Now let's have a control group with no supplements
this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2025
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More research isn't a bad thing, but this really isn't news. If you're a nerd who's into lifting you'd already know that soy protein is a top tier source of all the important amino acids for muscle gain. And it's cheaper than whey.
It's also not very popular because the manosphere tells men that consuming it will feminize them. Yes, really. They took the "soy boy" thing very literally and ran with it off the deep end.
I remember about a decade ago talking about tofu recipes with a colleague who lifted and ate a protein heavy diet.
An older colleague heard us and warned us that eating tofu would cause you to have a surplus of estrogen and make you more feminine.
He was telling this to a guy built like a brick shithouse who had eaten tons of soy protein for the better part of a decade.
It's that same old thing, something different comes along and some people just have to parrot anything that goes against that thing, even if it's complete and utter horseshit
As a human survival trait we need to find a way to shut down misinformation. Knowledge is our path to survival as an animal. Like ants have teamwork and building, wildebeest have speed, plants photosynthesise, humans learn.
By creating and spreading misinformation you're chipping away at pretty much the only thing that keeps us in existence.
Bit of a broad-strokes extreme takeaway from your comment there, but it got to me.
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People continue parroting this soy estrogen myth even years after it's been debunked too, it's annoying as hell. The phytoestrogen in question is more of an anti-estrogen and may be protective against excess estrogen.
If soy actually caused boob growth, the supplement industry would be all over that.
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Just to be clear, this is about supplements. It’s doesn’t say anything about differences in dietary protein.
The actual title:
Similar effects between animal-based and plant-based protein blend as complementary dietary protein on muscle adaptations to resistance training: findings from a randomized clinical trial
this is about supplements
And supplements are largely unnecessary, so this study says absolutely bupkis.
Right, for the average person, protein supplements are unnecessary as long as they are healthy and eat well.
Athletes (and people with body dysmorphia 😬) might struggle to get enough protein in their diet. But, far too many people think they’re in a position that would warrant supplements when just a little attention to diet is sufficient.
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OK that does not mean that much though because the sample group is way too small to draw some real hard science out of it.
Saying that as a plant protein lover.
What? The sample group is not way too small lol. It is fine.
On top of that, there are already many other such studies on gym goers, comparing whey with vegan options, such as pea and soy protein. Those studies show that vegan options are as good as whey.
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Amino acids are amino acids. Some are harder to get from plants than others.
I wish more people understood that EVERYTHING is chemistry.
Even love?
Of course! Even love! Just mix a dash of dopamine, a sprinkle of serotonin, a shot of oxytocin, and a hint of norepinephrine. Shake well in a nervous system, serve warm, and call it love!
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There was no control group doing the workouts without protein supplements?
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I bet the lead count in their system changed.
Oh yeah, I forgot about this. It's going to be tough to do anything about this with the current administration in office.
Also there's arsenic is lots of brown rice. I think the stuff from California or India is pretty safe.
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Also FYI: if you are getting enough calories, you are almost certainly also getting enough protein. The RDA for protein is quite low, 0.8g per kg bodyweight, or about 10% of your caloric intake. You can meet this by eating just grains. However, as mentioned in the linked source, the RDA is intended to prevent nutrient deficiencies, not provide an optimal level of intake.
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I am slightly surprised that both groups lost a similar amount of fat.
Oh, right, supplements. So similar amount of fat as well. Well, kind of an obvious result and doesn't really say a whole lot about the differences between plant- and protein-based diets.
There is a very large contingent of people who believe animal protein is superior to plant protein in every way, shape, or form. So this result isn't obvious to them.
Such people unfortunately won't be reading science papers or understanding their significance.
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gymbros are afraid of soybased products, eventhough there is very little if any phytoestrogen that affects them in a significant way.
they are more likely to get estrogen-like chemicals from thier plastic bottles and drinking water.
It doesn't look like they had a control group of people doing the strength training without any protein supplement. I would assume that group would also perform the same.
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