Vegetable proteins are the perfect choice for vegetarians and vegans alike, as they so not contain any animal-derived ingerdients.
Proteins found in plants often lack all 9 essential amino acids (essential for life). Therefore not all plant proteins are considered complete (except quiona and soybean).
However, they do contain higher amounts of amino acids, for example, pea and soy proteins contain more L-arginine than whey proteins. L-arginine is an amino acid responsible for vasodilation and lowering blood pressure, and it provides more nutrition to the muscles during exercise. However, the amino acids that are most abundant in muscles (BCAA and L-glutamine) suffer from a lack of supply.
To supplement the amino acid profiles, there are blended vegetable proteins which become a complete protein source. We offer a number of such protein powders. A common source of blended plant proteins:
- Hemp protein
- Pea protein
- Brown rice
- Pumpkin seeds
- Soy
Why is protein intake important?
During sport and physical exercise, the proteins that build up the muscles are damaged (so-called micro-tears). To heal this, an inflammatory process occurs, during which the inflammatory cells digest (catabolize) the damaged muscle fibres and new protein is produced (synthesized) to replace them. - This explains muscle fever.
The processes of protein synthesis (building) and protein catabolism (breaking down) occur in parallel in our body.
The main requirement for muscle building is that protein synthesis is positive, i.e. more new protein is built in than is broken down - a growing number of studies are finding that even a calorie surplus is not necessarily required to build muscle, so with the right diet and training protocol, you can increase muscle and reduce fat mass at the same time.
With adequate protein intake, stimulating muscle growth can help preserve muscle during weight loss. Adequate protein intake is essential for all people.