If you've studied Biology or Dietetics then you should have a fairly good idea of the roles of various food groupss in our diet, if you were an A-grade student you may even recall the five major food groups. For those of you more prone to chatting at the back here they are again: carbs, protein, dairy, fruit and vegetables and fats. Handily that's also arranged in order of recommended quality so you need lots of carbs in order to function properly and few fats.
Essentially the main food groups we're interested in for bodybuilding can be categorised into those used by the body as fuel (those used in metabolic functions) and those used by your body to build and repair (those used in anabolic functions). Obviously for bodybuilding both are highly crucial; you use the energy to go and lift stuff at the gym and then you use the building blocks to build back the 'microtears' you cause in the gym (more on that later). In the latter case you literally are what you eat. When it comes to energy and building blocks what we're really talking about are the carbohydrates and the protein respectively. Protein - amino acids - makes you what you are, while carbohydrates are converted into glucose and then ATP for energy.
Other food groups are still important too though for bodybuilding - for instance fibre is highly important for keeping our blood pressure down (which can be a problem if you are eating a lot of protein that may be high in cholesterol such as eggs), while fruit and vegetables provide us with essential minerals that help our body to perform repairs, strengthen bone and tendons and use energy. Even fat is very important and helps our body to synthesise the protein we eat. As such then, an understanding of the major food groups, and getting all of them in the right proportions, is highly important for successful muscle building.
