- New research has investigated whether a vegan diet with protein sourced from non-animal products could support muscle growth and repair as effectively as a diet that includes animal protein during strength training.
- The study involved young and healthy adults split into two groups, one consuming a high-protein animal-based diet and the other a high-protein non-animal-based diet.
- Results showed that both groups gained a similar amount of muscle mass and strength, indicating that a high-protein, non-animal-derived diet can be as effective as a diet that consists mainly of animal-derived protein sources, when paired with resistance training.
New research, published in the Journal of Nutrition, found that fungi-derived mycoprotein (Quorn) is just as effective at supporting muscle building during resistance training as animal protein.
The study included two parts. In the first part of the study, 16 young and healthy adults (eight men and eight women) were split into two groups.
Both groups did leg exercises every day, but one group (named OMNI1) ate a diet with high protein from animal sources while the other group (VEG1) ate a diet with high protein from non-animal sources.
The researchers measured how much muscle protein was made during exercise and at rest.
In the second part of the study, 22 young and healthy adults (11 men and 11 women) did a 10-week leg exercise program five days a week.
Some of them ate a high-protein diet from animal sources (OMNI2) and others ate a high-protein diet from non-animal sources (VEG2).
The research team measured the size of leg muscles, overall body muscle, muscle strength, and function before and after the program and at two and five weeks into it.
During the study, researchers found that exercising the legs increased the rate of muscle protein production by about 12% compared to when the legs were at rest.
Both groups gained a similar amount of muscle mass and muscle fiber size, as well as increased muscle strength in various muscle…
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