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Animal Protein vs Plant Protein – A Pure Protein Comparison & Overall Impact

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Animal Protein vs Plant ProteinIn the past, if people were talking about protein they meant meat, unlike today where the general perception of plant proteins has drastically evolved.  

When we compare animal protein vs plant protein, we should first analyze the protein composition coming from these two major food sources isolating it from other nutrients.   

Therefore in our attempt to evaluate protein and its value to our health, we did our best to present you data & information based on scientific studies showing the similarities & differences of proteins from animals & plants.

Other than evaluating the make-up of protein from each of these sources, we have discussed the impact of your protein choice on overall health, animals, costs and the environment.

Let’s Dig Deep Into Protein

At a most basic level, protein is made from 20 standard amino acids where microorganisms and plants have the ability to biosynthesize all 20 amino acids.

When it comes to us, we don’t store amino acids, and our bodies have to produce them from scratch, or by modifying others. The ones that we cannot synthesize on our own are referred to as essential amino acids and there are nine essential amino acids.

These nine essential amino acids are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine which should be obtained from our diet.

Below we have mentioned the factors that need to be considered in determining the quality of protein in food sources:

  • The amino acid profile of a food source and the relative amounts of each amino acid.
  • Number of essential amino acids
  • The amount of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) which increase protein bioavailability. The BCAAs are leucine, isoleucine, and valine which are part of the nine essential amino acids.
  • Biological value (BV) of each protein source shows the proportion of protein obtained from food that forms as part of the proteins in our bodies. In simple terms how efficient & effective are the absorption of protein and how well your body can use the protein you consume.
  • Allergies and digestive problems associated with proteins and how well your body can handle the sources of proteins

Animal Protein

Proteins from animal sources such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and milk are considered as ‘complete proteins’ which are readily and rapidly available to be utilized by our body.

Do note that most animal proteins are higher in sulphur containing amino acids such as cysteine and methionine that get metabolized to acid-generating metabolites which tend to acidify blood. In the process of neutralizing this acid affect, calcium buffers of the bones are used which get dissolved into the bloodstream that get filtered through our kidneys. Since many animal proteins have more sulfur-containing amino acids those sources can leach more calcium from bones.

Protein Profile Analysis of High Protein Sources from Animals

1) Beef

Protein per 100g =   32.4g DV 65%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (9 essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Betaine 15mg
  • Tryptophan 372mg 133%
  • Threonine 1467mg 140%
  • Isoleucine* 1419mg 101%
  • Leucine* 2682mg 98%
  • Lysine 2916mg 139%
  • Methionine 945mg 130%
  • Cystine 345mg 120%
  • Phenylalanine 1263mg 144%
  • Tyrosine 1149mg 131%
  • Valine* 1499mg 82%
  • Arginine 2179mg
  • Histidine 1069mg 153%
  • Alanine 1873mg
  • Aspartic acid 2984mg
  • Glutamic acid 5278mg
  • Glycine 1443mg
  • Proline 1334mg
  • Serine 1273mg
  • Hydroxyproline 164mg

*BCAAs

Biological value (BV) =  80

2) Chicken

Protein per 100g = 32.1g  DV 64%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (9 essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Betaine 10mg
  • Tryptophan 404mg 144%
  • Threonine 1438mg 137%
  • Isoleucine* 1573mg 112%
  • Leucine* 2652mg 97%
  • Lysine 3083mg 147%
  • Methionine 834mg 115%
  • Cystine 336mg 117%
  • Phenylalanine 1294mg 148%
  • Tyrosine 1155mg 132%
  • Valine* 1660mg 91%
  • Arginine 2168mg
  • Histidine 1195mg 171%
  • Alanine 1872mg
  • Aspartic acid 3015mg
  • Glutamic acid 4749mg
  • Glycine 1419mg
  • Proline 1019mg
  • Serine 1222mg

*BCAAs

Biological value (BV) =  79

3) Pork

Protein per 100g = 31g DV 62%  

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (9 essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Betaine 4mg
  • Tryptophan 369mg 132%
  • Threonine 1363mg 130%
  • Isoleucine* 1468mg 105%
  • Leucine* 2552mg 93%
  • Lysine 2757mg 131%
  • Methionine 850mg 117%
  • Cystine 350mg 122%
  • Phenylalanine 1288mg 147%
  • Tyrosine 1228mg 140%
  • Valine* 1568mg 86%
  • Arginine 1998mg
  • Histidine 1261mg 180%
  • Alanine 1776mg
  • Aspartic acid 2900mg
  • Glutamic acid 4736mg
  • Glycine 1401mg
  • Proline 1253mg
  • Serine 1295mg
  • Hydroxyproline 108mg

*BCAAs

4) Tuna

Protein per 100g = 29.9g  DV 60%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (9 essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Tryptophan 335mg 120%
  • Threonine 1311mg 125%
  • Isoleucine* 1378mg 98%
  • Leucine* 2431mg 89%
  • Lysine 2747mg 131%
  • Methionine 885mg 122%
  • Cystine 321mg 112%
  • Phenylalanine 1168mg 133%
  • Tyrosine 1010mg 115%
  • Valine* 1541mg 85%
  • Arginine 1790mg
  • Histidine 880mg 126%
  • Alanine 1809mg
  • Aspartic acid 3062mg
  • Glutamic acid 4464mg
  • Glycine 1436mg
  • Proline 1057mg
  • Serine 1220mg

*BCAAs

Biological value (BV) = 76

5) Eggs

Protein per 100g = 12.6g  DV 25%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (9 essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Betaine 1mg
  • Tryptophan 153mg 55%
  • Threonine 604mg 58%
  • Isoleucine* 686mg 49%
  • Leucine* 1075mg 39%
  • Lysine 904mg 43%
  • Methionine 392mg 54%
  • Cystine 292mg 102%
  • Phenylalanine 668mg 76%
  • Tyrosine 513mg 59%
  • Valine* 767mg 42%
  • Arginine 755mg
  • Histidine 298mg 43%
  • Alanine 700mg
  • Aspartic acid 1264mg
  • Glutamic acid 1644mg
  • Glycine 423mg
  • Proline 501mg
  • Serine 936mg

*BCAAs

Biological value (BV) =  100

6) Cheese

Protein per 100g = 32.1g  DV 64%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (9 essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Tryptophan 422mg 147%
  • Threonine 1170mg 114%
  • Isoleucine* 2041mg 141%
  • Leucine* 3149mg 118%
  • Lysine 2735mg 126%
  • Methionine 861mg 117%
  • Cystine 165mg 58%
  • Phenylalanine 1731mg 199%
  • Tyrosine 1586mg 177%
  • Valine* 2195mg 120%
  • Arginine 1242mg
  • Histidine 1154mg 160%
  • Alanine 928mg
  • Aspartic acid 2112mg
  • Glutamic acid 8042mg
  • Glycine 566mg
  • Proline 3704mg
  • Serine 1922mg

*BCAAs

7) Milk

Protein per 100g = 3.4g  DV 7%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (9 essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Betaine 1mg
  • Tryptophan 43mg 15%
  • Threonine 143mg 14%
  • Isoleucine* 174mg 12%
  • Leucine* 319mg 12%
  • Lysine 282mg 13%
  • Methionine 88mg 12%
  • Cystine 20mg 7%
  • Phenylalanine 174mg 20%
  • Tyrosine 170mg 19%
  • Valine* 220mg 12%
  • Arginine 96mg
  • Histidine 101mg 14%
  • Alanine 114mg
  • Aspartic acid 288mg
  • Glutamic acid 756mg
  • Glycine 67mg
  • Proline 332mg
  • Serine 203mg

*BCAAs

Biological value (BV) =  91

8) Whey (sweet whey)

Protein per 100g = 12.9g  DV 26%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (9 essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Tryptophan 205mg 73%
  • Threonine 817mg 78%
  • Isoleucine* 719mg 51%
  • Leucine* 1186mg 43%
  • Lysine 1030mg 49%
  • Methionine 241mg 33%
  • Cystine 253mg 88%
  • Phenylalanine 407mg 47%
  • Tyrosine 363mg 41%
  • Valine* 697mg 38%
  • Arginine 375mg
  • Histidine 237mg 34%
  • Alanine 598mg
  • Aspartic acid 1269mg
  • Glutamic acid 2248mg
  • Glycine 280mg
  • Proline 786mg
  • Serine 622mg

*BCAAs

Biological value (BV) =  104

Plant Proteins

Plant proteins such as soy, chia, spirulina, quinoa, buckwheat and hemp are all sources of ‘complete proteins’.

There are many other complementary plant proteins as well and when used in combination they compensate well for the limiting amino acids to get a similar impact equivalent to animal proteins.

Therefore other than having complete plant proteins, it’s better to mix various plant protein sources to make sure that you’re getting all the essential amino acids adequately.

Protein Profile Analysis of High Protein Sources from Plants 

1) Spirulina (Complete Protein)

Protein per 100g = 57.5g  DV 115%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (9 essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Tryptophan 929mg 332%
  • Threonine 2970mg 283%
  • Isoleucine* 3209mg 229%
  • Leucine* 4947mg 181%
  • Lysine 3025mg 144%
  • Methionine 1149mg 158%
  • Cystine 662mg 231%
  • Phenylalanine 2777mg 317%
  • Tyrosine 2584mg 295%
  • Valine* 3512mg 193%
  • Arginine 4147mg
  • Histidine 1085mg 155%
  • Alanine 4515mg
  • Aspartic acid 5793mg
  • Glutamic acid 8386mg
  • Glycine 3099mg
  • Proline 2382mg
  • Serine 2998mg

*BCAAs

Biological value (BV) =  68

2) Soy (Complete Protein)

Protein per 100g = 43.3g  DV 87%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Tryptophan 575mg 205%
  • Threonine 1719mg 164%
  • Isoleucine* 1920mg 137%
  • Leucine* 3223mg 118%
  • Lysine 2634mg 125%
  • Methionine 534mg 73%
  • Cystine 638mg 222%
  • Phenylalanine 2066mg 236%
  • Tyrosine 1497mg 171%
  • Valine*     1976mg 109%
  • Arginine 3071mg
  • Histidine 1068mg 153%
  • Alanine 1865mg
  • Aspartic acid 4977mg
  • Glutamic acid 7667mg
  • Glycine 1830mg
  • Proline 2315mg
  • Serine 2294mg

*BCAAs

Biological value (BV) =  74

3) Hemp (Complete Protein)

Protein per 100g = 31.6g  DV 63%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Tryptophan 369mg 132%
  • Threonine 1269mg 121%
  • Isoleucine* 1286mg 92%
  • Leucine* 2163mg 79%
  • Lysine 1276mg 61%
  • Methionine 933mg 128%
  • Cystine 672mg 234%
  • Phenylalanine 1447mg 165%
  • Tyrosine 1263mg 144%
  • Valine* 1777mg 98%
  • Arginine 4550mg
  • Histidine 969mg 138%
  • Alanine 1528mg
  • Aspartic acid 3662mg
  • Glutamic acid 6269mg
  • Glycine 1611mg
  • Proline 1597mg
  • Serine 1713mg

*BCAAs

Biological value (BV) =  87

4) Chia Seeds (Complete Protein)

Protein per 100g = 16.5g  DV 33%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Tryptophan 436mg 156%
  • Threonine 709mg 68%
  • Isoleucine* 801mg 57%
  • Leucine* 1371mg 50%
  • Lysine 970mg 46%
  • Methionine 588mg 81%
  • Cystine 407mg 142%
  • Phenylalanine 1016mg 116%
  • Tyrosine 563mg 64%
  • Valine* 950mg 52%
  • Arginine 2143mg
  • Histidine 531mg 76%
  • Alanine 1044mg
  • Aspartic acid 1689mg
  • Glutamic acid 3500mg
  • Glycine 943mg
  • Proline 776mg
  • Serine 1049mg

*BCAAs

5) Quinoa (Complete Protein)

Protein per 100g = 4.4g  DV 9%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Tryptophan 52mg 19%
  • Threonine 131mg 12%
  • Isoleucine* 157mg 11%
  • Leucine* 261mg 10%
  • Lysine 239mg 11%
  • Methionine 96mg 13%
  • Cystine 63mg 22%
  • Phenylalanine 185mg 21%
  • Tyrosine 83mg 9%
  • Valine* 185mg 10%
  • Arginine 340mg
  • Histidine 127mg 18%
  • Alanine 183mg
  • Aspartic acid 353mg
  • Glutamic acid 580mg
  • Glycine 216mg
  • Proline 240mg
  • Serine 176mg

*BCAAs

6) Buckwheat (Complete Protein)

Protein per 100g = 13.25 g  DV 26%

Amino Acids per 100g & DV % (essential amino acids are in bold)

  • Tryptophan 80 mg 29%
  • Threonine 220 mg 21%
  • Isoleucine* 210 mg 15%
  • Leucine* 360 mg 13%
  • Lysine 290 mg 14%
  • Methionine 70 mg 10%
  • Cysteine 100 mg 35%
  • Phenylalanine 220 mg 25%
  • Tyrosine 100 mg 11%
  • Valine* 290 mg 16%
  • Arginine 420 mg
  • Histidine 130 mg 18%
  • Alanine 320 mg
  • Aspartic Acid 490 mg
  • Glutamic Acid 880 mg
  • Glycine 440 mg
  • Proline 220 mg
  • Serine 290 mg

*BCAAs

Biological value (BV) =  93

Evaluation of Protein Profile Data

Animal Protein

Beef Chicken Pork Tuna Eggs Cheese Milk Whey Avg.
Protein per 100g 32.4 32.1 31 29.9 12.6 32.1 3.4 24.78
Biological value 80 79 76 100 91 85.2
Protein per 100g 32.4 32.1 31 29.9 12.6 32.1 3.4 12.9 23.30
Biological value 80 79 76 100 91 104 88.33

Plant Protein

Soy Chia Quinoa Hemp Buckwheat Spirulina Avg.
Protein per 100g 43.3 16.5 4.4 31.6 13.25 21.81
Biological value 74 87 93 84.67
Protein per 100g 43.3 16.5 4.4 31.6 13.25 57.5 27.76
Biological value 74 87 93 68 80.5

We first compared, mostly consumed protein sources omitting whey and spirulina to gauge the average values.   

As you can see in the avg. values column from the 1st table above, average protein per 100 grams is slightly higher with animal proteins when compared to plant proteins whereas the difference of biological value is quite negligible.

On the other hand, when you add whey and spirulina into the equation shown in the 2nd table above, average protein per 100 grams became higher for plant proteins than animal proteins and biological value remained high for animal proteins though not significant enough.

All in all, it seems the differences between the average values of the two major protein sources are quite marginal which don’t give enough weightage to pick one over the other and have a clear winner.

Thus let’s look at a few more quantitative & qualitative factors of the two protein sources which should help us differentiate them further.  

Overall Impact of Protein Food Sources

The adverse health effects linked with long-term, high protein- diets based on animal products may include heart disease, bone loss, weight gain & obesity, increased cancer risk, and disorders of the liver.

Animal proteins also appear to stimulate the insulin-like growth factor IGF-1 production irrespective of the protein coming from meat, eggs or dairy which can increase the risk of developing some cancers

Further individuals with an intake of higher vegetable proteins compared to a low animal protein consumption were associated with significantly lower levels of blood pressure.

While exclusive nutrients such vitamin B-12 are available with animal proteins which you would not find with plant proteins (though inexpensive vegan B12 supplements are available), plant-specific benefits such as phytonutrients, antioxidants and fiber are absent in animal proteins.

Though fish is generally considered to be a healthy source of protein that too may have been exposed to unhealthy levels of mercury.   

Different sources of protein can also have different impacts on the environment which we should not overlook. Animal agriculture is one of the top contributors of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which is driving climate change at an alarming rate never seen before.

In terms of protein costs, plant proteins are relatively cheaper compared to animal-based proteins.

Animal proteins are also coming from industries that abuse, exploit and slaughter animals. We don’t consider any protein is worthy of such harm & sacrifice.

Pinterest Pin: Animal Protein vs Plant Protein – A Pure Protein Comparison & Overall Impact

Conclusion

We hope you understood the merits of protein when sourced from animals & plants purely from a nutritional point of view.  

But we have to remember that we don’t consume protein in isolation when we consume food, but as part of a food matrix.

We also got to know with facts that there are many plant protein options which are ‘complete proteins’ with a good amount of BCAAs to increase protein bioavailability such as spirulina, soy, chia, quinoa, hemp and buckwheat while other plant proteins such as chickpeas, beans, nuts, and seeds are also complete or complementary proteins with many other health benefits.

Animals such as elephants, rhinos, gorillas, and horses are all creatures with great size, muscle and strength who have evolved into getting proteins from its original source. In fact, there are many vegan bodybuilders and vegan athletes with great physique & performance who have totally relied on plant proteins. Many vegans like us completely depend on plant proteins and never heard anyone having a protein deficiency while embracing many other health benefits.

Thus we consider plant proteins to be a clear winner ticking all the boxes in terms of protein composition & quality, overall health, costs, ethics, and the environment.


Related Posts:

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10466163

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9614169/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9405716/

The Vegan Bodybuilding Diet, Meat Ain’t for Rhinos!

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The Vegan Bodybuilding Diet

See what the 2nd largest land animal does? No worries, you don’t have to graze all day long to beef up!

While a vegan diet is well known for offering long-term health benefits apart from reducing the suffering of animals and harm to the environment, many may have one big lingering question—whether we can really build muscles on a vegan diet without animal proteins.

Luckily, the answer is a resounding YES with some real-life examples like Patrik Baboumian (Germany’s Strongest Man – 2011), Robert Cheeke (below image), Torre Washington, Alexander Dargatz, Laurel Fredette, Joel Kirkilis, Robbie Hazeley, Erin Fergus, Dominick Thompson, and Anastasia Zinchenko (powerlifter).

Vegan Bodybuilder - Robert Cheeke
Good nutrition is absolutely crucial for building and maintaining muscles. This means that to a great degree, everything you put into your mouth is going to have an effect on the gains from your workouts, how quickly you recover, and of course, how you build muscles.

Let’s take a look at what you need to know about nutrition and how to get the most out of your vegan bodybuilding diet while overcoming common pitfalls vegans may experience in their bodybuilding journey.

Starting Your Vegan Bodybuilding Diet and Buff Begin With Baby Steps

In the beginning, it’s not rational to expect you’ll be able to recover quickly from heavy or very frequent training.

You will need to begin slowly, adjust your diet as required, understand how you respond to training, before seeing results as bodybuilding is not a race.

It takes time for growth, but even with a low number of reps with some heavy weights, you can still stimulate gains and be well on your way to a great physique!

Your body may not have enough calories to build muscle when it’s running at a calorie deficit, so in order to start putting on extra muscle mass, you need to eat more calories before training and make those gains. In the beginning, though, try to keep your workouts at 45 minutes or less.

Vegan bodybuilding nutrition must begin with the three important macronutrients, protein, carbohydrate, and fat which form part of your base in the bodybuilding journey.

It All Starts with Protein!

When aiming to build muscle, studies show that a diet high in proteins is certainly the way to go. As a bodybuilder, it’s important to understand what constitutes as a good vegan protein for bodybuilding.

Proteins are made out of a range of different building blocks known as amino acids. The ones which we cannot produce ourselves and must consume from the diet are called the ‘essential’ amino acids. There are nine ‘essential’ amino acids.

Three of these nine essential amino acids in particular which are vital to building muscle are known as BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, and valine). BCAAs play an important role in building muscle tissue and protein synthesis.

Simply put, foods with BCAAs have greater potential for muscle growth; so it’s only sensible for you to include them in your diet while having a focus on good sources of complete & complimentary vegan proteins.

What We Need to Consider with Protein Sources

  1. Its amino acid profile
  2. Availability of essential amino acids (ideally complete protein sources)
  3. Availability of BCAAs*

*branched-chain amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, and valine

Best Vegan Protein Sources for Bodybuilding

Vegan Complete Protein Sources (nine essential amino acids with BCAAs)

  • Quinoa
  • Buckwheat
  • Soy (tofu, tempeh, edamame, soy milk)
  • Chia
  • Ezekiel bread
  • Spirulina
  • Hemp
  • Vegan protein powder


Vegan Protein Sources Rich in BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids)

  • Peanuts
  • Soybeans
  • Baked beans
  • Lima beans
  • Lentils
  • Brown rice
  • Almonds
  • Cashews
  • Whole wheat
  • Corn

Vegan Complimentary Protein Sources

  • Beans and brown rice
  • Peanut butter on wheat bread
  • Peanut butter with oatmeal
  • Hummus with whole wheat pita bread
  • Whole grain cereal with soy milk
  • Lentil with whole grain bread
  • Salads made with beans and nuts or seeds

Other Vegan Sources Rich in Protein

  • Chickpeas
  • Lentils
  • Almonds
  • Pistachios
  • Cashews
  • Walnuts
  • Flaxseed
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Navy beans
  • Kidney beans
  • Mung beans
  • Oats
  • Natto
  • Seitan

If at least 70% of your daily protein comes from high-quality protein sources like these, you’re all set for success!

But how much do you need? While there is still some debate, most reliable sources agree with the following guideline, based on your body weight:

  • 1.05 to 1.4 grams per pound, or 2.3 to 3.1 grams per kilogram of body weight (intense training and muscle gains) [1]
  • 0.5 to 1.05 grams per pound, or 1.2 to 2.3 grams per kilogram of body weight (intense training and maintenance)

Bodybuilders are recommended to spread this out over six small meals a day, so take your value from the equation above, and divide by six to see how much protein you should be aiming at each meal.

You can also choose a good vegan protein powder to help you meet any deficiencies, as this is a fast and easy way to keep on target.

A good option is powders made from a blend of rice & pea protein as these vegan proteins have complementary amino acid profiles that add up quite similar to what you would get from a whey protein source. For a vegan protein powder review, click here.

Carbohydrates to Fuel Your Fitness

Because carbohydrates are your muscle’s preferred form of energy, they are just as vital as protein to build muscles. Without those, you simply won’t have the sustained energy needed for your workouts.

As a general rule, the higher your carbohydrate intake, the better in your execution of weightlifting and body make-up.

So why are they so important? For intense training, carbs are crucial. Whenever your body needs energy for your workouts, its first choice to burn would be carbs. This is because they are the fastest to unlock energy (fuel).

When your body is starved of carbohydrates, it may turn to burning protein as an energy source, which is of course exactly what you don’t want as a vegan bodybuilder! You want all the available protein from your meals to be doing what it does best—building and repairing muscles and associated tissues.

You should also note that, fat produces fewer calories (energy) per unit of oxygen compared to carbs, meaning letting your body resort to other mediums of fuel during an intense workout, comes at a cost!

As a rule for the mass building phase, aim to consume at least 3 grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight (for example, if your weight is 180 pounds, you should aim to eat at least 540g of carbs each day).

To keep your blood sugar levels in control, try your best to get these carbohydrates from low GI (Glycemic Index) sources. It is better for sustained performance and additional health benefits from components such as fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Evidence suggests that these foods also result in higher levels of muscle glycogen (carbohydrate stored in the muscles), as well as a lower risk of excess glucose becoming stored as fat if you don’t use it.

Preferred “Low Glycemic” Carbohydrate Sources

  • Pasta
  • Brown rice
  • All-bran, whole grain bread
  • Sweet potato
  • Quinoa
  • Oats
  • Nuts
  • Legumes
  • Most Vegetables
  • Fruits (especially plums, peaches, apples, oranges, pears, grapes, and grapefruit)
  • Almond milk


Fat–Aim for Roughly 30% of Overall Calories

One of the wonderful positives to a vegan diet is that natural plant fats tend to be of the healthiest kind! During mass and weight building, aim for 0.3 to 0.4 grams of fat per pound of your body weight each day.

When you are in the cutting phase (trying to lose excess fat), this figure should be lower. Conversely, when you’re in the phase of trying to gain & maintain, you might want to aim slightly higher.

Try and stick to whole food options for fat wherever possible.

Healthy Fat Sources

  • Avocados
  • Nuts like walnuts, almonds, macadamia, etc.
  • Seeds like sesame, chia, flax, etc.
  • Vegan dark chocolate
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Coconut oil


While it may take a bit of experiment before you get it just right for your individual needs, eventually balancing your macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fats) will become easy. It’s simply a matter of becoming more aware of the macronutrients your meals contain and finding where you need to make adjustments to your vegan bodybuilding diet.

Staying in a Calorie Surplus

One of the great advantages of a vegan diet for weight loss is that plant foods tend to be high in fiber and nutrients, yet low in calories. However, this would seem to be a challenge for a vegan bodybuilder trying to stay in a calorie surplus and put on weight.

Luckily, the protein and fat rich foods we mentioned above are all denser in calories, so consuming an abundance of those foods will allow you to remain in a much needed surplus for your gains.

Everyone’s body composition is different, so you will need to find the right balance. Start with a rough goal of 15 to 20 calories per pound of bodyweight each day. Start from the low value and increase if you need to.

You need to find the right zone where you’re getting the gains you want without putting on extra body fat. As long as your gains are good without putting on fat, maintain or even consider upping your calorie intake.

If on the other hand, you are experiencing more fat than muscle gain, you will need to reduce your daily caloric intake until you start seeing the results you want.

What about Micronutrients?

Once you have the correct macronutrient balance in your vegan bodybuilding diet, you also need to make sure you’re getting the health-promoting micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. These will make sure you keep your system fit & healthy for continuous workouts and maintenance.

Below you will find the important micronutrients and vegan sources,

Vitamin B12

Calcium

  • Chia seeds
  • Sesame seeds
  • Tahini
  • Almonds
  • Spring greens
  • Dried Figs
  • Rocket/ arugula
  • Black eyed peas

Vitamin D

The Omega-3 Fatty Acids (ALA, EPA, and DHA)

  • Chia seeds
  • Flaxseeds
  • Flaxseed oil
  • Walnuts
  • Canola oil
  • Hempseed oil
  • Camelina oil
  • Chia seed oil
  • Mustard seeds
  • Vegan Omega-3 Supplements (for EPA & DHA)

Iron

  • Dark green leafy vegetables (oregano, parsley, basil, cooked swiss chard, and spinach)
  • Vegan dark chocolate
  • Cocoa powder
  • Beans
  • Peas
  • Nuts & seeds

Zinc

Focus on small regular meals

Try to fit a small meal into your day, 6 to 8 times, or roughly every 2 to 4 hours, while you’re in the muscle building phase. This will help you keep a positive nitrogen balance, which is essential for producing new muscle, providing a steady stream of both calories and nutrients (protein, healthy fats and complex, low-glycemic carbohydrates).

This keeps your metabolism and fat-burning ability high, as well as fuelling muscle growth and improving recovery from your training.

Keep your hydration

As a rule of thumb, aim for around 2 liters of fluids each day which may include water, plant milk, green tea and any vegan protein shakes you may have. Use your thirst and urine color as an indicator, to keep tabs on your hydration.

Vegan Bodybuilding Diet & Nutrition

Last Thoughts

Optimizing your performance and overall health for bodybuilding on a vegan diet revolves around these two key areas:

  • Closely monitor and manage your vegan bodybuilding diet around generous amounts of foods high in the nutrients discussed above.
  • If you are battling to meet your nutrition goals, don’t hesitate to use, quality vegan supplements.

Since your demands for nutrients have risen due to high physical activity, it may be sensible as a vegan to have a medical checkup done at least on an annual basis to know the state of your overall health.

If you know what you’re doing, it’s easy and rewarding to build muscle and strength on a vegan diet!

Remember that building a great physique takes time and commitment. You’re going to need a good deal of determination and diligence to see the results you want and remain consistent in your commitment each and every day!

In return, you’ll be rewarded with impressive results, and feel strong, healthy, and full of energy to boot.

Get the basics right, and you’re well on your way to getting awesome gains and the physique you always wanted in vegan style. As we said, “meat ain’t for rhinos!”

 

Disclaimer: 

While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided here, the content in this post is for informational purposes only and not to be considered as professional advice. Before beginning any regimen it is advisable to seek the advice of a certified professional.