It's not just how fast amino acids show up in your blood after eating — it's how much your body gets over time that might matter more for building muscle.

Protein Type, Protein Dose, and Age Modulate Dietary Protein Digestion and Phenylalanine Absorption Kinetics and Plasma Phenylalanine Availability in Humans

Ingestion of Free Amino Acids Compared with an Equivalent Amount of Intact Protein Results in More Rapid Amino Acid Absorption and Greater Postprandial Plasma Amino Acid Availability Without Affecting Muscle Protein Synthesis Rates in Young Adults in a Double-Blind Randomized Trial

Influence of protein source (cricket, pea, whey) on amino acid bioavailability and activation of the mTORC1 signaling pathway after resistance exercise in healthy young males