Is Plant Protein Good for Muscle Building?
Protein is essential for building muscle. Muscle tissue is made up of protein, which means it is made up of amino acids, and those amino acids have to come from somewhere. But how important is a protein source?
Animal foods (such as meat, dairy, and eggs) are high in protein, making them traditional foods for bodybuilders and other gym goers. But plant-based foods can provide protein as well, and there are many strong vegan athletes out there, so it is certainly possible to build muscle with a plant-based diet.
Plant-based protein has two drawbacks, so if you’re determined to stick to these sources, it’s important to consider both.
Plant foods tend to contain more calories for the same amount of protein.
If you are keeping track of your total calories (for example, if you are trying to lose weight or maintain your weight in a certain range), meat is a more efficient way to get protein. For example, a small chicken breast has 27 grams of protein at just 142 calories. Almost all of the calories come from protein, some fat, and none of the carbohydrates.
No single whole plant source compares to these macros. Three quarters of a cup of tofu will give you about the same calories, but with only 15 grams of protein. (The rest is carbohydrates and fats.) Or try 100 grams of rice and beans: 150 calories, but only 5 grams of protein. (The rest is mostly carbohydrates.)
So if you want to build muscle on plant-based foods, you’ll have to work a little harder than an omnivore to get all your protein without going over your target calorie level. You will most likely need a protein powder to make up for the difference, while an omnivore can more easily satisfy their needs with a few meat dishes.
To get all the amino acids, you may need more plant protein than animal protein.
When we say that we need protein in our diet, what we really mean is that we need amino acids. There are 20 amino acids, nine of which we cannot produce in our body and must be included in our diet.
Animal products tend to contain a balanced set of amino acids – if you eat meat as your main source of protein, you will get a lot of all the amino acids you need. But plant foods are not always as well balanced. This is why vegetable proteins are sometimes referred to as inferior “quality” proteins. There is nothing wrong with protein itself; quality refers only to amino acid balance. (Another term for the presence of all essential amino acids is “complete” protein.)
A plant-based diet will still provide you with all the amino acids if you have a reasonable variety of foods. For example, rice and beans balance each other perfectly. Soy is one of the few complete plant proteins, so tofu is a great choice. Many plant-based protein powders contain all of the essential amino acids.
Because it is more difficult to get a good amino acid balance with a vegan diet than with an omnivore, and because plant-based protein sources are sometimes less digestible, some guidelines recommend that vegan athletes aim for slightly higher total protein than omnivores. just to make sure you cover all your needs. Others recommend getting extra leucine , an amino acid found in legumes that you can also buy as a supplement.
In the end, you can build muscle with plant-based proteins, but you’ll have to think a little more when planning your diet to make sure you’re getting enough.