Jocelyn Solis-Moreira
Vegan gym rats have a reason to celebrate. Using vegan protein works just as well to build muscle as animal proteins, a new study reveals.
Popular meats like chicken, turkey, and ground beef have long been key ingredients for meals among muscle-centric fitness fanatics. Similarly, dairy-based proteins like whey and casein are other common forms of animal proteins. The rise of plant-based diets and “clean eating” in recent years, however, have pushed many to avoid red meat or animal-based protein options entirely. As a result, health food aisles at the grocery store are being stock with more high-protein products made from pea or soy protein in particular.
But many are left wondering whether these vegan proteins can lead to the same types of gains in muscle size and strength that lifters see from animal proteins.
“Our study demonstrates that mycoprotein is comparable to animal proteins in terms of its ability to facilitate increases in muscle mass and strength in young adults who are regularly engaging in resistance training,” says study co-author Alistair Monteyne, a researcher at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, in a media release.
In this study, the team examined a mycoprotein derived from fungi — which is a meat-free protein on the market as Quorn. The findings show the vegan alternative supports muscle growth during resistance training as well as people who eat an omnivorous diet. About one in 10 American adults consider themselves vegan or vegetarian, according to estimates.
“It is well established that muscle building can be augmented by adhering to a high protein diet,” says Monteyne. “However, it was previously unclear as to whether non-animal derived diets and non-animal derived protein sources, such as Quorn’s mycoprotein, could support muscle building during resistance training to the same extent as omnivorous diets and animal-derived protein sources.”
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