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. 2024 Jul 8;12(7):186.
doi: 10.3390/sports12070186.

Protein and Leucine Requirements for Maximal Muscular Development and Athletic Performance Are Achieved with Completely Plant-Based Diets Modeled to Meet Energy Needs in Adult Male Rugby Players

David M Goldman  1   2 , Cassandra B Warbeck  3 , Micaela C Karlsen  4   5
Affiliations

Protein and Leucine Requirements for Maximal Muscular Development and Athletic Performance Are Achieved with Completely Plant-Based Diets Modeled to Meet Energy Needs in Adult Male Rugby Players

David M Goldman et al. Sports (Basel). .

Abstract

Rugby athletes consume large amounts of animal protein in accordance with conventional dietary guidance to increase muscle mass and strength. This misaligns with national dietary guidelines, which suggest limiting meat consumption for chronic disease prevention. The ability of completely plant-based diets to satisfy the nutritional needs of rugby players has not been explored. This study scaled nutrient data from a large population consuming completely plant-based diets with limited supplemental protein to meet the calorie requirements of adult male rugby athletes to assess whether protein and leucine recommendations for muscular development and athletic performance would be achieved. Calorie requirements were estimated from research that employed the doubly labeled water method, and dietary data from the Adventist Health Study-2 were scaled to this level. The modeled protein level was 1.68 g/kg/day, which meets recommendations for maximal gains in muscle mass, strength, and athletic performance. The modeled leucine level was 2.9 g/meal for four daily meals, which exceeds the threshold proposed to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis in young men. These results indicate that consuming large portions of completely plant-based meals can satisfy protein and leucine requirements for maximal muscular development and athletic performance in adult male rugby athletes while aligning with public health recommendations.

Keywords: athletic performance; leucine; muscle mass; plant-based; protein; rugby; sports nutrition.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author David M. Goldman was employed by the company Metabite Inc. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Protein and leucine values scaled to meet the calorie needs of adult male rugby athletes following completely plant-based diets, relative to targets proposed to maximize athletic performance. g: grams; kg: kilograms.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Leucine values scaled to meet the calorie needs of adult male rugby athletes following completely plant-based diets, relative to targets proposed to maximize muscle protein synthesis. g: grams.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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