In plant-based diets, protein isolates and legumes provide most of the essential amino acids like lysine, and eating enough of these foods is required to meet the body's amino acid needs.
Mechanism
Synthesis from 1 study
Eating beans or plant protein powders gives your body the essential amino acids it can't make on its own, especially lysine. Without enough of these from those foods, your body can't build or repair muscles and tissues properly.
Most probable mechanism
When people eat beans or plant protein powders, their bodies break them down into amino acids like lysine, which are then absorbed into the blood. These amino acids are used to build and repair tissues, and without enough of them from these specific foods, the body can't get what it needs.
Digestion of legumes and protein isolates releases high concentrations of digestible lysine and other indispensable amino acids into the intestinal lumen.
Absorption of these amino acids across the intestinal epithelium elevates plasma concentrations of indispensable amino acids above catabolic thresholds.
Elevated plasma indispensable amino acid levels support protein synthesis in skeletal muscle and other tissues by maintaining mTORC1 signaling and reducing amino acid catabolism.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Community contributions welcome
Contradicting (0)
Community contributions welcome
Gold Standard Evidence Needed
According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.