What is Plant Protein Powder?

If you follow a vegan lifestyle, or are considering changing your diet by cutting out animal products, one of the main things people will inevitably raise is ‘how do you get protein on a plant based diet?’. 

But, there are plenty of dietary and supplementary sources of vegan protein to enrich your diet and support an active lifestyle; from nuts and seeds, to tempeh and tofu. And, for athletes, weekend warriors, or those looking to up their protein intake in an easy way, there are also vegan, or plant, protein powders that you could choose to include into your routine.

Not sure what to look for when it comes to the best plant protein? You’ve come to the right place. Discover how plant protein powders can augment your training routine and help you to reach your performance goals with this guide to the best plant proteins with Kinetica…

What is protein?

As you may know, protein is a key food group (alongside carbohydrates and fats) that we need in our diets to stay healthy. The human body uses proteins to undertake basic functions like1:

• Building and repairing cells and tissues.
• Transporting molecules within cells.
• Catalyse cellular reactions.
• Hormone and enzyme production.

Therefore, for everyone (and not just elite athletes and weekend warriors), protein is a key macronutrient for muscle growth and recovery. Whilst common sources of protein include lean meat, fish, eggs and dairy, these are not compatible with a plant-based or vegan diet. Instead, there are a range of alternative plant-based protein sources – from which the best plant protein powders are made.

Buy Now – Kinetica Sports Chocolate Plant Protein 1kg

What are vegan protein sources?

There are a wealth of vegan protein sources available on the market, including: 

• Pulses like beans, lentils, and chickpeas.
• Cereals like oats and rice.
• Pseudocereals like quinoa and hemp seeds.
• Alternative protein foods like tempeh and tofu. 

Protein can also be consumed from fortified plant milk and almond/nut butters too. Interestingly, alternative protein sources can offer a substantial amount of protein based on their serving size. For example, 100g of tempeh can amount to around 20g of protein2, while the same amount of cooked brown rice can offer between 2-3g3.

And of course, there are plant-based protein powders (as you will learn about below)...

Vegan vs plant-based: what do we mean?

But, before we continue on our exploration into the best vegan protein powders, we need to take a quick sidestep into the terminology used to describe these dietary supplements. This is because the terms vegan and plant-based are often used interchangeably to describe animal product-free diets. However, some people perhaps find them confusing and struggle to understand who consumes what. To clarify, we have outlined the types of animal-product restricted diets below:

• Vegan: a person on this type of diet excludes all animal products such as meat, dairy and eggs. Often, their views go beyond diet to where they will try to eliminate the use of anything created using animal products – such as leather clothing or hygiene goods.
• Plant-based: a person following this type of diet would exclude all animal products, such as meat, dairy and eggs.
•  Vegetarian: with this diet, all flesh foods would be avoided but a person may choose to consume dairy and eggs. This may also be referred to as a ‘lacto-ovo-vegetarian’ diet.
• Lacto-vegetarian: on this diet, milk and dairy products would be consumed but eggs and other animal foods would be avoided.
• Ovo-vegetarian: this diet includes eggs but not dairy products.

What are plant protein powders?

Outside of traditional protein-rich vegan foods, plant-based protein powders are a fantastic way of boosting the amount of protein you consume. This is particularly important for athletes, or those with a regular fitness routine, where the demand for protein is higher – both to build muscle and repair after exercise.

The best vegan protein powders are generally made from legumes; such as pea and soy, or grains and seeds; such as rice and hemp to ensure they get the best from their ingredients.

Busting myths about plant protein powder

If, as we have explored, there are myriad ways to ensure you get enough protein, why are there always questions surrounding vegan or plant-based diets and protein intake? After all, anyone following a plant-based diet can still get an adequate amount of protein via plant-based sources.

Are vegan protein powders complete proteins?

However, this concern may have stemmed from the fact that some vegan or plant-based proteins tend to be low in certain amino acids, which results in them being classified as ‘incomplete’.

To be classified as a ‘complete’ protein, a source needs to contain all nine ‘essential’ amino acids. These are:

• Histidine.
• Isoleucine.
• Leucine.
• Lysine.
• Methionine.
• Phenylalanine.
• Threonine.
• Tryptophan.
• Valine.

These are classified as essential because ‘they cannot be synthesised by human or other mammalian cells’4 – therefore we need to consume them via external sources in our diet.

Many plant sources however, are considered low in one or more of these proteins, which tends to mean they’re classed as incomplete. But, by maintaining a balanced and varied diet, it’s easy to make up for the shortcomings of individual proteins. And, the same principles can be applied to plant protein powders.

For example, pea protein is one of the most common components of a plant-based protein powder, and is comparatively high in leucine, lysine, and phenylalanine5 – but the low methionine content ‘has been suggested to limit its anabolic potential’6. Alternatively, rice protein powders are relatively high in threonine and leucine7; while oat protein powders are comparatively high in methionine than other grains8.

The best vegan protein powders therefore, will usually combine protein sources to cover the weaknesses they may exhibit as individual powders.

Can you be a vegan athlete?

Another concern is that plant-based protein powders are not suitable or sufficient for athletes. However, this is not the case. 

Research states that ‘an athlete can follow a (more) vegan diet without detriment’9 – as with any intensity of training programme, you will just need to pay careful consideration to your diet to ensure you’re meeting the nutritional needs for training and competing.

The current recommended daily allowance (RDA) for protein intake stands at 0.75g per kg of bodyweight for adults10. This delineates how much protein the average person should have in the diet to maintain healthy bodily functions.

However, due to the elevated demands of a training programme, athletes are recommended to increase their overall protein intake to around 1.8g per kg for males11, and within the mid to upper range between 1.4g-2.2g per kg for female athletes12. All of which is entirely possible to achieve with a properly balanced vegan or plant-based diet – and with the addition of a valuable, high-quality plant-based protein powder supplement like Kinetica’s Plant Protein Powder.

Buy Now – Kinetica Sports Vanilla Plant Protein 1kg

How are vegan protein powders made?

As you would expect, vegan protein is made using plant-based sources of protein versus the traditional dairy options such as whey and casein. To make the protein powder you’re likely more familiar with, these sources are processed (usually through a series of heating and drying treatments) and combined with other nutrients to create an end formulation that works together to support muscle maintenance and recovery – along with ensuring great taste and texture. 

From there, the best plant-based protein powders are simply added to water, milk alternatives or other baked good recipes. This makes them an easy way to increase the protein content of your diet and allows you to meet your protein needs throughout the day whichever way you want.

Looking for some inspo? Check out our Recipes page for some tasty ideas to incorporate our vegan protein powders into your daily routine.

But what about an example of how one of the best vegan protein powders on the market is made – like, say, our Kinetica Plant Protein Powder? 

Our vegan protein powder contains a blend of pea and rice proteins to offer you a better amino acid profile than you would get from each on their own. Our pea protein is made from yellow split peas – and the mechanical process allows the pea protein to maintain its fibre content for a more well-rounded nutritional end result. Our rice protein, which is another alternative to whey, is made by treating brown rice with enzymes.

As we discussed above, pea protein tends to be low in the amino acid methionine. By adding rice protein we can counterbalance this deficit, as this is high in that particular amino acid. Conversely, rice protein is low in the amino acid lysine, but pea protein has a significant amount – so by combining these two types of proteins, we can improve the overall amino acid profile to offer you the best vegan protein powder for your needs.

What does vegan protein powder taste like?

It sounds obvious, but it’s worth noting that vegan, or plant-based protein powders and supplements tend to taste different from standard whey protein. Sometimes they can be a little more difficult to mix and there can be a lingering aftertaste, but it all depends on how you actually use the powder. Adding a scoop of plant protein to a smoothie is a great way to increase your protein intake – and get the benefits of vitamins from fruits while ensuring you have a really delicious taste experience.

Choosing the best vegan protein powders with Kinetica Sports

When it comes to including additional supplements into your diet, you want to make sure you’re getting the best. At Kinetica Sports, our Plant Protein was created to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Whey Protein. We didn’t want to launch a range that merely satisfied a dairy-free protein need – we wanted to bring a product that tasted great and mixed easily so that everyone can enjoy it, vegan or not! 

To achieve this, our blend is made up of a combination of pea and rice protein. Each 30g scoop contains 23g of protein – which we are really proud of achieving in a vegan product. The products come in either vanilla or chocolate flavour to offer you options with how you include it into your diet. And, we’ve made sure they can perform with the best plant-based protein powders out there – our vanilla flavour delivers 2.33g of leucine per scoop, while the chocolate flavour contains 2.13g. 

Kinetica Sports top tip: why is the leucine content important? Research shows that leucine is an important amino acid for muscle synthesis13.

Of course, when it comes to any of our Protein Powders, we work hard to deliver the best of the best. To do that, we don’t cut corners when it comes to taste, we never compromise when it comes to quality, and we don’t scrimp when it comes to protein levels. To this end, Kinetica’s Plant Protein is tested to comply with WADA exacting standards under the Informed Sport testing regime – because product safety and quality is our number one priority.

Learn more with Kinetica Sports

If we’ve piqued your interest around all things protein, we have a plethora of other articles for you to explore on the Kinetica Sports blog, including…

Are Mass Gainer & Protein Powder The Same? | Is Whey Protein Vegan? | Why Women Need More Protein in Their Diet