Weight Gain Supplements and Natural Remedies

| Modified on Jun 21, 2023

The Best Natural Remedies to Gain Weight

If you're looking to build muscle or otherwise gain weight for better health and a fitter appearance natural health supplements and remedies can be the safest and most effective option. Protein supplements are a natural starting place, but healthy fats have their place as well. Fat can have a negative connotation in regards to body image, but fat serves an integral function in our bodies.

Essential fat - that's fat your body uses to protect your internal organs and maintain reproductive function - should be 2-5% of your body weight in men and 10-13% in women. A person can be self-conscious about being underweight, similarly to being overweight, and this can pose health concerns as well.

Just as some people have difficulty in losing weight, or have an affinity towards putting on weight, there are also plenty of us who find it difficult to gain weight. You may be looking for the best way to gain weight, or the best way to gain muscle, what supplements to take, or even the best foods for weight gain; but all without jeopardizing your health or introducing potentially toxic substances into your body.

Gain Weight Naturally

On this page we have a number of remedies submitted and discussed by our Earth Clinic readers. Our community suggests coconut oil, bananas, peanut butter, and a number of supplements you can try to reach your healthy weight. Feel free to leave some feedback for any of these remedies; and if you have a family, folk, or natural solution to help with weight gain, we encourage you to share your experience.




Acupuncture

1 User Review
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Posted by Ani (Ontario, Canada) on 11/26/2008
★★★★★

The only thing that worked for me to gain weight was acupuncture. I was disturbingly skinny despite eating plenty of both healthy and not so healthy food. I sought help from nutritionists, doctors and even took protein shakes in addition to regular meals... not a pound to show for it. Then I went to see an acupuncturist who said he would do 5-6 sessions and that I would start to notice the weight start to improve very gradually after about 6 months time. Well right around 6 months I saw the scale start to shift and 3 years after that I had reached a new, much improved equilibrium just as the acupuncturist had predicted. Acupuncture works.

Replied by Sunny
(Middleton, Wi)
02/24/2010

I wanted to know about acupuncture and weight gain. How will it work?

Replied by Yoyo
(California)
04/10/2017

Omg. Really? I've been underweight all my life and I have ibs! Who's this acupuncturist?


Bananas, Peanut Butter

1 User Review
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Posted by Jose (Leander, Tx, Usa) on 05/03/2011
★★★★★

This is what I used to gain muscle mass. First as soon as I woke up I drank 24oz. of water with a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar to clean out my system. Then for breakfast I would make some oatmeal about 2servings and while it was hot I stirred in 1tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter. I would also make me a banana peanut butter shake. I cup of soy milk with a whole banana and a tablespoon of peanut butter. Blend it all together and drink up. For snacks I would boil about 7 eggs and take out the yolk and fill the egg whites with peanut butter. This should help you gain alot of weight really fast especially muscle mass.


Coconut Oil

Posted by Sharon (Paragould, Arkansas) on 04/07/2010

I've been using VCO for about a week now! I use just 1 tsp a day cause I'm actually worried about the weight loss! You see I have a very small frame! I weigh about 100 lbs. I was on a site earlier looking at different products and one product had 25% fat content! Another had a whopping 60-65% fat content!! As far as VCO I want to actually gain some weight, not loose it! LOL would using these products (in moderation of course) help with that? I would appreciate any feedback on this! Seems in this day and age most people want to LOOSE weight, not gain! I'm tired of trying to find clothes to fit me without going to the kids section!! LOL

Replied by Ed
(Washington, Dc)
12/01/2011

Farmers fed livestock coconut oil in order to fatten them. It actually had the opposite effect.


Digestive Enzymes

1 User Review
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Posted by natasha (Fontana, CA) on 06/07/2007
★★★★★

I was underweight and started cleansing my colon and getting rid of parasites. Then i started taking digestive enzymes and a healthy protein drink from curezone.com with advocados, omega-3-6-9 (healthy oils etc. coconut oil) w/ some veggies. I also did a little weight lift but not that much. I slowly started gaining healthy weight.


GERD and Gaining Weight

Posted by Chelsee (Mar Vista, Ca) on 08/06/2013

So many fattening foods are supposed to be left out of a diet for GERD and LPR. What high calorie foods can be eaten by people with these conditions who are underweight?


L-Arginine, L-Lysine

2 User Reviews
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Posted by Alex (Los Angeles, Ca) on 08/10/2009
★★★★★

The fastest way to gain weight and lean muscle: Take 1200mg of l-arginine and 1200mg of L-lysine and you will see result in couple weeks. more lean muscle, strong bones, thick hair, more weight.

Replied by Dany
(Westwood, Nj)
04/07/2011

Am I suppos to take one pill of each every day? In case that I have some heath problems with stomach and that is the reason why I have problem to gain a weight, could this products make my sick or not feel well or worsten my disease? I am not sure if I am sick or what is the reason why I have problem with gaining a weight, just want to make sure this products are safe. I am not planning to exercise, will I gain just fat? :( like big belly and but? :) or should I gain "smoothly" on whole body parts little bit. Thx

Replied by Alex
(Los Angeles, California)
06/25/2011
★★★★★

HI,

Use like 4x times a week, for a couple of weeks. It will help to gain weight with muscle not fat. In reality you don't eat much, just keep your regular food, and try to exercice. take those supplement before go to bed. Those supplements, will produce a human grown hormone. Don't use too much. and should be fine.

Replied by Ginz
(Adelaide, Australia)
12/26/2011

hey mate can u tell me how did L-ARGININE, L-LYSINE worked for you to gain weight, I also have problems with weight gain and have sensitive stomach..help

Replied by Susan
(Edmonton, Alberta)
01/06/2012

Hi Alex, I'm a 23 yr old female, underweight about 112 pounds at 5'4. I want to go to the gym to lose my belly without losing weight.

How long should I take this for? A few months, every night? Until I achieve my results?

Replied by Alex
(Los Angeles, Usa)
02/04/2012

A study on HGH release using Lysine and Arginine was conducted in 1981 by Italian researcher A. Isidori, M. D., and his associates at the University of Rome. It was found in the study was carried out in 15 male volunteers to evaluate qualitatively the secretion of growth factors following stimulation by oral amino acids. The results showed that oral administration of a combination of two amino acids (1200 mg l-lysine plus 1200 mg l-arginine) provoked a release of pituitary somatotrophin and insulin. This phenomenon was reproducible and the growth hormone secreted in response to this stimulation had biological activity (as demonstrated by radio recepter assay and somatomedin induction). The effect appeared to be specific to the combination of the two amino acids; neither of the amino acids demonstrated appreciable stimulating activity when administered alone, even at the same doses.

You can use it for 2 to 3 weeks, 1200mg of lysine and arginine. Don't take for over a month. Wait for few months, then start over for a couple weeks. While you are taking, do exercise, like lifting weight. You will se more muscle with no fat. Try to cut out sugar and fat.

Replied by Kanij
(Bd)
02/17/2015

2 to 3 weeks I have to take, but how many times a day I have to take?

Replied by Savannah
(US)
04/21/2015

Dr. Alex said 4 times per week.... :)


Lift Weights and Eat High Calorie Foods

2 User Reviews
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Posted by Vince (Painesville, Ohio) on 03/23/2007
★★★★★

To gain weight lift weights low reps heavy weight. If you have never lifted before follow this workout start off with a warm up set or two(about 15 reps with light weight). Then drop down to the 4-6 rep range. Work out 3 days a weak with free weights or machines. Try two body parts a workout. About two weeks to complete the whole body. Try to combine a pushing exercise with a pulling on each workout day. Sleep 8-10 hours sleep is when you grow. Eat high calorie foods(high protein foods and lots of carbs). Don't worry the weight will pile on especially if stop your activity after a couple of months and eat the same. You will probably even get fat. Haha.

Replied by Anonymous
(Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland)
01/29/2012

Eating more won't help because the cause of underweight will be always there. We can hear idiotic remarks to "eat more" everywhere, but let's keep some standards on this high quality site. I never gained weight on diets and gym except once when I took creatine, but it was temporary, also only muscles and not fat which underweight people need too.

Replied by Jen
(North Carolina)
03/20/2017

No, she has a point. she's not being insensitive. I have always been underweight, my entire life. until one day last year, I just started forcing myself to eat breakfast first thing in the morning. cereal or oatmeal. do not skip it. then I drank I mass gainer protein shake, probably 360 cals but I didnt use the huge scoop, just a few spoonfuls in soymilk. I would just stock my house and force myself to eat at least 3 meals a day. and have a bunch of snacks around. I gained around 20 lbs. ive gotten out of that routine since then, I got sick and lost a lot of it. so now I'm determined to do pretty much what she said cus I know it works and I though nothing ever would. also if you smoke, quit. that helps a lot.


Lift Weights and Eat High Calorie Foods
Posted by Mark (Chicago, USA) on 03/18/2007
★★★★★

I just want to let people know that they should really avoid the weight gainer drinks from health food stores in attempts to gain weight. You can make your own weight gain shakes for a lot cheaper AND you know exactly what ingredients are in them. I've been reading a lot about weightlifting and bodybuilding and the following shake is regarded as the best way to up your calories and gain weight. There's bodybuilders that drink this same shake.

Milk
Whey
protein powder
Raw, rolled oats
Natural Peanut Butter
Olive Oil

Optional: Banana(100 calories) or any type of fruit desired. Some people also put in a little honey for added taste. The chocolate/vanilla whey protein powder is the most important ingredient because it adds all the flavor. Good luck drinking it without it.

You can decide how much of what to put in your shakes accordingly. There's people that make these shakes 1200 calories and drink several a day. It's quite simple...if you eat more calories than your maintenance calorie intake for the day, you'll gain weight. To find how many calories you SHOULD be getting a day to gain weight multiply your bodyweight by 25. For example: a 200 pound man should shoot for 5000 calories a day. You should try to gain 1-2 pounds a week by weighing yourself once a week as soon as you wake up(naked and after you go to the bathroom). If you're not gaining weight, up your calories by 500 each day.

Do a Google search for what a bodybuilders eats to find how what you should be eating.

Replied by Shonouu
(Dubai, Uae)
07/19/2011

Hi I liked your post for gaining weight through a proper nutritional intake but it would be great if u would prefer specifically the amount of ingredients to be used while making the shake cuz I really need to put up some weight!!!

Replied by richard
(TN)
06/21/2023

Yes, how much of the ingredients do you use. I need to gain weight and gain muscle. Thanks.


Oats, Bananas, Almond Powder, Boiled Egg

1 User Review
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  100%

Posted by Reshma (Dubai, UAE) on 04/05/2008
★★★★★

These are a few remedies that my Dad used on me to make a skinny little girl (me :D) gain weight in like 2 months. -Oats in milk twice a day -Almond powder in milk -steamed bananas (the big yellow ones btw) twice a day -a boiled egg

i hope this works, these are the things i hate to eat the most but yea they help u gain weight. i hope it works. also a little Remmy Martin and pepper in soft boiled egg increases appetite like crazy, dint work on me but did on my uncle though, so try it. the diet mentioned above does not taste like a treat let me warn you. but works like a charm neverthless. oh don't 4get to have ur regular meals along with this. Best of Luck!


Shakes

1 User Review
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Posted by mom of skinny kid (atlanta, ga) on 04/01/2007
★★★★★

try skandishake. It's expensive but it works. M kid cannot increase number of meals for more than a day or two, then he just gets sick of eating. Skandishakes or homemade shakes of powdered milk, whole milk or ice cream and bananas have helped a great deal if eaten prior to inactivity. good luck finding x slim pants. got any ideas?


Toxicity

Posted by Andrewp (Chd., Andaman And Nicobar Islands, India) on 09/03/2012

Toxins are stored in your fat cells and regaining weight you've lost when you are very toxic is your body's way to protect you from dangerous effects of the toxins stored in your body.



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