If you’re a non-vegan athlete, and have come across pea protein powder for the first time, chances are high that you probably just bypassed it completely. However, after learning a bit about the basics of pea protein powder, we’re sure you will want to give it a second look.
The fact is that pea protein can be extremely beneficial for you, regardless of if you are vegan or not. You do eat vegetables don’t you? In that same way pea protein should be considered a useful tool in your arsenal towards a healthier life.
What Is Pea Protein?
The name should be self-explanatory, but in particular, it is obtained from yellow peas (Pisum sativum), which are sustainable enough to ensure continuous supply in the event that demand rises significantly. The peas are ground into a fine powder, and subsequently refined to remove the fibre and starches to leave behind a high purity protein powder.
Not surprisingly, pea protein is the number one vegan based protein powder on the market, and coupled with its many benefits is likely to remain here for a long time.
Wondering what these notable benefits include? Let’s check them out now.
Pea Protein Powder Is Complete
The major flaw with vegan based protein sources is the fact that they lack one or more of the essential amino acids, and are accordingly classified as incomplete protein sources. Pea protein does possess all the 9 essential amino acids[i]methionine content is a little low.
However, since we are confident you won’t be relying on pea protein as your sole source of nourishment, you can easily deal with this by consuming brown rice, or various meats if you are so inclined to get sufficient amounts of this amino acid.
Pea Protein Possesses Low Allergenicity
You’ve probably seen (or even yourself) people that are allergic to animal based proteins, or have insensitivities to some aspect of the product. This is very common with the dairy based proteins casein and whey that are notorious for causing gastric distress, bloating and even anaphylactic reactions in severe cases.
This isn’t limited to just dairy based proteins, but also egg, beef and even insect protein. These allergies are very rare when dealing with vegan proteins.
For one, pea protein is easily digestible, reducing bloating and distress from difficult digestion. By removing much of the fibre as well, digestibility goes up a notch. The removal of a common anti-nutrient in phytic acid, also helps the protein powder boast a high absorbability.
Pea protein powder is referred to as low FODMAP[ii]iron. Given, iron deficiency is fairly common even in non-vegetarians, which makes it important for you to actively seek out foods that are excellent sources of this mineral.
Pea protein powder is a great source of iron[iii]whey protein, helping to keep your appetite under control for a longer period of time.
For instance, whey protein causes a spike in insulin levels in as little as 20 minutes after ingestion, while pea protein peaked after three hours, and to a lesser degree than whey[iv]whey protein remains one of the best protein powders you can choose for its muscle building properties, its rapid absorption and clearance from body doesn’t make it the best suited for preventing catabolism (muscle breakdown).
Slower acting proteins, such as casein and pea are much better suited for this as they slowly liberate amino acids over the period of many hours. This does not take away from the amazing muscle building potential[v]amino acids for several hours is a great recipe for muscle building.
In Summary
Interest in pea protein powder is rapidly increasing, as testament to the fact that over the past decade hundreds of new manufacturers of the product have popped up. Pea protein is an excellent choice whether you are on a full plant-based diet or not, thanks to its unique amino acid release pattern and overall nutritional profile.
Just be sure to choose a high-quality powder that offers more than 20 g of protein per serve.
