Alternative dietary protein sources to support healthy and active skeletal muscle aging

Abstract

To mitigate the age-related decline in skeletal muscle quantity and quality, and the associated negative health outcomes, it has been proposed that dietary protein recommendations for older adults should be increased alongside an active lifestyle and/or structured exercise training. Concomitantly, there are growing environmental concerns associated with the production of animal-based dietary protein sources. The question therefore arises as to where this dietary protein required for meeting the protein demands of the rapidly aging global population should (or could) be obtained. Various non-animal–derived protein sources possess favorable sustainability credentials, though much less is known (compared with animal-derived proteins) about their ability to influence muscle anabolism. It is also likely that the anabolic potential of various alternative protein sources varies markedly, with the majority of options remaining to be investigated. The purpose of this review was to thoroughly assess the current evidence base for the utility of alternative protein sources (plants, fungi, insects, algae, and lab-grown “meat”) to support muscle anabolism in (active) older adults. The solid existing data portfolio requires considerable expansion to encompass the strategic evaluation of the various types of dietary protein sources. Such data will ultimately be necessary to support desirable alterations and refinements in nutritional guidelines to support healthy and active aging, while concomitantly securing a sustainable food future.

Postprandial plasma amino acid and appetite responses with ingestion of a novel salmon-derived protein peptide in healthy young adults

“…There is growing interest in the development of alternative protein sources that are both environmentally sustainable and high-quality with respect to the profile and postprandial bioavailability of amino acids for human tissue remodelling (38) . The amount of rest raw material from the fishing industry is estimated to be about two-thirds of the overall amount of fish, causing a huge economic and environmental concern (18) .…”

Nutritional Considerations for the Vegan Athlete

“…A vegan, or ‘plant-based,’ diet is becoming increasingly popular in the general population [ 3 ], particularly in Western cultures [ 4 ]. The most frequently stated incentives are perceived health benefits [ 5 , 6 ] and ethical beliefs (eg, animal welfare concerns), although environmental concerns [ 7 , 8 ], social factors and sensory disgust [ 9 ] are also cited [ 9 , 10 ]. The prevalence of veganism in athlete populations is yet to be adequately quantified; however, it is reasonable to assume that veganism in sport will follow a similar trend to that of the general population.…”

Ingestion of a variety of non-animal-derived dietary protein sources results in diverse postprandial plasma amino acid responses which differ between young and older adults

“…Previous work has suggested lupin protein to be of lower nutritional quality, due to an unfavourable amino acid composition ( 23 ) , low Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS) ( 24 ) and rodent data reporting low amino acid bioavailability ( 25 ) . On the other hand, despite being low in methionine, pea protein is high in other EAA and leucine ( 17 ) . Recent work reported equivalent in vivo ileal digestibility following pea and casein protein ingestion ( 26 ) and robust post-exercise muscle protein synthetic responses following pea protein ingestion ( 27 ) .…”

“…Recent work reported equivalent in vivo ileal digestibility following pea and casein protein ingestion ( 26 ) and robust post-exercise muscle protein synthetic responses following pea protein ingestion ( 27 ) . Aside from animal- and plant-derived proteins, other categories of proteins are generating scientific and commercial interest ( 17 , 28 ) . We recently identified fungal-derived mycoprotein as a high-quality protein-rich whole-food source, by demonstrating it is bioavailable upon ingestion ( 29 ) , robustly stimulates muscle protein synthesis (MPS) rates ( 30 – 32 ) and, consequently, supports muscle adaptive responses during training ( 33 ) .…”

“…A less commercially advanced alternative protein source is algae. Algae are protein- and EAA-rich, but typically used at present only as micronutrient-rich food supplements ( 17 ) , with the cyanobacterium spirulina ( Arthrospira platensis) and microalgae chlorella ( Chlorella vulgaris) widely available. Though human data assessing the impact of algae ingestion on plasma amino acid responses are lacking, animal studies have reported chlorella and spirulina ingestion to attenuate muscle atrophy and enhance MPS rates, respectively ( 34 , 35 ) .…”