Benefits
Biceps Thickness in a 12-Week Resistance Training Trial
In a 12-week upper-body training trial in 161 young men, 25 g of NUTRALYS pea protein twice daily gave biceps thickness gains that were only a non-significant trend versus a maltodextrin placebo overall; in a sensitivity analysis of the weakest participants, gains with pea were significantly larger than placebo. Roquette funded the trial, and strength did not differ between groups.
Muscle Protein Synthesis Above a Baseline Protein Intake
In older men eating a controlled diet at the protein RDA, adding 25 g of NUTRALYS pea protein at breakfast and lunch for 8 days raised integrated myofibrillar protein synthesis compared with their own RDA-only phase, matching whey, while collagen produced no change. This was a short within-person comparison funded by Roquette, not a training study.
Similar Strength and Muscle Results to Whey With Training
In an 84-day trial in sedentary adults doing weekly resistance training, a daily NUTRALYS pea protein serving and whey showed no significant differences in changes in strength, muscle mass or body composition. Whey was an active comparator and there was no placebo group, so this shows similarity to whey, not an effect versus no supplement; Roquette funded the trial.
Smaller Blood Sugar Rise When Added to a Glucose Drink
In a single-meal crossover test in 31 healthy adults, adding 25 g or 50 g of NUTRALYS pea protein to a 50 g glucose drink lowered the 3-hour glucose response by 31% and 53% versus glucose alone and raised the insulin response; two authors worked for Roquette. Single-meal results do not show effects of regular use.
Milk-Free and Soy-Free Protein Option
Pea protein contains no milk or soy protein, so it can suit people who avoid those foods. Pea itself is a legume allergen: a scoping review notes that allergies to pea, chickpea, lentil and lupine are frequently implicated in severe allergic reactions, so people with legume allergies should take care.
Mechanism of action
Muscle Protein Synthesis Stimulation
Pea protein supplies the essential amino acids that drive muscle protein synthesis; in older men, adding NUTRALYS pea protein above the protein RDA raised integrated myofibrillar protein synthesis, and supplemental protein (pea, whey or collagen) raised mTORC1 and rpS6 signaling with no difference between proteins. Per 100 g it has less leucine than whey (6.4 vs 8.6 g) but more arginine (6.6 vs 2.1 g).
Amino Acid Profile and Digestibility
In a human study using ileal sampling, with Roquette coauthors, a pea protein isolate had 93.6% real ileal amino acid digestibility, not different from casein, and a DIAAS of 1.00, though leucine, valine, lysine and phenylalanine were less digestible than in casein. Methionine in the NUTRALYS isolate is about half that of whey per 100 g.
Insulin Response With Carbohydrate
Taken with a glucose drink, NUTRALYS pea protein raised the 3-hour insulin response by 28% at 25 g and 40% at 50 g alongside the lower glucose response, while the gut hormones GIP and GLP-1 showed no clear difference from glucose alone.
Stomach Digestion and Gut Hormones in Lab and Animal Tests
In a simulated stomach model, NUTRALYS pea protein formed temporary particles while whey stayed dissolved, suggesting digestion between that of whey and casein; in rats, pea and whey meals gave comparable CCK, GLP-1 and PYY responses. These are lab and animal findings, not human results, from a study with Roquette coauthors.
Clinical trials
Double-blind randomized trial of NUTRALYS pea protein isolate (25 g twice daily) versus whey concentrate versus a maltodextrin placebo for 12 weeks; Roquette, the pea-protein maker, funded the study and three authors were Roquette employees. (Babault et al. 2015, J Int Soc Sports Nutr)
161 men aged 18 to 35 doing 12 weeks of upper-limb resistance training.
Biceps thickness rose in all groups, with only a non-significant trend between groups overall (P = 0.09). In a sensitivity analysis of the weakest participants at baseline, gains were 20.2% with pea, 15.6% with whey and 8.6% with placebo, and pea was significantly greater than placebo; whey did not differ from either. Strength gains did not differ between groups.
Double-blind randomized trial: after 7 days on a controlled diet at the protein RDA, men added 25 g of whey, pea (NUTRALYS S85 Plus N) or collagen protein at breakfast and lunch (50 g/day) for 8 days; synthesis was measured with deuterated water and biopsies and compared with each man's RDA phase. Funded by a research contract from Roquette Freres, the pea-protein maker. (McKendry et al. 2024, Am J Clin Nutr)
31 healthy older men (mean age 72), 11 of them in the pea group.
Integrated myofibrillar (muscle) protein synthesis rose from 1.46 to 1.59 %/day with pea versus the RDA phase, the same rise as with whey, while collagen produced no change. Anabolic signaling (mTORC1, rpS6) rose with supplemental protein, with no difference between the three proteins.
Randomized comparator-controlled parallel trial of pea protein versus whey for 84 days with a weekly resistance training program; no placebo group. Funded by Roquette Canada, with three Roquette employees among the authors. (Singh et al. 2024, Nutrients)
Healthy sedentary adults.
Changes in a composite score of handgrip, upper-body and lower-body tests, body composition and product liking did not differ between pea and whey. Within groups, the composite score rose 16.1% with pea (p = 0.01) and 11.1% with whey (p = 0.06).
Randomized trial of 0.9 g protein/kg/day in three doses for 5 days after a 90-minute eccentric exercise bout, with the two proteins given double-blind and a water-only arm; Roquette funded it and its scientists helped design the study and write the paper. (Nieman et al. 2020, Nutrients)
92 non-athletic, non-obese men aged 18 to 55.
Whey significantly lowered blood creatine kinase and myoglobin versus water on days 4 and 5; pea protein had an intermediate effect that was not significant versus water, and pea and whey did not differ. Neither protein changed delayed-onset pain ratings, bench press or Wingate results versus water.
Single-blind randomized crossover single-meal test of 50 g glucose alone or with 25 g or 50 g NUTRALYS pea protein; two authors were Roquette employees. (Thondre et al. 2021, Eur J Nutr)
31 healthy adults.
The 180-minute glucose iAUC was 31% lower with 25 g and 53% lower with 50 g pea protein than with glucose alone (p < 0.001), and insulin iAUC was 28% and 40% higher. GIP and GLP-1 showed no clear difference from control.