Photo: rawpixel via rawpixel, public domain.
Plant protein has passed another muscle test. In a new randomised trial, adding pea protein to the diets of older men raised their daily rate of muscle building by exactly the same amount as whey, from 1.46% to 1.59% of muscle protein renewed per day with both powders.
The double-blind trial, from Professor Stuart Phillips's Exercise Metabolism Research Group at McMaster University in Canada, is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Thirty-one healthy men with an average age of 72 first ate a controlled diet with protein set at the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for a week. They were then randomly assigned an extra 50g a day of whey, pea or collagen protein, 25g at breakfast and 25g at lunch, for another eight days, while heavy water and muscle biopsies tracked how much new muscle protein they made.
Whey and pea both lifted muscle protein synthesis. Collagen, an animal protein, did nothing at all. The authors conclude in the full paper:
Our findings demonstrate that supplemental protein provided at breakfast and lunch over the current RDA enhanced anabolic signaling and integrated MPS in older males; however, the source of additional protein may be an important consideration in overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.
Older muscles respond less to protein, which is one reason we lose muscle with age, so a plant protein that performs as well as whey is good news for anyone planning to age on plants. A pea protein shake or a bowl of lentils at breakfast or lunch is an easy way to top up. The study was funded by Roquette, which makes the pea protein used.
Back in 2017 we reported that plant protein was shown to be better than animal protein for building muscle, and last year a randomised trial found a vegan diet builds muscle just as well as meat.
Peas, it turns out, are proper muscle food.