The source of protein you consume does not affect your muscle strength, new evidence has revealed.
A recent study has found that people can build muscle just as effectively by consuming plant protein as they would by consuming animal protein.
First author Professor Nicholas Burd said: “The longstanding belief or the current dogma was that animal-based protein sources were better, particularly for the muscle-building response.
“Our general hypothesis based on previous studies was that the animal-based eating pattern would be more effective at supporting the muscle-building response. But measurements taken after a single meal might not reflect the effects of consuming a balanced vegan diet over time.”
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Consuming more than 1.1 g/kg of protein per day does not affect the rate of muscle protein synthesis when weight training, regardless of whether it is plant-based or animal-based protein, prior research has revealed.
During the study, the team of researchers looked at the muscle strength of 40 adults, all of whom were physically active and aged between 20 and 40.
Participants were randomly assigned to a vegan or omnivorous diet and had to eat some meals in the lab.
Omnivorous diets were high in eggs, beef, chicken, pork and dairy products, while the vegan diet balanced the amino acid content of the meals.
Every three days, the participants underwent activities to test their muscle strength.
Outside of the lab, each participant wore accelerometers to keep track of their activity levels. In addition, each day they drank water containing deuterium – a stable isotope of hydrogen.
Professor Burd said: “The deuterium atoms exchanged with hydrogen atoms within amino acids to make them heavy and served as tracers that allowed the team to trace their incorporation into muscle tissue.”
To determine muscle strength, the researchers took biopsies of the participant’s tissue from their leg muscle at the beginning and end of the trial.
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They found that there was no difference in rates of muscle protein synthesis between the par-ticipants on vegan or omnivorous diets.
Additionally, they discovered that protein distribution across the day had no effect on the rate of muscle building.
“It was thought that it was better to get a steady-state delivery of nutrients throughout the day,” said Professor Burd.
He added: “I also thought that if you’re getting a lower quality protein – in terms of its digestibil-ity and amino acid content – that perhaps distribution would make a difference. And surprising-ly, we showed it doesn’t matter.
“As long as you’re getting sufficient high-quality protein from your food, then it really doesn’t make a difference.”
Read the study in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
