Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - This Is Everything You Need to Know About Pea Protein

Episode Date: May 11, 2018

When it comes to protein powders, whey and casein rule the roost, racking up close to $5 billion in annual sales. They deserve the limelight, too. Research has shown time and again that they’re two of the best sources of high-quality protein that you can eat. What if you don’t want to supplement with either, though? What other options do you have? You can simply eat more whole foods, but that can be easier said than done depending on your circumstances. Many people turn to soy protein powder, but that probably isn’t optimal, and especially for men. Many others choose other popular alternatives like hemp or rice protein, and many still go in for more obscure supplements like beef or collagen protein. Pea, however, is often overlooked because of concerns about its amino acid profile, digestibility, and taste. Many people simply think that peas can’t provide them with protein that’s suitable for gaining muscle or losing fat, and that it probably tastes godawful. Well, they’re wrong. As you’ll see, pea protein is actually one of the best plant-based forms of protein that you can eat–on par with the best of animal-derived powders–and, when flavored and sweetened well, has a uniquely pleasant taste. So, if you want to learn how pea protein is made, what its main benefits and drawbacks are, how it compares to whey and casein, and how to choose the best pea protein powder for you, then you want to listen to this episode. 5:01 - What is pea protein? 5:53 - Is pea protein a complete protein? 9:10 - What are the benefits of pea protein? 11:33 - What are the downsides of pea protein? 14:05- How do I choose a good pea protein? Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter! Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

Studies have shown that people can gain just about as much muscle with pea protein supplementation as with whey powder. Hey, welcome to another episode of the Muscle for Life podcast. This is Mike Matthews from Muscle for Life and Legion Athletics. And this time we're going to talk pea protein, which is, I think, one of the unsung heroes of protein powders. Because, as you will learn, it is a complete protein. It is well digested. It is highly bioavailable.

And it's almost as good as whey protein for building muscle. And also, I think it tastes pretty good, actually. As far as plant-based proteins go, a pea rice blend is pretty nice. Now, when it comes to protein powders, there's no question that whey and casein rule the roost. They rack up close to $5 billion in annual sales and they deserve the limelight. Research has shown time and again that these are two of the best sources of high quality protein that you can eat. Now, what if you don't want to supplement with either of them, though, for whatever reason? What other options do you have?

Of course, you could just eat more whole foods, but that can be easier said than done, depending on your circumstances, on your lifestyle, on your food preferences, on your schedule, and so forth. Many people that don't want whey or casein turn to soy protein, but that's probably not optimal. Unfortunately, while soy protein is good from a muscle building perspective, it's probably not so good for men because of the phytoestrogens and that would make for a good episode actually. But if you want to read more about that, head over to legionathletics.com and search for soy and you will find a couple articles that I wrote going over this. The long story short though is it's probably best for most men to eat as little soy protein as possible. A little bit here and there is not going to do anything, but if you

are having a significant amount regularly, it's probably not going to be good for your hormone profile. Other popular alternatives are hemp protein, rice protein, and some people go in for more obscure stuff like beef or collagen protein. Pea protein, however, is often overlooked mostly because of concerns about its amino acid profile, its digestibility, and its taste. Many people think that peas just can't provide them with protein that is good for gaining muscle or losing fat. Well, these people are wrong. As you will learn in this podcast, pea protein is actually one of the best plant-based forms of protein that you can eat. It's on par with many of the best animal derived protein powders. And when it is flavored and sweetened well, I think it has a uniquely pleasant taste. So if you want to learn how pea

protein is made, what its main benefits and drawbacks are, how it compares to the king and queen whey and casein, and how to choose the best protein powder for you, then you want to keep listening. This is where I would normally plug a sponsor to pay the bills, but I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in. So instead, I'm just going to quickly tell you about something of mine, So instead, I'm just going to quickly tell you about something of mine. Specifically, my 100% natural post-workout supplement Recharge. Recharge helps you gain muscle and strength faster and recover better from your workouts. And it's also naturally sweetened and flavored and it contains no artificial food dyes, fillers, or other unnecessary junk. All that is why it has over 700 reviews on Amazon with a four and a half star average

and another 200 on my website, also with a four and a half star average. So if you want to be able to push harder in the gym, train more frequently and get more out of your workouts, then you want to head over to www.legionathletics.com and pick up a bottle of Recharge today. And just to show how much I appreciate my podcast peeps, use the coupon code podcast at checkout and you will save 10% on your entire order. And lastly, you should also know that I have a very simple 100% money back guarantee that works like this. You either love my stuff or you get your money back, period. You don't have to return the products. You don't have to fill out forms. You don't have to jump through any other hoops or go through any other shenanigans. So you really can't lose here. Head over to

www.lesionathletics.com now, place your order and see for yourself why my supplements have thousands of rave reviews all over the internet. And if for whatever reason, they're just not for you, contact us and we will give you a full refund on the spot. Alrighty, that is enough shameless plugging for now at least. Let's get to the show. So what is pea protein exactly? Well, it is more or less what it sounds like. It's protein that is extracted from peas and specifically it is obtained by first drying and then grounding peas into a fine flour, mixing that flour with water and then removing the fiber and starch, leaving mostly protein with a smattering of vitamins and minerals. This paste is then dried

and ground into a even finer powder, creating pea protein isolate, which provides the following nutrition in just one 30 gram serving. So it's about a hundred calories, 23 grams of protein, seven grams of carbohydrate, 0.3 grams of fat, six grams of fiber, 400 IUs of vitamin D, 5 IUs of vitamin E, 5 micrograms of vitamin K, and 200 IUs of vitamin A. Now, is pea protein a complete protein? This, of course, is one of the criticisms often leveled against pea protein and really any plant-based protein is that it does not have all the amino acids that you need to build muscle. It does not have all of the essential amino acids. This is wrong. Pea protein is a complete protein. And to fully answer this, we really need to start

with a discussion of amino acids. So amino acids are the building blocks of protein and thus every tissue in your body, including muscle tissue. Now the body needs 21 different amino acids to stay alive and nine of them must be obtained from food because the rest can be synthesized by the body from other molecules. Nine, however, cannot. And these are known as essential amino acids or EAAs. And one of them in particular, leucine is especially related to muscle building,

which is why research shows that the leucine content of a meal directly affects the amount of muscle growth that occurs as a result of eating it. So in other words, high leucine foods have a higher muscle building potential than low leucine foods. Now, if a source of protein has all nine essential

amino acids, it's called a complete protein. And you've probably heard that various plant proteins like pea protein are missing one or more of these essential amino acids, making them incomplete proteins and that they must be combined in certain ways, usually with other types of plant proteins that can fill the holes. And again, this is not true. Researchers at MIT debunked this claim a couple of decades ago, actually, and proved that all vegetable proteins contain all essential amino acids. That said, they also found that some sources of protein are lower in certain essential amino acids than others. That's key, of course.

For example, popular sources of animal protein like dairy and meat are very rich in essential amino acids, making them extremely popular among people who are trying to improve their body composition. Whereas the protein found in many vegetables are not very rich in these essential amino acids, making them less conducive to muscle gain. P protein, however, is a standout exception because it is rich in all nine essential amino acids except for one called methionine, which is easy to correct for by including small amounts of animal protein in your diet or even other plant proteins that have a lot of methionine like rice protein. Hey, quickly, before we carry on, if you are liking my podcast,

would you please help spread the word about it? Because no amount of marketing or advertising gimmicks can match the power of word of mouth. So if you are enjoying this episode and you think of someone else who might enjoy it as well, please do tell them about it. It really helps me. And if you are going to post about it on social media, definitely tag me so I can say thank you. You can find me on Instagram at muscle for life fitness, Twitter at muscle for life and Facebook at muscle for life fitness. You can find me on Instagram at Muscle for Life Fitness, Twitter at Muscle for Life, and Facebook at Muscle for Life Fitness. Okay, so pea protein is a complete protein and it's rich in essential amino acids.

What other benefits does it have to offer? Well, it is rich in the one amino acid in particular that us muscle building people care most about, which is leucine, right? P protein is actually about 9% leucine by weight, which is fantastic for muscle building purposes. Whey, for example, is about 10 to 11% leucine by weight. And this is probably why studies have shown that people can gain just about as much muscle with P protein supplementation as with whey powder. Now, another reason why pea protein deserves praise is it is almost pure protein, which is of course what we want from

our protein powders. We want to eat our carbs and fats, not drink them. At least I want to. Specifically, pea protein isolate is about 85% protein, 7% fat, 3% carbohydrate, and 5% vitamins and minerals. And for comparison, whey protein isolate is the purest form of protein you can buy. And it's about 90% protein by weight. So pea protein is pretty close. Pea protein also digests slowly, which makes it perfect for taking before you go to bed because studies show that having a slowly digesting protein before sleep can increase muscle growth over time. And this also may make protein better for improving body composition over time than only having faster digesting options like whey. Now, this is still an area of contention. It's an under-researched question, but there is evidence that shows that slower

digesting proteins are generally better for muscle growth over the long term due to how your body's muscle building machinery processes amino acids into muscle tissue. And lastly, pea protein is also quite filling, which makes it a perfect meal replacement if you need an on-the-go snack. This is a particularly welcome benefit when you are cutting. I am cutting right now, and one of the things I really like about pea protein, which is in my plant-based protein supplement Thrive, is one serving is way more filling than one serving of whey. It provides more or less the same amount of protein, but I am noticeably

less hungry an hour or two later with the plant proteins than the whey protein. Okay, so those are the main benefits. What about the downsides? Because everything has downsides, right? Well, pea protein's amino acid profile is lacking in one regard. We recall that it is low in methionine. And as I said earlier, this isn't really an issue because methionine is abundant in many other foods that people generally like to eat, especially omnivorous people like chicken, oats, and eggs. This would really only present a problem if pea protein were more or less your only source of protein and you didn't eat other foods that provided sufficient amounts.

Now, I have seen this working with some vegans in particular who are relying mostly on pea protein supplementation and whose diets were pretty unbalanced and unoptimized for vegan dieters. And that's really the key to making a vegan diet work, especially if you're an athlete or if you're just into weightlifting. Yes, you can make it work, but you have to work on it a bit more than you do with an omnivorous diet to make sure that you are getting enough key nutrients. So if you are getting your protein from a variety of sources, and if you are also eating methionine rich foods, then you don't have anything to worry about here. P protein will be just fine for you.

Now, another common criticism of P protein is that it isn't easily digested and it isn't well absorbed due to anti-nutrients and other inherent deficiencies. And this simply isn't true. Anti-nutrients are compounds that interfere with the absorption of other nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals. And it's true that they tend to be much higher in plant foods than animal foods. And yes, these substances are naturally present in peas, but what people are not telling you is they are more or less completely eliminated through the standard processes used to create pea protein isolate. Studies also show that pea protein is highly bioavailable, almost equally so as animal protein.

So anti-nutrients clearly are not causing problems here. You may have also heard that pea protein is more likely to produce allergic reactions than other plant-based proteins. And while research shows that this is technically true, pea allergies are also very, very rare, which is why pea protein is actually often recommended as a source of protein for people with allergies to more widely eaten foods like soy and dairy. Lastly, many people think that because eating peas tends to make them bloated, pea protein will do the same. And fortunately, most of the substances that are naturally present in peas that can cause this are not present in pea protein isolate. So again, this really isn't a concern. Now, how do you choose a good pea protein? This is important because not all pea protein powders

are the same. Some are higher quality than others. And unfortunately, there's no way to know how any given pea protein supplement rates just by looking at it or even looking at the nutrition facts panel. And that's why choosing a good pea protein mostly comes down to trusting the company that you're buying from. So if you feel that the company has proven their honesty and their integrity, and if they have earned your confidence as a customer, then they should get your business. If not, then I would say look elsewhere. And for my part, I work hard to demonstrate my commitment to producing high quality science based transparent, clean supplements and to selling them honestly and responsibly.

And if that approach resonates with you, then you should definitely check out my 100% vegan protein powder thrive that I mentioned earlier. Check out my 100% vegan protein powder Thrive that I mentioned earlier. You can learn more about it at legionathletics.com, L-E-G-I-O-N, athletics.com slash thrive. Now, I myself am a big fan of Thrive, even though I am not a vegan or vegetarian. I have two servings a day because each serving provides you with 25 grams of high quality plant protein, including 23 grams of pea protein, along with 10 additional nutrients that vegan and vegetarian diets in particular tend to be low in. And that in some cases, even us omnivorous dieters can benefit as well.

In addition to four enzymes to help you better digest and absorb it all, Thrive is also 100% naturally sweetened and it tastes really good. I really like the taste of our whey, but I would say Thrive is on par. I really enjoy drinking. I think it also has a nice creamy mouthfeel and I just mix with water too. I haven't even tried it with milk. Actually, it's probably even better with milk or a dairy substitute. And of course, even better with milk or a dairy substitute. And of course, Thrive also contains no unnecessary fillers, dyes, or other chemicals. So if you want to build muscle and lose fat as quickly as possible and improve the nutritional quality of your diet without having to eat more animal protein, then you should definitely check out Thrive. Okay. So the bottom line here on pea protein is that pea protein is one of the best plant-based protein powders out there.

It is mostly protein by weight. It is well digested, well absorbed. It is a complete protein. It contains an abundance of most of the essential amino acids, including the big boy leucine, and it tastes pleasantly different. It does have an Achilles heel, but it's not that bad. It's just low in the amino acid methionine, which is easily mitigated by eating a balanced diet and very easily mitigated if you eat an omnivorous diet. And all this is why a pea protein powder is just as viable of an option for protein

supplementation as anything else, including the heavy hitters like whey and casein. Hey there, it is Mike again. I hope you enjoyed this episode and found it interesting and helpful. And if you did, and don't mind doing me a favor and want to help me make this the most popular health and fitness podcast on the internet, then please leave a quick review of it on iTunes or wherever you're listening from. This not only convinces people that they should check the show out, it also increases its search visibility and thus helps more people find their way to me and learn how to build their best bodies ever too. And of course, if you want to be notified when the next episode goes live, then just subscribe to the podcast and

you won't miss out on any of the new goodies. Lastly, if you didn't like something about the show, then definitely shoot me an email at mike at muscle for life.com and share your thoughts on how you think it could be better. I read everything myself and I'm always looking for constructive feedback. So please do reach out. All right, that's it. Thanks again for listening to this episode, and I hope to hear from you soon. And lastly, this episode is brought to you by me. Seriously though, I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in, so instead I'm going to just quickly tell you about something of mine. Specifically, my 100% natural post-workout supplement Recharge.

Recharge helps you gain muscle and strength faster and recover better from your workouts. And it's also naturally sweetened and flavored, and it contains no artificial food dyes, fillers, or other unnecessary junk. All that is why it has over 700 reviews on Amazon with a four and a half star average and another 200 on my website, also with a four and a half star average and another 200 on my website, also with a four and a half star average. So if you want to be able to push harder in the gym, train more frequently and get more out of your workouts, then you want to head over to www.legionathletics.com and pick up a bottle of Recharge today. And just to show how much I appreciate my podcast peeps, use the coupon code PODCAST at checkout and you will save 10% on your entire order.

And lastly, you should also know that I have a very simple 100% money back guarantee that works like this. You either love my stuff or you get your money back, period. You don't have to return the products. You don't have to return the products. You don't have to fill out forms. You don't have to jump through any other hoops or go through any other shenanigans. So you really can't lose here. Head over to www.LegionAthletics.com now, place your order, and see for yourself why my supplements have thousands of rave reviews all over the internet.

And if for whatever reason, they're just not for you, contact us and we will give you a full refund on the spot.