A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition examined how different types of protein affect muscle building after weight training. Researchers compared the effects of high-fat versus lean ground pork burgers with equivalent protein content on 16 young, active adults using advanced isotope-tracking methods to measure muscle-protein synthesis. Surprisingly, the lean pork burger produced greater muscle-protein synthesis than the high-fat version, contradicting previous findings with whole foods like eggs and salmon. The researchers suggest that the processing of ground meat may have affected how quickly the body digested and utilized the protein differently. All in all, the study adds to growing evidence that not all high-protein foods are equally effective for muscle-building after exercise, with whole, unprocessed foods generally showing better results.
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