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Vegans Need More Protein.
But how much more?
Protein is a non-negotiable for health and fitness, especially for athletic performance and muscle growth.
The amino acids that make up proteins help with various bodily functions and crucially for any regular in the gym, help to repair and build muscle.
Vegans rely on plant-based protein sources, which are considered inferior in the scientific and fitness communities to proteins from animal-sourced foods like eggs, dairy, and meat. This is due to their poorer bioavailability, among other things.
In this article, we use science to discuss whether vegans require more protein than the rest of us to achieve their fitness goals.
Protein Quality
Amino acid composition, protein digestibility, and availability are the determining factors for assessing dietary protein quality.
Plant-sourced proteins are typically inferior in quality to animal-sourced proteins like eggs, meat, and dairy.
The amino acid composition of animal-sourced proteins closely matches our own, which means their digestibility and bioavailability are high. Digesting proteins in the same approximate ratio as our body simplifies the process of protein synthesis.
