Can plant protein build muscle as well as meat protein?
High-Protein Plant-Based Diet Versus a Protein-Matched Omnivorous Diet to Support Resistance Training Adaptations: A Comparison Between Habitual Vegans and Omnivores
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
This study asked if young men can gain muscle just as well on a plant-based diet with soy as on a diet with meat and whey protein, when both get the same amount of protein and do the same workouts.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 560 / 72
Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
This study asked if young men can gain muscle just as well on a plant-based diet with soy as on a diet with meat and whey protein, when both get the same amount of protein and do the same workouts.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 560 / 72
Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Publication
Authors
Hevia-Larraín V, Gualano B, Longobardi I, Gil S, Fernandes AL, Costa LAR, Pereira RMR, Artioli GG, Phillips SM, Roschel H
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Claims (4)
If you eat the same amount of protein and lift weights the same way, it doesn’t matter whether your protein is fast- or slow-digesting—even if it’s from plants like soy—your muscle gains will be about the same.
If young guys who don’t work out much eat a plant-based or meat-based diet with the same amount of protein and lift weights for 12 weeks, they’ll gain about the same amount of leg muscle and strength.
If you're a vegan or meat-eater and both of you lift weights and eat the same amount of protein every day, your muscles will grow just as much over three months — it doesn't matter where your protein comes from.
If young guys who don't usually lift weights eat about 1.6 grams of protein per kilo of body weight every day—whether from plant-based foods and soy protein or from regular mixed diets with whey—they can get noticeably stronger in their legs after 12 weeks of weight training.