Potato protein can help maintain muscle

Research suggests that potato protein can improve the rate of protein production in the muscles.

A new study shows that protein derived from potatoes can be of high quality and help a person develop and keep maintaining muscle mass.

The study, which appears in the journal Nutrients, could possibly be important now that a growing number of folks are transitioning toward plant-based diets. These diets have an impact on a range of factors, including physical health, environmental sustainability, and exercise performance capacity.

Animal and plant protein

When considering the caliber of protein, persons often draw a distinction between animal-based and plant-based proteins.

According to a 2019 review in the journal Nutrients, while plant-based diets offer health insurance and environmental benefits, few single resources of plant protein provide all of the beneficial amino acids connected with a protein source.

Plant-based protein can even be more challenging to digest, so some of the potential nutritional value could be lost.

In comparison, animal-based proteins contain all the amino acids a person needs, and they're generally better to digest.

Plant-based diets

More persons are moving toward a plant-based diet since it is environmentally sustainable and generally more healthful than a diet heavy in meat and dairy.

According to the authors of a 2019 article in the journal Advances in Nutrition, “[w]orldwide, the responsibility of morbidity and mortality from diet-related chronic diseases is increasing, driven by poor diet quality and overconsumption of calories.”

“Simultaneously, the global food production system is draining our planet’s resources, jeopardizing the surroundings and future food security. Personal, population, and planetary health are closely intertwined and can all continue being vulnerable to these threats unless action is taken.”

The authors of today's study wished to explore the consequences of protein produced from potatoes. While potatoes are predominantly a starchy food, in addition they contain protein, and extracting this may generate enough protein to be significant in human consumption.

As lead author Sara Oikawa, a former graduate student in the department of kinesiology at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, notes, “[w]hile the quantity of protein found in a potato is small, we grow plenty of potatoes and the protein, when isolated, it provides some measurable benefits.”

Generally, animal-based protein requires a lot more land and other resources than plant-based proteins. According to a 2018 study, “plant-based replacement diets can produce 20-fold and twofold more nutritionally similar food per cropland than beef and eggs, the most and least resource-intensive animal categories, respectively.”

As a result, understanding the role of plant protein, such as for example that produced from potatoes, in human health is important.

Potato protein increased muscle synthesis

To identify the quality of potato protein, the researchers recruited women in their early twenties who generally consumed the recommended daily amount of protein.

The researchers then split the group in two, giving one group protein derived from potatoes to double how much protein these were consuming, while the spouse stayed on the recommended daily amount of protein.

The researchers discovered that the women who was simply consuming the potato protein supplement had increased muscle protein synthesis, as the control group didn't.

Oikawa says: “This is an interesting finding that we didn't expect. Nonetheless it is one that shows the recommended daily allowance is inadequate to aid maintenance of muscle in these young women.”

For the authors of the analysis, this finding also suggests that plant-based proteins can be valuable in assisting maintain and develop muscle.

Weightlifting results unaffected

The researchers also looked to see whether plant-based protein had any effect on developing muscle when the ladies were actively weight training exercise. To do so, they asked the participants in both groups to execute exercises on only 1 of their legs, using leg press and leg extension machines.

According to Prof. Stuart Phillips, also of the department of kinesiology at McMaster, “[t]his method is a little unconventional but we can see the effect within the same person without having to add more persons who were exercising.”

The researchers found that consuming the potato protein supplement did not make a difference to muscle gain during weightlifting. However, that is unlikely to be because of the fact that the protein originated from potatoes.

As Prof. Phillip explains, “[t]hat finding, which some could find disappointing, is in line with the rather small effect that protein has in comparison to exercise itself. In other words, exercise is just such a far more potent stimulus for making new muscle proteins in comparison to protein.”

For Oikawa, the value of the findings is that plant-based protein can be of high quality and donate to human health.

“This study provides evidence that the quality of proteins from plants can support muscle,” Oikawa concludes. “I believe you’ll see more focus on plant-based protein sources being done.”