Proteins are the building blocks of life. Protein helps build your strength, support growth and energy levels, repair your tissues and muscles, facilitate the production of enzymes and neurotransmitters, keep your digestion and metabolism functioning and whatnot! Simply put, you need an adequate amount of protein in your everyday diet to thrive. Moreover, since people are gradually switching to vegan food and a vegetarian diet, one critical concern swirls in everyone’s mind, “Can vegan protein powder helps replace protein found in meat?”. This question has made almost every vegan stand in front of a store shelf staring at the protein supplement options they have. If you have also been there, you have landed up at the right place. This article will answer all of your questions about vegan protein and its supplement. Continue reading!
What is vegan protein powder?
Vegan protein is the cleanest alternative to whey protein that helps your body beyond building muscles. It is a protein supplement strictly derived from vegetarian sources. It is made from plant-based ingredients, including rice, hemp, pea, and soy. Besides this, you might also find other natural ingredients like monk fruit, stevia, and fruit veggie powders. They are better for your digestive system and contain healthy doses of fibre than whey.
What is the difference between whey protein and vegan protein?
The key difference between whey protein and vegan is their sources. While whey comes from cow milk, an animal product, vegan protein is derived from all-natural plant-based sources. Moreover, whey comes in mild flavour, whereas plant proteins are earthy, nutty or even bitter, depending on their composition. Lastly, plant proteins require less land, water and energy for their production than whey protein. Hence, vegan protein is not just good for you but also for the environment.
What are the benefits of vegan protein powder?
There are five popular benefits of vegan protein supplements:
- It helps improve digestion: Seeds, nuts, grains, legumes, and vegetables are good sources of healthy fibres that naturally improve digestion and absorption and reduce symptoms of bloating and gas.
- It boosts your metabolism: Plant food is a perfect combination of fibre and protein. This means your body is required to work more on metabolising the plant protein, and therefore, it becomes better at burning fat.
- It improves your cardiovascular health: Plant-based supplements contain a low level of cholesterol and saturated fats, thus helping improve your heart health.
- It contains no added hormones and antibiotics: Unlike animal-based proteins that can have extra hormones and antibiotics, there are no chances of their presence in vegan protein.
Is vegan protein healthy?
Studies have revealed that vegan protein is equally effective at promoting muscle growth, just like other proteins. Further, it can be stated that it is little or no difference observed in the body composition and muscle gain, performance or strength between the people taking plant protein or animal proteins. Additionally, vegan proteins can also be complete proteins and contain a high amount of leucine, provided they have two or more plant proteins and are fortified with BCAAs. Hence, you can reap the same benefits from vegan proteins as from animal proteins.
What to look for in a vegan protein powder?
Protein is fuel for energy and food for your muscles. So if you are thinking of incorporating a vegan protein powder supplement into your routine diet, make sure it contains:
- No animal products
- Low sugary alcohols, added fibres, and artificial sweeteners
- No or low added sugar.
- Two or more sources of plant protein
