Article At a Glance:
- Think you need meat to build muscle? New research challenges that belief.
- A short-term study finds vegan diets perform just as well for muscle growth when protein needs are met.
- Discover why consistency and total protein intake matter more than the source.
If you’ve ever worried that cutting meat would cost you your gains, you’re not alone. Protein has long been treated as the one area where plant-based diets fall short, especially in fitness circles. Even people who feel confident about their choice to eat more plants often wonder if they’re compromising on performance or muscle-building potential.
However, recent research is starting to tell a different story, one that provides plant-based eaters a reason to feel a little more validated.
A new study published in 2025, entitled “Impact of Vegan Diets on Resistance Exercise-Mediated Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis in Healthy Young Males and Females: A Randomized Controlled Trial” tested whether a vegan diet can support muscle growth as effectively as an omnivorous one.
The results challenge a few lingering assumptions. Over nine days, researchers monitored young adults (both men and women, aged 20-40) as they completed full-body resistance workouts and followed carefully structured meal plans.
Half the participants ate a vegan diet, while the other half followed an omnivorous one. Each person was assigned a set amount of protein per day; some were also asked to spread their protein evenly across meals, while others consumed it in a more typical, skewed pattern (bolus dose in one meal with smaller amounts in subsequent meals).
Despite the differences in diet and timing, the results were strikingly consistent: muscle protein synthesis — the process your body uses to build and repair muscle — was the same across all groups. Whether the participants ate meat or not, or spread their protein across three meals or five, the outcome didn’t change.
This might sound surprising given what we’ve been told for years. Most past research on protein has focused on short-term effects using isolated supplements. Those studies often show that animal-based proteins produce a stronger immediate response than plant-based ones. But that doesn’t account for how people actually eat in real life. No one lives off single meals or scoops of powder. Instead, we eat real food throughout the day, and we train multiple times a week, not just once in a lab.
That’s what makes this study so relevant. It didn’t just measure what happens in one hour after one shake. It looked at the full picture over several days of consistent eating and training. And it showed that when you get enough protein from whole plant foods, your body responds just as well.
There’s something else worth noting. The participants on the vegan diet reported feeling more energized after meals and less tired after workouts. While the omnivorous group rated their meals as more “pleasant,” the vegan group experienced less fatigue and higher post-meal energy on several days.
It’s too early to say whether those mood and energy shifts would hold over time, but they hint at something many plant-based eaters already know from experience: when you eat this way consistently, your body starts to feel lighter, more energized, and more in sync with itself.
Of course, this study doesn’t answer everything. It was short — at just over a week — and it involved young, healthy adults who were already physically active. We still need longer-term research to understand how plant-based diets perform over months or years, and how they hold up in older adults or those with different nutritional needs. Participants in this trial were provided with all their meals, which also makes adherence easier than it might be in everyday life.
One important factor to consider is age. As we get older, our protein needs tend to rise. Meeting those needs through whole plant foods alone is certainly possible, but it can require greater attention to planning and, in some cases, larger overall food volumes, which may be troublesome.
For those in their fifties and beyond, this can present a practical challenge, especially if appetite or digestion starts to shift with age. In those situations, adding a high-quality plant-based protein powder like LiveComplete’s Nutrimatch protein, or even incorporating small amounts of animal protein, may be a useful way to meet higher protein targets without significantly increasing total calorie intake.
But the core takeaway remains the same: when daily protein intake is consistent and aligned with your goals, a plant-based diet can support muscle growth just as effectively as an omnivorous one. The source of your protein matters less than hitting your target and training regularly.
For anyone who wants to live a plant-based lifestyle without giving up strength, muscle, or performance, this is encouraging news. You don’t have to stress about perfect meal timing or chase exotic ingredients. You just need to stay consistent, prioritize nutrient-dense foods, and give your body what it needs to grow and recover.
LiveComplete Takeaways
- When daily protein needs are met, vegan diets can support muscle growth just as well as omnivorous diets.
- Protein distribution across meals didn’t impact results, highlighting the importance of overall intake rather than timing.
- Vegan participants reported higher energy and less fatigue during the trial, suggesting potential benefits beyond just muscle.
Plant-based nutrition continues to prove itself as a viable path for muscle support, performance, and overall wellness. While more research is needed in older or clinical populations, this study reinforces that when properly planned, a vegan diet can go rep for rep with an omnivorous one. With smart choices and consistent training, there’s no need to compromise.
If you’re ready to support your training goals without second-guessing your protein, check out LiveComplete’s protein blends that are crafted to give you the muscle-building power of plants, no compromises required.
Sources:
- Askow, Andrew T., et al. “Impact of vegan diets on resistance exercise-mediated myofibrillar protein synthesis in healthy young males and females: A randomized controlled trial.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 4 Apr. 2025, https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000003725.
- Bauer, Jürgen, et al. “Evidence-based recommendations for optimal dietary protein intake in older people: A position paper from the Prot-Age Study Group.” Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, vol. 14, no. 8, Aug. 2013, pp. 542–559, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2013.05.021.
