Plant vs Animal Protein: Head to Head

Some people will obviously have strong ideological opinions here—for vegetarians and vegans, it’s no question, and for meat-eaters, it’s easy to be reactive to that and double-down on the bacon. But, we’re a health and productivity newsletter, so we’ll be sticking to the science.

Which is better, healthwise?

First, it depends how you go about it. Consider these options:

• A piece of salmon
• A steak
• A hot dog
• A hot dog, but plant-based
• Textured soy protein (no additives)
• Edamame (young soy) beans

Three animal-based protein sources, three plant-based. We could render the competition simple (but very unfair) by pitting the hotdog against the edamame beans, or the plant-based hot dog against the piece of salmon. So let’s kick this off by saying:

• There are good and bad animal-based protein sources
• There are good and bad plant-based protein sources

Whatever you choose, keep that in mind while you do. Less processed is better in either case. And if you do go for red meat, less is better, period.

Picking the healthiest from each, how do the nutritional profiles look?

They look good in both cases! One factor of importance is that in either case, our bodies will reduce the proteins we consume to their constituent amino acids, and then rebuild them into the specific proteins we actually need. Our bodies will do that regardless of the source, because we are neither a salmon nor a soy bean, for example.

We need 20 specific amino acids, for our bodies to make the proteins we will use in our bodies.

Animal protein sources contain all 20 of those. Plant based sources often don’t, individually, but by eating soy for example (which does contain all 20) and/or getting multiple sources of protein from different plants, the 20 can be covered quite easily with little thought, just by having a varied diet.

Meats are #1!

• They’re number 1 for nutritional density
• They’re number 1 for health risks, too

So while plant-based diet adherents may need to consume more varied things to get all the nutrients necessary, meat-eaters won’t have that problem.

Meat-eaters will instead have a different problem, of more diet-related health risks, e.g.

• Cardiovascular disease
• Metabolic disorders
• Cancers

So again, if eating (especially processed and/or red) meat, moderation is good. The Mediterranean Diet that we so often recommend, by default contains small amounts of lean animal protein.

Which is better for building muscle?

Assuming a broadly healthy balanced diet, and getting sufficient protein from your chosen source, they’re pretty equal:

• Vegan and Omnivorous High Protein Diets Support Comparable Daily Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis Rates and Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy in Young Adults
• A mycoprotein-based high-protein vegan diet supports equivalent daily myofibrillar protein synthesis rates compared with an isonitrogenous omnivorous diet in older adults: a randomised controlled trial

(both studies showed that both dietary approaches yielded results that showed no difference in muscle synthesis between the two)

The bottom line is…

Healthwise, what’s more important than whether you get your protein from animals or plants is that you eat foods that aren’t processed, and are varied.

And if you want to do a suped-up Mediterranean Diet with less red meat, you might want to try:

A Pesco-Mediterranean Diet With Intermittent Fasting: JACC Review Topic of the Week

^This is from a review in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and in few words, they recommend it very highly

Keeping your kidneys happy: it’s more than just hydration!

Your kidneys are very busy organs. They filter waste products, balance hydration, pH, salt, and potassium. They also make some of our hormones, and are responsible for regulating red blood cell production too. They also handle vitamin D in a way our bodies would not work without, making them essential for calcium absorption and the health of our bones, and even muscular function.

So, how to keep them in good working order?

Yes, hydrate

This is obvious and may go without saying, but we try to not leave important things without saying. So yes, get plenty of water, spread out over the day (you can only usefully absorb so much at once!). If you feel thirsty, you’re probably already dehydrated, so have a little (hydrating!) drink.

Don’t smoke

It’s bad for everything, including your kidneys.

Look after your blood

Not just “try to keep it inside your body”, but also:

• Keep your blood sugar levels healthy (hyperglycemia can cause kidney damage)
• Keep your blood pressure healthy (hypertension can cause kidney damage)

Basically, your kidneys’ primary job of filtering blood will go much more smoothly if that blood is less problematic on the way in.

Watch your over-the-counter pill intake

A lot of PRN OTC NSAIDs (PRN = pro re nata, i.e. you take them as and when symptoms arise) (NSAIDs = Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, such as ibuprofen for example) can cause kidney damage if taken regularly.

Many people take ibuprofen (for example) constantly for chronic pain, especially the kind cause by chronic inflammation, including many autoimmune diseases.

It is recommended to not take them for more than 10 days, nor more than 8 per day. Taking more than that, or taking them for longer, could damage your kidneys temporarily or permanently.

Read more: National Kidney Foundation: Advice About Pain Medicines

See also: Which Drugs Are Harmful To Your Kidneys?

Get a regular kidney function checkup if you’re in a high risk group

Who’s in a high risk group?

• If you’re over 60
• If you have diabetes
• If you have cardiovascular disease
• If you have high blood pressure
• If you believe, or know, you have existing kidney damage

The tests are very noninvasive, and will be a urine and/or blood test.

For more information, see:

Kidney Testing: Everything You Need to Know

Take care!