Muscle Growth Starts in the Kitchen

Julian Wüstner

These Are the Foods That Truly Matter

You’re training consistently. You follow your workout plan. You push yourself in every session. But still—your body doesn’t really change. The scale doesn’t move, your muscles don’t grow, and your energy levels stay flat. If that sounds familiar, chances are the problem isn’t your workout. It’s what’s happening outside the gym—especially on your plate. Real muscle growth doesn’t just depend on training. It requires the right fuel—nutrient-dense, gut-friendly foods that support your body’s ability to recover, grow, and perform. At New Health Society, this principle shapes everything we do.

Why Your Diet Has More Impact Than You Think

Muscle isn’t built during workouts. It’s built in the hours afterward—when your body repairs damaged tissue and adapts to new challenges. But for that process to work, it needs raw materials: amino acids, micronutrients, healthy fats, and clean energy sources. What your body doesn’t need: inflammation, bloating, food sensitivities, or digestive stress. That’s why we follow a structured, anti-inflammatory, and gut-friendly nutrition approach—no cow’s milk, no gluten, no soy. Just clean, powerful foods that support muscle growth from the inside out.

Protein: The Foundation of Real Progress

You already know protein is essential for muscle building. But not all protein is created equal. It’s not just about grams per day—it’s about bioavailability, amino acid profile, and digestibility. Many popular options like whey or cottage cheese can cause digestive issues, skin problems, or inflammation. That’s why we take a different route. Here’s a list of protein-rich, gut-friendly foods we recommend:

Food	Protein (per 100 g)	Why It’s Great
Chicken breast	23 g	Lean, highly digestible
Grass-fed beef	22–26 g	Rich in creatine, iron, zinc
Eggs	13 g	Complete amino acid profile
Goat cheese	21 g	Easier on the gut than cow’s milk
Cooked lentils	9 g	Fiber-rich, plant-based
Quinoa	14 g	Gluten-free and a full protein source
Pea & rice protein powder	~80 g	Plant-based powder with optimal profile

👉 Especially the pea-rice powder is worth highlighting. Research shows it performs similarly to whey for muscle gain—but without dairy or digestive downsides. It’s our go-to base for shakes.

Carbs: Use Them Strategically, Not Excessively

Carbs often get demonized in fitness. But if you’re already lean and training hard, smart carbs are your friend—not your enemy. Instead of cutting carbs completely, we recommend a targeted approach: focus on slow-digesting, fiber-rich, gluten-free sources, especially around your workouts. Top picks for gut-friendly, performance-boosting carbs include:

Sweet potatoes
Quinoa & amaranth
Berries (blueberries, raspberries)
Beets & carrots

These foods stabilize blood sugar, support glycogen storage, and provide valuable micronutrients—all without bloating or inflammation.

Healthy Fats: Essential for Hormones & Recovery

Too many people cut fat in an effort to “lean out”—but in reality, you need fat to build muscle. Especially when it comes to hormone production, recovery, and sustained energy. What matters is choosing the right fats:

Avocados
Nuts & seeds (almonds, walnuts, chia)
Cold-pressed oils like olive or flaxseed oil
Oily fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines)
Organic eggs

These fats are anti-inflammatory and support the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K—all essential for optimal recovery and long-term health.

What You Should Leave Off the Plate

At New Health Society, we see it time and again: some of the most common “fitness foods” actually work against progress—causing bloating, slowing digestion, and triggering inflammation. Here’s what we recommend avoiding if you’re serious about muscle building and gut health:

Cow’s milk and dairy (except goat cheese)
Gluten-containing grains (wheat, rye, spelt)
Soy products (often highly processed and hormone-active)
Refined sugar and industrial seed oils
Alcohol (even small amounts impair protein synthesis)

Final Thoughts: Building Muscle Isn’t About Eating More – It’s About Eating Better

If your training is on point but your results aren’t showing, the missing piece is likely your nutrition strategy. You don’t need more random calories—you need targeted nutrients, at the right time, from the right sources. Muscle growth isn’t magic. It’s a system. And when you understand the inputs, the results will follow. At New Health Society, we help clients design personalized nutrition that matches their training goals, lifestyle, and digestion. No guesswork. Just structure, insight, and sustainable progress.