Can You Actually Build Muscle On A Vegan Diet Dr. Layne Norton ~ Chris Williamson

side of the fence. We've spoken about carnivore. Is it possible to build muscle on a vegan diet?

Great question. The answer is yes. Yes, you can build muscle on a vegan diet. It's, if your goal... So I always have to, like, un-frame it out of, like, my mind frame, which is I wanna be the most muscular, strongest human being I possibly can. And remember that not everybody is like that. In fact, most people aren't like that. They just wanna build some muscle and look a little bit better and feel stronger. Sure, you can absolutely build muscle on a vegan diet. Now, will it take a little bit more, uh, wherewithal? Probably. Is it the absolute best diet for muscle-building? Um, it can be, but you have to be more targeted with it in terms of making sure you're getting enough total protein and probably trying to pump your protein quality up a little bit. For most people who are, like, if they're vegans and they're bodybuilders, I'll say you're probably gonna wanna use some kinda isolated source of protein. Uh, it can be vegan protein, but you're gonna wanna probably use an isolated source of protein. And, and the reason being that, um, not only is vegan sources of protein typically lower in amino acids that are anabolic-promoting, like leucine, which is the, the amino acid that's been shown to increase muscle protein synthesis. Um, they also, in intact sources of plant protein, it's not as bioavailable as an isolated source of protein, like a, like a protein powder, for example, because a- some of the protein is bound up in the fibrous material of the plant. Now, cooking can make it more bioavailable, but typically not nearly as much as, like, an animal protein or, or an isolated source of protein. But, I mean, really, the big thing is if you're getting enough total protein, you know, say two grams per, per kilogram of body weight, I mean, the research says that you're gonna build as much muscle. So you can. Um, the, the... What I would say is it's just maybe a little bit more difficult, especially on, like, a calorie deficit because the, if you're, especially if you're trying to do all intact sources of protein, like whole food sources of protein, because now you're getting the calories from protein along with calories from carbohydrate, possibly fat-

Yes, 'cause they come along for the ride. You can't isolate them as effectively as a steak or a set of eggs or whatever.

That's correct.

What are your main concerns about somebody that's on a vegan diet?

Uh, I think the main concern is I have about pretty much any diet is if, if you, if you do vegan the right way, it can be very healthy. Just like if you do keto the right way, it can be very healthy, where you're using mostly unprocessed sources of food. But when you become a diet evangelist, it can become very unhealthy because you tie the identity to the vegan portion of that. And so I remember watching The Game Changers, and they're talking about all the health-promoting effects of the vegan diet, and then they're showing a scene where they're, like, having them eat vegan chicken wings and vegan mac and cheese, and I'm like, "You're missing the point here." Um, and by the way, you can't... Like, why