‘Where do you get your protein?’ is probably the most common question every vegan gets asked. And none more so than athletes and regular exercisers. Dietary protein is needed to repair muscle cells damaged during intense exercise as well as to build new muscle proteins. But can you get enough protein from plant-based foods for optimal performance and recovery?
How much protein is considered optimal?
Regular exercise increases your protein requirement to the tune of 1.2 – 2 g per kg of body weight per day (vs 0.75g for the general population), depending on the type, intensity and duration of your activity. Studies suggest that 20 – 25g per meal is the optimal amount of protein to promote muscle protein synthesis (MPS) following resistance training. However, you may need around 40 g in your post-workout meal if you have done a whole-body resistance workout (as opposed to legs-only) or if you are over 60. Additional protein helps counteract the anabolic resistance that occurs as we get older.
How can vegan athletes get enough protein?
When you cut meat or animal products from your diet, you also eliminate a primary source of protein. Therefore, you will have to put more thought into how you will reach your protein goals using plant-based sources.
The key is to develop an understanding of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. There are 20 amino acids in the human body, but only 9 of these are essential, meaning they must come from the diet.
All plants contain all 9 essential amino acids (EAAs) although pulses, grains, nuts and seeds tend to contain relatively low concentrations of one or more EAAs. On the other hand, soya products (e.g. tofu and soya milk alternative), quinoa, chia and hemp seeds, buckwheat and amaranth contain EAAs in ratios more closely matched to the body’s needs. Provided you eat a variety of plant-based foods, any shortfall of EAAss in one food is compensated by the higher amounts found in another. For example, rice is low in lysine and high in methionine while lentils are high in lysine and low in methionine. Eating both foods will give you all nine essential amino acids.
Contrary to popular belief, plant proteins do not need to be combined in each meal in order to achieve an adequate intake of amino acids. The body has a pool of amino acids, which it draws upon and uses as required.
In other words, a vegan diet can provide enough protein as long as a variety of plant protein sources are consumed and energy intakes are adequate.
Are plant proteins as good as animal proteins for building muscle?
Until recently, plant proteins were considered less effective for building muscle than animal proteins owing to their lower amino acid concentration. Indeed, studies show that soya protein produces a smaller MPS response in the immediate (3 – 5 hour) post-exercise period than animal proteins. This is likely due to its lower leucine concentration. However, MPS following resistance exercise can last for 24 hours or more, so it is more meaningful to look at longer term muscle mass gains.
A meta-analysis of nine long-term studies (longer than six weeks) found that plant proteins are as good as animal proteins for increasing strength and muscle mass, provided you eat enough of them. The researchers found that soya and whey protein supplements produce similar gains in strength and muscle mass following resistance training. There was no difference in bench press, squat strength or total lean body mass gains between those consuming whey and those consuming soya supplements.
These results support the findings of a previous meta-analysis, which found that provided you hit a minimum threshold intake of 1.6g/ kg/ body weight, the protein source (soya vs whey) makes no difference to your strength and muscle mass gains. More recently, a study at the University of Sao Paulo and McMaster University compared gains in leg muscle mass and strength between vegans and omnivores consuming 1.6g protein/ day for 12 weeks (Hevia-Larraín et al., 2021). Researchers found no difference in gains between the groups, suggesting that plant proteins are just as effective as animal proteins for building muscle provided you consume enough of them.
Which are the best protein sources for vegan athletes?
The richest vegan sources of protein (and leucine) are soya-based foods. Firm tofu contains 13g per 100g, while tempeh (21g/ 100g) and soya mince (15g/ 100g) contain levels comparable to meat and fish. Soya products along with quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, chia and hemp seeds are considered ‘high quality’ or ‘complete’ proteins as they contain all nine essential amino acids in ratios closely matched to the body’s needs.
Beans, lentils and peas typically contain 7 – 9g per 125g portion (or half a 400g tin), while edamame beans (young soya beans) contain 15g per 125g portion. Hummus comes in lower, at 3g per 50g portion – owing to its higher water and oil content. Nuts and seeds contain 6 – 9g per 30g portion.
You may be surprised to learn that many grains, such as pasta, bread and oats, are also valuable sources of protein. Even green vegetables such as broccoli supply a few grams. So, if you were to eat a portion of pasta (9g), beans (9g) and broccoli (4g), then you will be getting 22 g protein – the amount deemed optimal for muscle building.
If you enjoyed this article and want to find out more about food and nutrition, as well as some easy and tasty meal inspiration, then my new book, The Vegan Athlete’s Cookbook is now available from Amazon, Waterstones, Bloomsbury and other booksellers.
Exciting, healthy and tasty vegan recipes with the nutrients you need to train, recover and perform.
Whether you already live a vegan lifestyle, embrace a meat-free day each week or you simply want to try some amazing flavour combinations, The Vegan Athlete’s Cookbook will help you create easy, nutrient-packed meals to support your training goals.
With a focus on performance, every recipe has been created to provide a high level of nutrients that will fuel your body. All the main meal recipes supply at least 20g protein per serving, the optimal amount needed for muscle recovery.
Getting enough protein in your diet is important for everyone – but especially for athletes. Along with helping you feel fuller for longer, this macronutrient helps build and repair your muscles, cartilage, ligaments after a tough workout. It also makes skin, bones, hair and lots of other tissues as well as enzymes, hormones, and antibodies for your immune system. Although most of the energy used during exercise comes from carbohydrate and fat, protein also contributes to the fuel mixture, to the tune of 2 – 5% – and even more if you’re low on carbohydrate.
Even if you hit the recommended guidelines, you may not be getting enough protein to recover fully from your workouts. According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition, athletes need more protein than the average person and recommends consuming between 1.4g and 2g of protein per kilogram a day . For a 70kg athlete, this equates to 98g to 140g per day. This is needed to repair muscle fibres damaged from training and improve recovery as well as to build mitochondrial proteins, the powerhouses of the muscle cells that make energy.
How much protein you should consume in one serving is a subject of debate by scientists. Most believe that around 0.25g of protein per kg of body weight, is the optimal amount for building muscle mass, or an absolute amount of 20g of protein per meal. Anything greater than this won’t give you any performance advantage since muscle protein synthesis is maxed out around 20 g of protein at one time. Instead it would be used for energy or excreted in our urine. As a rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to consume 20g of protein as soon as possible after training and in each of your meals and snacks. Here are 20 ways to hit the 20g mark at breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as in your snacks.
Where should your protein come from?
Although meat is a concentrated source of protein, you can easily obtain enough protein from other foods. Dairy, beans, lentils, tofu and eggs, for example, are all excellent sources of protein so it’s not difficult to get your daily quota.
When we talk about protein we are really talking about amino acids. These are the building blocks of proteins that are combined in many different ways to make hundreds of different proteins, each with specific roles in the body. Nine cannot be created in the body and are called ‘essential amino acids’ (EAAs). These must be provided by the diet. It is the amount of these EAAs in foods that determine how useful the protein is to the body.
Foods containing high levels of all EAAs are regarded as ‘high quality’ or ‘complete’ proteins. These include meat, dairy, eggs and soya. On the other hand, plant sources such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds and grains are lacking in one or more essential amino acid so are not as ‘complete’ or useful on their own. This makes them less efficient at building muscle than animal proteins.
However, you can compensate for the lower anabolic properties of plant protein by eating bigger quantities to get higher amounts of EAAs or by combining more than one source to produce a more balanced amino acid profile, e.g. beans and rice. Maastrict University researchers showed that consuming 20g plant protein typically results in submaximal MPS but consumption of a greater amount and/ or combining more than one plant protein augments the MPS response.
To supplement or not?
The International Association of Athletic Federations recommends whole-food sources of protein rather than supplements. Not only are they generally less expensive, but they can offer a range of other nutrients. What’s more, studies have shown that food sources, such as dairy or soya milk, are just as effective for muscle recovery as protein supplements. Specifically, the interaction of the other nutrients contained within the food matrix, may actually increase the use of protein for muscle repair.
Despite the attractive claims, there’s no evidence that consuming more protein than you need will lead to bigger muscles or greater strength gains. But that’s not to say that there aren’t circumstances where a protein shake or bar comes in handy, for example if you’re training or competing in an environment where there’s no opportunity to store or prepare foods. Also protein supplements may be helpful if you find it difficult to meet your protein quota from food alone, for example, if you’re following a vegan diet.
Of the animal-based supplements, whey is a good post-exercise choice as it is digested and absorbed rapidly, while casein taken before bedtime may help promote muscle recovery as it is absorbed at a slower rate. Vegan protein foods tend to be bulkier and more filling, making it harder to meet daily protein needs. Another limitation is that most plant-based proteins fall short of one or two essential amino acids (EAAs), so won’t promote muscle building as effectively as animal-based proteins unless two or more plant proteins are combined. Soy protein is probably your best option as it has more leucine (an EAA thought to trigger muscle building) but pea and rice blends are also good.
More than 100 delicious recipes for breakfasts, salads, burgers, falafels, soups, curries, stews, weekend dinners, desserts and snacks that take 30 minutes or less to prepare
Expert advice on how to how to eat well and improve your performance
One of the biggest myths surrounding vegetarian and vegan diets is that they cannot supply enough protein for optimal performance. But this simply isn’t true. Thanks to documentaries like The Game Changers and the growing list of high-profile sportspeople who attribute their recent success to the benefits of a plant-based diet – Chris Froome, Venus Williams, Scott Jurek, Tom Daley, Adam Peaty, David Haye and Lewis Hamilton to name a few – the popular image of a weak vegetarian or vegan athlete has been buried. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger has joined the ranks of converts.
Anecdotally, there’s plenty of support for the performance benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet. Converts claim to have had increased energy, faster recovery, less illness and fewer injuries since giving up meat. Veganism, it seems, has become not only acceptable but even desirable. But what does the science say? Can you really build muscle on a vegetarian or vegan diet?
When it comes to health, vegetarian and vegan diets may have several advantages over a typical diet with meat. They are associated with a significantly lower risk of heart disease, certain cancers, hypertension, obesity and increased longevity. Conceivably, such benefits could also confer a performance advantage. However, whether these benefits are due to the absence of meat, or to a lower intake of saturated fats, an increased intake of plant foods, fibre and phytonutrients, or the adoption of healthier lifestyle behaviours such as physical activity and avoidance of excessive alcohol has not been proven.
But researchers have suggested that plant based diets may help athletes optimise performance due to their high content of carbohydrate, antioxidant and phytonutrients. The latter two components may help reduce exercise-related oxidative stress and inflammation, and improve immune function, which could theoretically enhance recovery.
To date, only a handful of studies have looked directly at the effects of a vegetarian or vegan diet on performance. These suggest that excluding meat from your diet does not harm your strength or endurance.
In a new studypublished in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, exercise capacity in runners was similar regardless of whether participants followed a vegan, vegetarian, or meat-based diet.
A 2016 review by Australian researchers, concluded that a well-planned and varied vegetarian diet neither hinders nor improves athletic performance.
A study at Arizona State University found that vegetarian athletes had similar cardiorespiratory fitness and strength as those who ate meat.
Contrary to what many believe, it is entirely possible to get enough protein on a vegetarian or vegan diet. Yes, athletes generally need more protein than the general population – between 1.2 and 2g/ kg body weight/ day or in the region of 20g (or 0.25g/ kg of body weight) of protein per meal – but you can obtain this from many foods other than meat: dairy and egg (for vegetarians) , beans, lentils, chickpeas, peas, tofu, whole grains, quinoa, nuts and seeds.
The big question is whether plant proteins are as good as animal proteins for building muscle? The evidence points to plant protein sources being less efficient at building muscle than animal proteins. This is partly due to their lower concentrations of essential amino acids (EAAs), in particular leucine, and their lower digestibility. Leucine is an important trigger and substrate for protein synthesis. However, you can compensate for the lower anabolic properties of plant protein by
Eating bigger quantities to get higher amounts of EAAs – a 2016 study measured a significant increase in muscle protein synthesis (MPS) after consuming 60g wheat protein but not after 35g wheat protein, suggesting that eating a larger amount of plant protein is an effective strategy to compensate for its lower quality.
Combine more than one source to produce a more balanced amino acid profile, e.g. beans and rice. Maastrict University researchers showed that consuming 20g plant protein typically results in submaximal MPS but consumption of a greater amount and/ or combining different sources may possibly augment the MPS response (fig 1). Many plant proteins including beans and lentils, are leucine-rich, albeit not as well absorbed as animal protein.
Bottom Line
A vegetarian or vegan diet needs more planning but it is perfectly possible to obtain enough protein to build muscle and optimise performance without eating meat. The key is to eat a variety of plant proteins, including beans, lentils, soya products, nuts, seeds, whole grains. This doesn’t necessarily have to be at every meal, but spread over the course of the day. There are limitless possibilities of plant protein combinations, including:
Pulses with grains (e.g. Puy lentil Bolognese with pasta; Three bean chilli with rice)
Grains with soya (e.g. Porridge made with oats and soya drink)
Soya with grains (e.g. Thai green curry with tofu and rice)
Pulses with nuts or seeds (e.g. Falafel with tahini dressing)
Nuts with grains (e.g. Cashew nut roast; Nut butter on toast)
According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegetarian and vegan diets can supply enough protein – including all the essential amino acids – to support good health. While some vegan diets may be lower in certain nutrients such as vitamin B12, iron, zinc and calcium, this can be overcome by appropriate planning.
More than 100 delicious recipes for breakfasts, salads, burgers, falafels, soups, curries, stews, weekend dinners, desserts and snacks that take 30 minutes or less to prepare
Expert advice on how to how to eat well and improve your performance
If you enjoyed this article and want to find out more about food and nutrition, as well as some easy and tasty meal inspiration, then my new book, The Vegan Athlete’s Cookbook is now available from Amazon, Waterstones, Bloomsbury and other booksellers.