Nutrition Buddy
Yes — but it requires more attention to protein quantity, quality, and leucine threshold than an omnivorous diet. The challenges: (1) Plant proteins are 50-80% as digestible as animal proteins (DIAAS scores: soy 0.90, pea 0.82, wheat 0.40 vs whey 1.09, egg 0.97). (2) Most plant proteins are low in one or more essential amino acids — soy is the only complete plant protein. Combining rice + beans or pea + rice creates complementary amino acid profiles. (3) Leucine (the mTOR trigger for muscle growth) is lower in plant proteins — you need more total plant protein per meal to hit the 2.5-3g leucine threshold. Strategy: 1.6-2.2g/kg protein daily (higher end for vegan). 30-40g protein per meal from tofu, tempeh, seitan, lentils, chickpeas, edamame. Supplement with pea/rice protein blend (complementary amino acids). Supplement B12 (absent from plants), algal DHA (ALA conversion is only 5-10%), zinc, and possibly creatine (vegans have lower muscle creatine stores). Many successful vegan bodybuilders exist — it IS possible with attention to detail.