Vegan Protein Powders: Terrible Muscle Builders

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Big-Problem
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The Big Problem with Plant Proteins

Can you gain muscle from ingesting plant proteins like pea or wheat? This study weighs in with a surprising answer.

A segment of the population seems to be interested in protein powders derived from plants, specifically soy, peas, and even wheat. This makes sense if you're a vegan or allergic to dairy, but otherwise there's no real reason to switch from dairy proteins (whey and casein) to plant-based proteins.

Instinctively, some might also believe that plant proteins are somehow more healthful or nutritious than dairy proteins, but it's not true. Plant proteins are missing the vast majority of the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that are intrinsic to the whole plant, although soy, specifically, contains just enough isoflavones to possibly cause problems (estrogenic effects).

Of course, dairy-based protein powders aren't exactly chockfull of vitamins and minerals, either, but in the case of whey, they at least contain immunoglobulins that can fortify human health.

But when it comes to the all-important issue of muscle protein synthesis, plant proteins don't pack on muscle the way dairy-based proteins do. Their biological value (BV) is just too low. BV is a measure of how efficiently the body utilizes protein.

The results of a study on the anabolic effects of wheat protein, which is derived from turning gluten into free amino acids, seem to confirm this.

What They Did

The researchers took 5 groups of 12 men and monitored muscle protein synthesis (MPS) after giving them varying amounts and types of protein:

  • 35 grams of wheat protein led to no significant increase in MPS.
  • 35 grams of whey led to a 33% increase.
  • 35 grams of casein lead to a 48% increase.

In short, ingesting 35 grams of casein or 35 grams of whey led to hugely greater MPS than an equivalent amount of plant protein. In fact, it wasn't until the men ingested almost double the plant protein – a 60-gram bolus – that MPS rates began to exceed that of whey.

What This Means To You

Plant proteins simply have poorer biological values than animal proteins. Plant proteins either have lower digestibility or are missing one or more crucial amino acids, specifically leucine, lysine, and/or methionine. You'd have to eat a ton more of them to get the same effects as proteins from dairy or meat sources.

The researchers therefore concluded that "...the ingestion of a bolus of 60 g of protein does not represent a practical dietary strategy to stimulate muscle protein synthesis."

This is why the labels on most canisters of plant protein are deceiving. They might indicate that a serving contains 20 or 25 grams of protein, but the protein is invariably lacking in certain amino acids so that it's not as effective as protein from dairy. The plant-based 20 to 25 grams is not equal to the 20 to 25 grams you'd get in a canister of a quality whey, casein, or a whey/casein blend (Buy at Amazon).

It's only if and when you begin to use huge quantities of the plant protein that you'd approach a more level playing field with dairy proteins and begin to experience equivocal levels of MPS.

But, as the authors of the described study suggest, having to dump in a couple of cups of vegetable protein into your oatmeal or protein drink might be practical if you're mixing wallpaper paste, but impractical if you're trying to gain muscle. This is especially true if you're trying to duplicate the muscle-building effects of the standard 40-gram serving of dairy protein.

So, unless you're a strict vegan, stick to a blend of whey and, ideally, micellar casein, as found in Metabolic Drive Protein (Buy at Amazon).

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Reference

  1. Gorissen SH et al. Ingestion of Wheat Protein Increases In Vivo Muscle Protein Synthesis Rates in Healthy Older Men in a Randomized Trial. J Nutr. 2016 Sep;146(9):1651-9. PubMed: 27440260.
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For those of us who cannot tolerate whey or casein, what is the next best option?

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Maybe missing some obvious facts here…but combining different vegan proteins like pea and rice for example is totally fine and practically equivalent to whey/casein or even animal protein. The whole soy is terrible for you also…that is so debatable.

So those who can’t tolerate dairy based proteins, use vegan combos. They work just as well. I have done both during my very very long bodybuilding journey and there is really no difference.

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This is not a well designed study, poor comparison and bad headline.

They take two complete and highly balanced milk proteins and compare then to an equal amount of an wheat protein- an poor, incomeplete protein which which has never once been recomended for muscle building, and isn’t used as an isolated protein in the industry.

This study is then used to claim animal proteins work better than plant proteins? That might be true if we are talking eating some greens or killing a mamoth, but we are taking supplements in this study. We already know complete proteins work better than incomplete proteins, and that is the only thing this study shows.

Why did they not compare to Whey and Casin to a complete plant protein blend? Maybe a mix of Pea, Hemp and Soy, or something similar. I am not a vegitarian, but this is misleading.

A well designed plant protein blend will likely work very similar to a complete animal protein. When two complete proteins are compared the gap will narrow greatly and the differences will be due to 1. absorption rate and 2. amino acid profiles, but which can be modified pretty easily when you are designing a protein mix.

By using a smart protein blend you can easily get an effective, complete protein with all the necessary amino acids and fortified levels of BCAA, while avoiding dairy products (which some people can’t consume).

Lasty, the “Soy is bad for men” is also generally nonsense. I can’t have soy due to mild alergy, but Soy is generally healthy and quite good as a muscle building protein. Soy is bad due to hormone effects goes way back in the muscle media 2000 magazine days. It is generally false, especially considering most athletes considering upping their protein will select a purpose built protein which are mostly devoid of isoflavones.

I believe an old story or “report” which caused concern in the weighlifting community. It was a story of a man ate a diet rich in soy and consumed nearly a gallon of processed soy milk every day. And he had hormone issues. Try drinking that much cows milk every day for years and see how you feel.

For reference, one cup of whole, organic type Soy Milk might have 40 mg of isoflavones and 8 grams of protein.

A 25 gram serving of Soy Protein Isolate might average 2.5 mg of isoflavons and 20-24 grams of protein. A plant based protein blend will have nearly zero soy isoflavons.

Which is probably a shame because there is a lot of evidence these isoflavons are healthy, act as antioxidants and they have some anticancer effects.

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Well said.

As a mixed eater, it’s also completely fine to use vegetable proteins on top of animal ones.

If you get 25g of proteins in a meal from beef for example, you’ll have enough leusine etc. for full protein synthesis. If you eat beans on top of that, the proteins in them should work just fine.

Yeah. Like you did point out, the amounts need to be massive. Some tofu here and there won’t be a problem.