Research

Hormonal

Whey protein supplementation (Concentrate and Hydrolysate) increases skeletal muscle satellite cell counts compared to baseline, whereas soy and leucine do not, suggesting a potential mechanism for long-term adaptation despite no immediate hypertrophy benefit.

While whey, soy, and leucine all support similar muscle size gains in beginners, whey might offer a unique benefit by increasing satellite cells (muscle repair cells). This might not show up in 12 weeks, but could be beneficial for long-term training. If you prefer whey, this is a potential bonus, but it's not a requirement for growth.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Interestingly, satellite cell counts within the WPC (p < 0.05) and WPH (p < 0.05) groups were greater at T39 relative to T1.
C. Brooks Mobley et al. · Nutrients · 2017

Why this rating

Same high-quality RCT design; histological analysis is robust.

Source

Effects of Whey, Soy or Leucine Supplementation with 12 Weeks of Resistance Training on Strength, Body Composition, and Skeletal Muscle and Adipose Tissue Histological Attributes in College-Aged Males

C. Brooks Mobley et al. · Nutrients · 2017

DOI 10.3390/nu9090972

rct · n=75Cited 105×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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