If you want to build muscle, eggs are a great choice. They are a healthy and inexpensive alternative to high-priced supplements, and they provide huge benefits to athletes. Eggs improve muscle strength and help repair muscles after a great lift or a long run.

One small egg provides a whopping 12 percent of your total daily allowance for protein. Even better, egg protein happens to be the highest quality protein, because it delivers all the amino acids you need to thrive. Amino acids work to repair muscle damage, which is vital for athletes.

But if you think sucking down a raw egg is the best way to go for the ultimate in performance, think again. Eggs contain biotin, a vitamin needed for energy production and the synthesis of fatty acids, but this important vitamin is inactivated when it binds with another component of the egg—the protein avidin. So how do you ensure that you’re getting both the fabulous protein that eggs provide as well as the biotin? You  need to cook the egg fully. Cooking ensures that you’ll absorb both the protein and the biotin.

For even more benefits, add the spice turmeric to your eggs. Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, has been shown to reduce overall inflammation in the body and may even help with aching muscles that result from a strenuous practice or game.