Adding leucine to plant-based proteins makes them just as good at building muscle as whey protein, which comes from milk.

If you're a healthy young adult, eating 20 grams of plant protein from peas and canola will help your muscles grow a little after fasting, but not as much as drinking whey protein — so animal-based proteins are better at building muscle without added supplements.

If you're a healthy young adult, eating a plant-based protein shake with extra leucine can build muscle just as well as a whey protein shake, as long as both have the same essential amino acids — the leucine seems to be the secret ingredient.

Even without added leucine, a shake made from pea and canola protein can boost muscle building by more than 175% compared to when you're fasting — meaning plant-based proteins might work just as well as animal ones for building muscle.

Adding a little extra leucine to a plant-based protein shake makes your body absorb more leucine and builds more muscle compared to the shake without it, which means leucine was the missing piece your body needed.

Eating larger amounts of plant protein, like wheat, can build muscle just as effectively as eating animal proteins like whey.