3 'Super Foods' to Help You Gain Weight Fast

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A box of oranges
Oranges. (Lance Cpl. Aaron Henson/U.S. Marine Corps photo)

Some foods work better than others for people who are trying or even struggling to increase muscle mass. These types of food could be called "super foods" to gain weight. You need to achieve a calorie surplus in order to put on some pounds. However, you need to do it in a way that won't add a lot of body fat or endanger your health. This is where these types of super foods to gain weight come into the picture.

#1: Walnuts

Walnuts offer a variety of benefits, including their amazing combination of healthy monounsaturated fats, phytosterols and the amino acid l-​​arginine. Because of this combination, walnuts provide increased calories and high levels of nitric oxide, a natural substance in the body that helps stimulate muscle recovery and growth. Walnuts even help in heart disease and cancer prevention, because they cancel out the negative effects of the harmful saturated fats found in high-​​fat foods. If you're eating this super food to gain weight, your target should be about 20 grams of walnuts daily.

#2: Oranges

Vitamin C is a powerful protector of the body's levels of nitric oxide. Oranges contain a large amount of this vitamin, which helps keep the nitric oxide "bioavailable" so it can assist in building muscle mass. The effects of vitamin C work in combination with the walnuts added to your diet. If you eat an orange 30 to 45 minutes before your workout, it will help maintain your nitric oxide levels where they need to be while you're training.

#3: Dried Fruit

Although it contains a fair bit of sugar, most dried fruit also is loaded with fiber. It also includes high amounts of the vitamins and minerals that are required to stay healthy and build muscle. Dried fruit decreases the amount of body fat that is stored and is full of calories, meaning that it helps you achieve the calorie surplus you need to gain weight. Snack on dried fruit throughout the day, but be sure also to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. You should avoid commercial dried bananas that are full of fat and look for "unsulfured" dried fruit.

To gain weight, all you need to do is eat a lot of food. But to gain weight in a healthy way while increasing muscle mass, you should add these "super foods" to your diet.

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