It's general knowledge that proteins are essential for building muscle; they are literally made up of tiny blocks of essential amino acids that are very important when it comes to building muscle. That being said, not all proteins are created equal. Some proteins have better added benefits than others, and when you're looking to be the best version of yourself you can be in your 40's, you have to take every advantage you can get your hands on. Just increasing your protein intake won't do very much for you; you have to seriously consider quality over quantity.

So today, we'll be looking at the 5 best muscle building foods that you can implement into your daily meal plans that will help you

• Build muscle

• Stop muscle loss or sarcopenia

• Increase strength gains

• Naturally increase your declining testosterone levels

First on the list is

4. Free Range Eggs

You can never go wrong with the classic egg protein... or can you?

When it comes to selecting your egg protein, a lot of factors come to play; modern methods of breeding, feeding and raising chickens which later lay eggs can lead to a bunch of stuff appearing in those eggs which is generally not very good for your body composition and health in general.

These eggs are significantly lower in essential vitamins and nutrients, and they could also have an adverse effect on the health of you and your dog due to the antibiotics added to chook feed – used to fight potential illnesses and to accelerate growth. That's why as a man over 40 or in his 40's you should always make the conscious decision to purchase free-range eggs from your local store.

The health benefits from egg protein are incredible, and that's why we make sure they're a staple part of our 92% Milk & Egg Protein powder formula.

Egg yolks are rich in cholesterol and omega-3 fatty acids which can help to rapidly improve your naturally declining testosterone levels, and then there are the egg whites- those are chock full of lean protein to really stimulate muscle growth and help with healthy weight gain.

3. Cottage cheese

While you can get adequate protein from dietary sources or supplementation, overconsumption may cause digestive problems, such as nausea, bloating, cramping, flatulence, and diarrhea, especially as an older guy. A great way for you to beat this and put on some muscle tissue is with cottage cheese.

A cup of cottage cheese contains 27 grams of protein, which is totally packed with slow-digesting casein protein by the way, that can really help you speed up protein synthesis and encourage optimal muscle growth.

2. Brown Rice

Now one major misconception about bodybuilding, in general, is that carbs are bad for you or nonecessaryry for muscle growth but that couldn't be any further from the truth. Your body actually needs a balanced diet and this is especially true for older men. Carbs are the body's major source of energy and when you go on a zero-carb diet, your body starts starving and compensating by wasting away your muscles (as if you needed any help with that) through gluconeogenesis. Also when your body is in on very little calorie intake, it prioritizes the production of more important hormones, making your testosterone levels take a massive nosedive.

So if you want to add more carbs into your diet, brown rice is the way to go as it's more nutritious, contains more fiber and provides a healthy dose of disease-fighting antioxidants.

1. Grass-fed Beef Liver

The number one source of protein you need if you want to pack on as much muscle gain as possible and really up your standard and quality of living overall.

But before you rush into your local store and start getting any and every beef item off the shelf, the keyword is grass-fed beef.

The reason why beef being grass-fed is such an important factor is due to the fact that with modern farming practices, cows are being introduced to all sorts of synthetic feed that can

• Raise your estrogen levels, causing the classic 'moobs' or man-boobs

• Cause inflammation to your joints

• Increase unwanted hormone levels in your body

Because of all these factors, if you really want something that will not only increase your muscle mass but also reduce muscle recovery time and even exercise performance during cardio or resistance training or weight training then grass-fed beef liver should definitely be your go-to.

If you're worried about the smell or even taste, don't let that get in the way of you being in the best shape of your life at 40 or 54... it doesn't matter. Click here to get your capsulated grass-fed beef liver with zero smell, and zero taste, but 100% of all the benefits that makes it one of the best muscle-building foods out there.

Conclusion

When you're older, it can seem like everything's against you; but that shouldn't stop you from getting into the best shape of your life!

Exercise, and more importantly, adopt a healthier diet because you can't outwork a bad diet!