Plant protein powder didn't build muscle in older men
Kuin LME, Hermans WJH, Boot N, Fuchs CJ, Senden JM
Plant Protein
The pea and soy protein powders lining health-food store shelves as "muscle-friendly" plant alternatives just got a reality check from actual muscle tissue sampling in older adults, not just blood tests.
Scientists gave older men a 20-gram scoop of pea and soy protein, sometimes with extra leucine (an amino acid thought to trigger muscle growth) added, and compared it to the same amount of whey protein from milk. Surprisingly, none of the three drinks actually increased muscle protein building in the four hours afterward, even the whey. The takeaway is that 20 grams just wasn't enough protein to do the job in older bodies, regardless of whether it came from plants or animals or had extra leucine mixed in.
Key Findings
Whey protein raised blood essential amino acid levels more than plant protein (iAUC 135 vs 99-105 mmol·240min·L-1, P<0.001), but this didn't translate to better muscle building
Adding 2g leucine to the soy-pea blend pushed peak blood leucine higher than even whey (567 vs 471 μmol/L) yet still didn't boost muscle protein synthesis
Muscle protein synthesis rates were statistically identical across all three groups (~0.034-0.035%/h) and were not elevated above resting baseline levels
chevron_right Technical Summary
A clinical trial found that a 20g dose of soy-pea protein, even boosted with extra leucine, failed to increase muscle-building rates in older men, performing no better and no worse than whey protein since none of the doses were high enough to trigger a response.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Ingestion of 20 g of a plant-derived protein blend with and without added leucine or whey protein does not increase muscle protein synthesis rates in older males.
Sufficient high-quality protein intake is required to prevent sarcopenia in older adults. Plant-based proteins have been reported to have lesser anabolic properties when compared to animal-based pr...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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