- past investigations has reported that animal protein may perform better than plant-based alternatives when it comes to muscle protein synthesis.
- Studies have shown that potatoes can provide adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids that humans need, but have been unable to confirm their muscle-building effects.
- Researchers in the Netherlands have now found that a protein powder concentrate derived from potatoes can support muscle repair and growth, as well as animal milk protein in males.
A shift favoring more plant-based foods has been gaining momentum around the world within the medical and athletic communities. However, some people continue to express concern about the use of plants as a source of protein in sports. nutrition products
Sports nutritionists have long believed that certain compounds in plants can reduce the bioavailability of protein. Also, some research suggests that plants do not provide all the essential amino acids available from meat sources.
A new study challenges these notions and suggests that the humble potato may be as reliable a source of protein as animal milk.
The research, which was partially funded by the Alliance for Potato Research and Educationit appears in Medicine and science in sports and exercise.
researchers in University of Maastricht in the Netherlands conducted a study to assess how potato proteins promote anabolic reactions that increase muscle mass.
Dr. Luc JC van LoonProfessor of physiology of exercise and nutrition at Maastricht University Medical Center, was the principal investigator.
Talking with Today’s medical newsDr. van Loon shared:
“The [study’s] The main result is that ingestion of potato-derived protein can increase muscle protein synthesis rates at rest and exercise, and that this response does not differ from ingestion of an equivalent amount of milk protein.”
“[P]Plant-derived proteins may be as effective as high-quality animal-derived proteins in stimulating muscle protein synthesis rates in vivo in humans.”
— Dr. Luc JC van Loon
muscle protein synthesis (MPS) is the process by which amino acids are converted into skeletal muscle proteins. Protein intake and exercise are vital for MPS to maintain and build skeletal muscle mass.
Protein consumed during exercise recovery can increase MPS rates. These rates vary depending on the protein source.
Potatoes, the third most consumed crop in the world, contain only 1.5% protein on a fresh weight basis. However, a protein concentrate can be extracted from potato juice residue that is used as food or discarded.
Dr. van Loon and his coauthors found that the amino acid composition of potato protein resembles that ofmilk protein close up. They also said that the tuber “provides sufficient amounts of all the individual essential amino acids according to the WHO/FAO/UNU amino acid requirements, with no apparent deficiencies.”
The team hypothesized that ingesting potato protein concentrate might increase MPS rates at rest and during recovery from exercise.
They also hypothesized that potato protein might induce the same MPS response as milk protein.
To test their ideas, Dr. van Loon and his team recruited 24 healthy, active men for a trial conducted between April 2018 and February 2020. The participants were between 18 and 35 years old.
All subjects ate a standardized meal and fasted the night before the test days. Dr van Loon said MNT that the special diet and fasting protocol was designed not to “affect the anabolic response to protein ingestion the following day.”
The researchers inserted a catheter into each participant’s upper arm for an amino acid infusion, which served as a marker to measure MPS rates. They also inserted a second catheter in the opposite arm to take blood samples and measure blood amino acid concentrations, insulinand glucose.
The young male participants exercised on a seated knee extension and leg press machine with increasing loads.
After resting the subjects, the researchers drew blood samples and took muscle biopsies to determine MPS rates at rest and during recovery from exercise.
The researchers then randomly assigned the participants to drink a beverage containing 30 g (about 2 ½ tablespoons) of either potato protein or milk protein. They followed it up with more blood samples and muscle biopsies.
The study concluded that “[…] Ingestion of 30 g of protein was shown to strongly stimulate muscle protein synthesis during exercise recovery,” said Dr. loon van.
This double-blind study allowed the researchers to look at MPS in exercised and non-exercised muscles. He also added to research showing how potato protein can benefit of exercise and recovery.
However, the current study also had several limitations.
The sample size of the study was quite small. Dr. van Loon acknowledged that “further dose-response studies in larger populations are clearly needed.[…]”
Also, the trial only involved men. The researchers of a 2021 to study He cautioned that gender differences in physical structure, hormones and metabolism can make it difficult to apply the research from men to women.
In addition, the participants were young adults, whose skeletal muscle anabolic resistance to protein ingestion might differ from that of older people. However, the research mentioned above mentioned that older and younger male athletes may share a similar protein metabolism.
As the market for protein supplements continues to expand, some researchers argue that these products pale in comparison to whole foods in terms of nutritional benefits.
doctor stuart phillipsProfessor and Canada Tier 1 Research Chair in Kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario, who was not involved in this study, believes that “[…]food trumps a supplement.”
in a interview with Auburn University, Dr. Phillips recognized that the biggest draw of protein supplements is their convenience.
He pointed to his 2015 study suggesting that people who get protein from food “have a higher nutrient density in their diet.”
