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Ground beef stimulates more protein synthesis than soy based meat (sciencedirect.com)
39 points by delichon on Oct 24, 2024 | hide | past | favorite | 21 comments


This is a very small study with n = 24 with significant conflicts of interest.

> Funding. The project was financially supported by a grant from the National Cattleman’s Beef Association.

It’s a start and shows there’s more m work that needs to be done in this area. According to the study they don’t know why this difference exists and they seem to have disproved its due to Leucine which was a popular hypothesis. If the difference is real, identifying the cause will be most important as it will allow for the formulation of better sources of protein than what we have right now.


Not only is it small, it's just plain weird.

Most of the people assigned to the soy were women. The average age of the soy participants was also much higher.

They could have at least done a crossover.


> allow for the formulation of better sources of protein

I don't think the "National Cattleman’s Beef Association" wants that, just to know that beef>Soy is enough.


I think this is about what you’d expect though. They say 2 1/4 lb soy patties build as much muscle as 1 1/4 lb hamburger patty.

The soy patty I looked up had 28g of protein, and the hamburger had 40g.

If that’s correct, the study is saying that the soy protein is about 71% as effective as the meat protein, which is about what I’ve read based on the limiting amino acids in soybeans.


I'm all for understanding how to effectively dine on plant protein, and even understanding how they are different from meat proteins.

But this study ain't it. National Cattleman's Beef Association pays for heavily skewed study with small n count. Wild to see such a skewed study here.


Is it important that there were different ratios of male and female subjects in ground beef vs SBMA study participants?

Am I reading this correctly in table 1?

Characteristic 4 oz beef 4 oz SBMA 8 oz SBMA Age (y) 30.0 ± 7.4 36.5 ± 4.2 28.9 ± 5.8 Males/females (n) 4/4 3/5 3/5


Yes. It's a bit of a joke really.

More women in the soy group. And also, the soy group was older.

This is a really low quality submission.


This doesn't seem surprising or contentious. Is this meant to be some kind of "gotcha"? Whey is probably better than ground beef.


I’m vegan and my protein comes from mostly soy based foods (tofu and tvp) and of course nuts and legumes.

I’m in good shape, green across the board health results, and feel like I have near infinite endurance. Good for fight, or flight! On a lighter note, I also have on demand AOE damage thanks to all the fiber in my diet :’)

Looking forward to living to 100+, barring any freak accidents of course lol.


I'm happy to have learned about your veganism and how it makes you healthier than most people, but I'm unsure what it's got to do with TFA?


TFA is about proteins absorption. Babyent his happy to be healthy and share his experience of protein intake probably to inspire others. Not different that others posting « I eat meat after workout [and feel good] » is it? We’re in a public forum and humans like to share what make them proud.


Article title: The anabolic response to a ground beef patty and soy-based meat alternative: a randomized controlled trial


The title buries the lede, so I condensed the conclusion, which doesn't:

  Consumption of a 4 oz beef patty stimulates muscle and whole-body protein synthesis >4 oz SBMA patty and similarly to 8 oz of SBMA.


I eat a pound of ground beef, steak, chicken, or turkey as a post-workout meal.


I have around 3/4 pound of chicken post workout. Red meat that often is too scary for my cardiovascular system.


doesn't seem worth it for the environmental & health effects


Asterisk Mag had a really good look at the state of the research for/against plant-based protein diets

https://asteriskmag.com/issues/02/cows-vs-chemists-the-healt...


it is generally well understood that plant protein is less bioavailable than animal protein


Not bioavailability, but rather which amino acids and the ratio of amino acids. If they're not balanced out then one of them becomes the limiting factor. Most modern plant based protein supplements are a blend of proteins that are in balance to avoid that problem, for instance rice and pea blends.

Soy is actually pretty good, very comparable to meat.

Chart and explanation here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_quality


At which point they are becoming limiting?

Say I had rice for breakfast and peas for lunch - will this be balanced? What if I had them together? Do I need to literally blend them together? Or is it only when they are grown as a same cell it is actually complete protein?


> Rice for breakfast and peas for lunch

Very probably. The duration scale your body assimilate amino acids together is about 12h-36h IIRC. Most plant eaters I know don’t bother counting anything at all, and the natural craving helps: if I eat a full meal of rice, the peas will be more appealing for the next meal than another bowl of rice. But for taste and texture it’s often better to mix many things in the same meal.




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