Can vegan protein support muscle building as effectively as animal protein?
- New research investigates whether a vegan diet containing protein from non-animal products can support muscle growth and repair as effectively as a diet containing animal protein during strength training.
- The study divided young, healthy adults into two groups, one that ate a high-protein animal-based diet and the other that ate a high-protein non-animal-based diet.
- The results showed increases in muscle mass and strength in both groups, suggesting that a high-protein, non-animal-sourced diet was just as effective when combined with resistance training as a diet consisting primarily of animal-derived protein sources.
new researchPublished on nutrition magazineDiscovery of fungi derived Mycoprotein (Quorn) Supports muscle building as effectively as animal protein during resistance training.
The study consists of two parts. In the first part of the study, 16 young healthy adults (eight men and eight women) were divided into two groups.
Both groups performed daily leg exercises, but one group (named OMNI1) ate a diet high in protein from animal sources, while the other group (VEG1) ate a diet high in protein from non-animal sources.
The researchers measured how much muscle protein was produced during exercise and at rest.
In the second part of the study, 22 young, healthy adults (11 men and 11 women) underwent a 10-week leg exercise program 5 days a week.
Some of them ate a high-protein diet of animal origin (OMNI2), while others ate a high-protein diet of non-animal origin (VEG2).
The research team measured leg muscle size, total body muscle, muscle strength and function before and after the program, and two and five weeks after the program was implemented.
During the study, the researchers found that exercising the legs increased the rate of muscle protein production by about 12 percent compared to when the legs were resting.