Protein Requirements for Maximal Muscle Mass and Athletic Performance Are Achieved with Completely Plant-Based Diets Scaled to Meet Energy Needs: A Modeling Study in Professional American Football Players

Jun 27, 2024Nutrients

Plant-Based Diets Meeting Energy Needs May Provide Enough Protein for Maximum Muscle and Performance in Professional Football Players

AI simplified

Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Abstract

Protein values for plant-based diets tailored for American football players ranged from 1.6-2.2 g/kg/day.

Leucine intake from the modeled plant-based diets was between 3.8-4.1 g per meal.
These values were calculated to meet the energy requirements of professional American football players.
Protein and leucine levels from these diets may support muscle mass, strength, and protein synthesis.
Micronutrient needs for physical performance and health were also satisfied by the scaled plant-based diets.
The study indicates that completely plant-based diets could align with dietary guidelines while meeting athletic performance needs.

AI simplified

American football players consume large quantities of animal-sourced protein in adherence with traditional recommendations to maximize muscle development and athletic performance. This contrasts with dietary guidelines, which recommend reducing meat intake and increasing consumption of plant-based foods to promote health and reduce the risk of chronic disease. The capacity of completely plant-based diets to meet the nutritional needs of American football players has not been studied. This modeling study scaled dietary data from a large cohort following completely plant-based diets to meet the energy requirements of professional American football players to determine whether protein, leucine, and micronutrient needs for physical performance and health were met. The Cunningham equation was used to estimate calorie requirements. Nutrient intakes from the Adventist Health Study 2 were then scaled to this calorie level. Protein values ranged from 1.6-2.2 g/kg/day and leucine values ranged from 3.8-4.1 g/meal at each of four daily meals, therefore meeting and exceeding levels theorized to maximize muscle mass, muscle strength, and muscle protein synthesis, respectively. Plant-based diets scaled to meet the energy needs of professional American football players satisfied protein, leucine, and micronutrient requirements for muscle development and athletic performance. These findings suggest that completely plant-based diets could bridge the gap between dietary recommendations for chronic disease prevention and athletic performance in American football players.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text ↗

Protein Requirements for Maximal Muscle Mass and Athletic Performance Are Achieved with Completely Plant-Based Diets Scaled to Meet Energy Needs: A Modeling Study in Professional American Football Players

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief