Research
Macro partitioning
Post-resistance exercise ingestion of high-quality milk proteins (whey/casein) promotes greater muscle protein synthesis and lean mass accretion compared to soy protein or carbohydrate alone, primarily due to faster digestion rates and higher leucine content.
After resistance training, choose whey or casein (milk proteins) over soy or carbohydrates. Milk proteins digest faster and contain more leucine, triggering muscle growth more effectively than soy, even if the total protein amount is the same.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
When seeking to maximize protein, it appears milk proteins and their isolated forms, whey and casein, offer an anabolic advantage over soy proteins in promoting muscle hypertrophy (Fig. 2).
Why this rating
The paper is a review citing multiple controlled trials (e.g., Hartman et al., Tang et al.) showing consistent superiority of milk proteins over soy.
Source
Maximizing muscle protein anabolism: the role of protein quality
Jason E. Tang et al. · Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care · 2008
DOI 10.1097/mco.0b013e32831cef75
narrative_reviewCited 180×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
Related findings · Macro partitioning
- Total daily protein intake of 1.6 g/kg/day is sufficient for maximizing resistance training-induced muscle gains, with an upper confidence interval of 2.2 g/kg/day.Strong
- Resistance exercise training combined with sufficient dietary protein intake acts synergistically to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy, with protein intake saturating around 1.6 g/kg/day for general populations and potentially requiring 2.0-2.2 g/kg/day for resistance-trained individuals.Strong
- Trans fats should be completely eliminated from the diet, as they increase LDL cholesterol, decrease HDL cholesterol, and are directly associated with increased coronary risk.Strong
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