourcesFlaxseed Oil
Udo’s Choice Oil Blend
Cod Liver Oil
Sunflower Oil
Fish Oil
Fish
Walnuts
Again, understand that if you eat large amounts of beef or chicken, you will not totally eliminate the saturated fat from your diet. That is unavoidable. Your goal is simply to reduce your intake of saturated fat so that the majority of fat you receive will be from unsaturated sources. Focusing on these fats will not only give you adequate fat for normal hormone production, but it will also keep your heart healthy.