Your health is the most important thing you have and maintaining it should be a top priority. Eating healthy is one of the best things you can do to prevent a myriad of health problems or stay in shape, and it all starts with your diet.
Fruits, vegetables and fiber are all excellent choices for a healthy diet, but you also need high-quality protein to maintain a balanced diet.
Protein is responsible for creating and maintaining cells within our bodies, along with being a vital component of our diets. It helps you build muscle, regulates hormones, creates digestive enzymes and oxygenates your blood. With all the important roles protein plays within your body
But how do you increase your protein intake when you have specific dietary needs? A plant-based source of protein can be a lifesaver in that regard. Its extra source of protein you may not have otherwise considered.
Aside from being suited to a vegan diet, plant-based protein supplements (typically available in powdered form), plant-based protein supplements have significant benefits for helping maintain a healthy vegan diet and lifestyle.
Plant-based proteins are more natural and help the Earth
Eating plant-based protein provides better sustainability for the environment, helping to reduce our carbon footprint, waste byproducts and water use. In addition to helping the planet, it’s ideal for good health.
Protein from peas, legumes and rice are all typical ingredients found in some powders. Carob and natural sweeteners like stevia or sucrose are used to add some additional sweetness or natural flavor.
Vegan protein powder can help with weight loss
Even with a proper diet and plenty of exercise, losing weight can prove challenging for many of us. Vegan protein powder contains highly concentrated plant-based protein sources along with additional ingredients that work to suppress your appetite.
The key component here is a special ingredient found in plant-based protein powders and other plant-based foods: soluble fiber.
Soluble fiber disperses in water when the body breaks down food. This lets the body absorb nutrients better, regulates digestion speed, keeps blood glucose levels more stable and may also reduce blood cholesterol.
Per Healthline, soluble fiber regulates the hormones involved with controlling your appetite effectively acting as an appetite suppressant.
Better muscle growth and regeneration
Protein intake is a vital component for any kind of muscle building or recovery. The human body needs the protein to repair the muscle tissue and maintain general health.
How does one accomplish this task without eating meat or other animal products? Recent observational studies demonstrate that both plant-based protein and animal-based protein successfully build muscle with no clear edge for one or the other.
Although animal proteins tend to have more of the muscle-building amino acids, the foods (like brown rice and quinoa) consumed in the typical vegan diet interact with each other to create full protein synthesis in the body.
Combining these with plant-based protein powder supplements the process incredibly well and some plant-based protein powders like Warrior Blend do contain complete amino acid profiles.
Essentially, a vegan diet makes you feel better with no evident disadvantage regarding muscle-building. Looking at a sampling of the diets and health advice of several vegan pro athletes, Popular Science discovered that you can become every bit as lean, healthy and muscular through a vegan diet.
The difficulty comes with finding enough protein throughout the day to support your body’s needs. Powders and supplements can help and because vegan protein powder can be just as effective as whey protein for muscle-building, it creates an array of muscle-building options for vegans everywhere.
It provides a metabolism boost
Metabolism is your body’s way of converting food into energy. Several factors (body size and age for instance) can affect your metabolism, but there are a few ways to improve it or give it a boost.
Drinking cold water and better sleep are a good start, but consuming plant-based proteins can have a major positive impact.
In a 2019 interview Women’s Health magazine, health and wellness expert Vanessa Ascencao told readers that plant-based diets improve metabolism by increasing the function of the cell’s mitochondria.
This effectively provides the optimal nutrients to your body and helps you better regulate your weight.
What type of protein powder should you choose?
Choosing the right protein powder for your dietary needs can be tough, but knowing about the benefits of plant-based protein combined with a healthy vegan diet should help you take the next step to supplementing your already excellent health.
Now all you need to do is decide on a brand and flavor. Buying plant-based protein online is the easiest way to get the supplements you need.
While there are many online shopping platforms selling similar products, Vitamin Shoppe is a wonderful source for selecting a good variety of plant-based protein powders.
We recommend heading over to Vitamin Shoppe and selecting your next favorite vegan protein powder today!
