Macro partitioning
Increasing the dose of plant-based protein (e.g., 60g wheat) or blending complementary plant proteins (e.g., maize/soy) can overcome the inferior anabolic response of single plant sources in older adults, matching the efficacy of animal proteins.
If you eat plants, don't just eat a small scoop of protein powder. You need to eat more of it to get the same muscle-building signal as meat. Try mixing different plant proteins (like rice and pea) to get a better balance of amino acids, or ensure you are getting enough total protein at each meal to hit the leucine threshold.
Ingesting a greater amount of wheat protein (i.e. 60 g), matched for the leucine content of whey protein, prolonged the postprandial increase in plasma leucine concentrations and increased muscle protein synthesis rates to a similar extent as casein.
Why this rating
Based on acute metabolic studies; long-term chronic data for these specific high-dose plant strategies in older adults is less robust than for animal proteins.
Source
Characterising the muscle anabolic potential of dairy, meat and plant-based protein sources in older adults
Stefan H. M. Gorissen et al. · Proceedings of The Nutrition Society · 2017
DOI 10.1017/s002966511700194x
More from this paper
- Animal-derived proteins (dairy, meat) elicit a superior postprandial muscle protein synthesis response in older adults compared to plant-based proteins (soya, wheat) due to higher digestibility, superior essential amino acid profiles (specifically leucine, lysine, methionine), and faster amino acid absorption kinetics.Good
- Prior resistance exercise and n-3 fatty acid (EPA/DHA) supplementation can sensitize skeletal muscle to plant-based proteins, enhancing the muscle protein synthesis response in older adults.Moderate
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