Pea Protein Powder: Benefits, Side Effects, How to Use It Effectively

We are truly living in a golden age of protein powders, where you can pretty easily find a protein powder that fits within your specific lifestyle and nutrition plan without much effort.

In the past, protein powders were limited to one animal protein and one plant-based  protein — whey and soy respectively — which means you were stuck with only two choices to help you boost your protein intake and pack on more muscle mass.

With so many different protein powders now available on the market, especially if you’re looking for plant-based protein powders, you can choose from protein powders made of products ranging from cranberries to hemp. All of these protein powders promise to effectively fill the protein gaps in your nutrition plan.

Amongst the plant-based protein powders, pea protein has emerged as the most popular protein powder since soy. So what are the properties that make pea protein good for you, and should pea protein products find their way into your regular supplement rotation?

What is Pea Protein Powder?

If you’re thinking that the benefits of pea protein can be yours simply because you scrape the green peas from your dinner plate each night, there are a couple of reasons why that strategy isn’t going to play out in your favor.

First, the green peas commonly available to you in the vegetable aisle aren’t the sort of peas that are conducive to use in a powdered form, because their flavor tends to overpower whatever mixture they are added to.

Second, eating whole peas from your dinner plate usually won’t deliver protein to your system in a high enough quantity to efficiently and significantly  help your muscle recovery and muscle growth. 

For these reasons, pea protein powders are almost exclusively composed of ground yellow peas. This is because yellow peas have a far gentler flavor profile than green peas, which also helps them to blend more tolerably into shakes with other ingredients.

Moreover, yellow peas still maintain a favorable amino acid profile, which makes them an even more attractive option to mix into a protein shake, whether you prefer it as a meal replacement or a post-workout beverage.

Nutritional Profile of Pea Protein Powder

When people talk about the nutritional profile of protein powder, they are nearly always referencing whether or not it is a complete protein, which refers to whether or not a protein contains all nine essential amino acids.

Protein completeness is a common shortcoming of plant-based proteins, whereas animal-based proteins and dairy-based protein powders both contain all the essential amino acids required for muscle growth.

Fortunately, pea protein contains all nine amino acids required for completeness. This means that a pea protein shake can provide you with a more complete protein source than many other protein powders that are available on the market, and especially plant-based proteins.

For the record, protein completeness doesn’t tell the whole story, as the ratio of amino acids within a protein also adds to its worth with respect to its ability to promote muscle growth. 

In the case of pea protein, its key amino acid shortcoming with respect to animal proteins  is methionine. However, this can be overcome by supplementing with other methionine rich foods like sesame seeds and nuts.

On the other hand, pea protein has solid ratios of the three branched-chain amino acids — leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These three amino acids have been deemed to be the most important of the bunch as it pertains to building muscle, and otherwise aiding exercise performance.

Benefits of Pea Protein Powder

When you get right down to it, what you’re really here for is to learn what the benefits of pea protein powder are, and how the benefits of pea protein supplementation differ from those of other protein sources. 

Fortunately, pea protein has benefits that extend beyond its health benefits, and especially if you count environmental sanctity as one of your interests alongside bettering your body.

Muscle Growth and Recovery

Pea protein powder has a proven ability to help you increase muscle mass,  and accelerate your post-workout muscle recovery. 

This is a common trait amongst most types of complete protein powder, inasmuch as it goes a long way toward promoting the growth of lean muscle, and inducing healthy weight gain.

Digestibility and Hypoallergenic Nature

Because peas are less likely than milk to cause allergies or other problematic physical responses, many people have a far easier time digesting pea protein powder than protein powders that are derived from milk.

Weight Management and Satiety

As a healthy meal substitute, pea protein has the ability to help you reduce overall food intake, and help you reduce the likelihood of unhealthy weight gain. This is because protein intake is associated with increased satiety, with a lower overall calorie intake. 

Especially in comparison to other macronutrients, protein increases satisfaction, and reduces hunger cravings. As a result, pea protein powder can support weight loss, not only by provoking you to consume less food overall, but also by inducing a higher thermic effect than fat and carbohydrates, which ultimately burns more calories.

Heart Health and Blood Pressure

Animal studies have been conducted that demonstrate how pea protein powder can be beneficial to people who are dealing with cardiovascular health issues, including high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels.

In one study, pea protein was able to reduce the blood pressure levels of both hypertensive humans and rats. (1) In a separate study, rats fed protein for 28 days had lower cholesterol levels by the end of the study. (2) Based on these results, pea protein has been declared to have demonstrated the ability to lower blood pressure levels and reduce cholesterol. 

Eco-Friendly Protein Source

If you’re an environmentally conscious consumer with concerns about the sustainability of your food choices, pea protein has a reputation for being an environmentally sustainable option. This means that you can consume pea protein powder with a conscience that’s crystal clear in relation to potential environmental consequences.

Potential Side Effects of Pea Protein

While there are several pea protein benefits, for some people, there is a cost to consuming certain proteins in concentrated doses that they’re unlikely to consume through ordinary meals.

To be clear, these disadvantages are not universal, and don’t reach the same degree of severity in all people. Therefore, you shouldn’t allow the potential for a side effect to interfere with your desire to sample pea protein isolate.

Digestive Issues

While pea protein powder can be a strong contributor to a healthy diet, there are people with stomachs that are specifically sensitive to pea protein, especially when it’s consumed in high quantities. 

Bloating and cramping are common consequences of a sensitivity to pea protein, but harsher symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea can also occur, especially if you have an actual allergy to pea protein. 

On top of these issues, someone with an immune system that’s sensitive to pea protein powder may also experience skin problems like itching and swelling, or respiratory issues like coughing and shortness of breath.

Interactions with Medications

While there are no serious interactions reported between pea protein and any major medicines, there are some studies that indicate that pea protein may independently lower your blood pressure. 

In a study involving both rats and humans as test subjects, the consumption of pea protein isolate led to an average blood pressure reduction in human subjects of 5 mmhg in the second week, and 6 mmhg in the third week. (1)

In light of these findings, if you’re taking medication to lower your blood pressure, you may want to be aware of the potential for pea protein powder to lower your blood pressure to some extent on its own, regardless as to what can be accounted for by the medication

How to use Pea Protein Powder Effectively

Benefits like weight loss, lower blood pressure, improved heart health, and larger muscles are all linked with the consistent consumption of pea protein. Still, pea protein’s ability to deliver these physical enhancements to you are limited if you don’t take your protein consistently, and in the right doses.

Recommended Dosages

The recommendations for safe supplementation with protein powder are  very well established, and that includes supplementation with pea protein powder.  In order to achieve healthy weight gain, you are advised to consume 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Therefore, it would be suggested that a 200 pound man should consume 72 grams of total  protein each day.

On the higher end, it is recommended that athletes should consume between 0.5 and 0.9  grams of protein per pound of body weight. In these cases, pea protein powder can be very helpful in achieving these consumption levels, as it could be very difficult for a 200-pound man to intentionally consume 180 grams of protein each day through ordinary food intake alone.

Best Time to Consume

Realistically, there is no such thing as a bad time to consume pea protein if your objective is to get more protein into your diet because you wish to experience any or all pea protein benefits.

Strategically speaking, many people who boost their protein intake because they wish to build muscle mass will take pea protein immediately following a resistance training workout. 

This method of supplementation can rush high quality protein content to your muscles where they are at their point of greatest need, and help them to repair themselves as quickly as possible.

Combining with Other Protein Sources

In order to maximize the benefit of your pea protein powder, it can be advantageous to combine it with other protein sources. Specifically, the ideal companion for your pea protein would be any food source that’s high in cysteine or methionine, like oats, rice, or pinto beans. 

Doing this will improve the quality of your diet, and provide you with the nutritional benefits of foods with a robust and well-rounded amino acid profile. 

Transparent Labs Pea Protein Isolate

In an effort to save you the trouble of having to do any guesswork, Transparent Labs offers its own organic pea protein powder. Our pea protein isolate is delicious, with a recommended serving size of 28 grams of complete protein per serving. 

Our pea protein isolate is a complete protein source with all nine essential amino acids, and is capable of conveying all the benefits of a high quality protein powder to your system without any artificial sweeteners, artificial food coloring, or artificial flavoring.

Comparing Pea Protein Powder to Other Protein Powders

Once you realize that not all protein powders are created equal, you’re right to ask the question as to how pea protein stacks up to some of the other protein powders you’re likely to encounter in the wild. 

Below is a comparison of how pea protein powder ranks with  some of its competitors, along with how it can be paired with other protein powders to fully augment your amino acid intake.

Pea vs. Whey Protein

With respect to the areas that most people care about, pea protein is often regarded as less effective than whey protein on two key fronts. 

First, whey protein has higher quantities of branched chain amino acids than pea protein, along with twice the quantity of methionine, which is the essential amino acid that pea protein is most limited in.

Second, whey protein is known for the ease with which it can be mixed with other ingredients without influencing the flavor or texture. By comparison, pea protein is often criticized for being somewhat gritty with a noticeable taste.

As far as practical applications are concerned, there is evidence that whey protein is more efficient when it comes to rapid strength gains and accelerated recovery. For example, in a study of the effects of various proteins on older adults, whey protein was shown to be significantly more effective than pea protein at reducing exercise-induced damage within 24 hours of a workout. (3)

All the same, individuals on a plant-based diet who are otherwise avoiding all animal products will certainly favor pea protein over whey protein, as will people who have dairy allergies and are advised to avoid whey protein altogether. 

Pea vs. Soy Protein

In a battle of the two most popular plant protein sources, pea protein compares very favorably with soy protein. Both boast a complete amino acid profile,  and can deliver you all of the essential amino acids.

While both of these plant-based proteins have nearly identical levels of branched chain amino acids, one of the amino acids that soy protein possesses at higher levels than pea protein is methionine, meaning less methionine needs to be acquired through additional sources if you consume soy protein.

Despite this advantage, many people have allergies to soy, which makes soy protein far less digestible to them than pea protein.

Pea vs. Rice Protein

Rice protein protein, which would be more accurately called brown rice protein powder, is a common accompaniment to consumers of pea protein products who are diligent about ensuring that they receive all of the health benefits that accompany the consumption of a robust offering of amino acids.

This is because brown rice is high in cysteine and methionine, but is very low in lysine, whereas yellow peas have considerable lysine, but is low in cysteine and methionine. Therefore, both types of protein powder are often paired together to receive an amino acid dose that is on par with whey or casein protein, and often exceeds them.

A word of caution: Brown rice protein powder is often criticized for having a taste that many people find unpleasant, so you may want to take additional steps to offset that flavor by mixing rice protein with several of your favorite accompaniments.

Frequently Asked Questions About Pea Protein

Understandably, some questions are likely to arise about the safety and usefulness of pea protein powder. Here are some of the common questions about pea protein to help you make an informed decision about whether or not to give it a try.

Can pea protein help with muscle building?

Pea protein is a complete protein, and is very efficient at helping you develop muscle size and strength. In a 12-week study, pea protein supplementation resulted in significant increases in bicep muscle thickness and one-rep max strength amongst test subjects who regularly consumed pea protein. (4)

Is pea protein safe for children and elderly adults?

Generally speaking, pea protein is very safe for both children and elderly adults provided that there are no intervening factors like sensitivity or allergies involved.

Can you cook with protein powder?

Because pea protein powder is essentially dehydrated yellow peas, it can be seamlessly included in a variety of foods. These run the gamut from broths and sauces to baked goods, and in all cases, it can be a quick and easy way to increase the overall protein content of your food.

Your New Protein Alternative

In the course of building your nutrition plan, you might be reluctant to deviate from your use of familiar protein powders, like whey and soy. However, depending on how your body reacts to these established protein sources, turning to them for muscle growth and weight loss might not be worth some of the undesired side effects.

If you’re looking for a non-animal protein source that can reliably improve heart health, promote healthy blood flow, reduce muscle wasting, and still help you to lose weight, pea protein powder should be one of the first places you look. 

References

1. Li H, Prairie N, Udenigwe CC, Adebiyi AP, Tappia PS, Aukema HM, Jones PJ, Aluko RE. Blood pressure lowering effect of a pea protein hydrolysate in hypertensive rats and humans. J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Sep 28;59(18):9854-60. doi: 10.1021/jf201911p. Epub 2011 Sep 2. PMID: 21854068.

2. Rigamonti E, Parolini C, Marchesi M, Diani E, Brambilla S, Sirtori CR, Chiesa G. Hypolipidemic effect of dietary pea proteins: Impact on genes regulating hepatic lipid metabolism. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2010 May;54 Suppl 1:S24-30. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.200900251. PMID: 20077421.

3. Spoelder M, Koopmans L, Hartman YAW, Bongers CCWG, Schoofs MCA, Eijsvogels TMH, Hopman MTE. Supplementation with Whey Protein, but Not Pea Protein, Reduces Muscle Damage Following Long-Distance Walking in Older Adults. Nutrients. 2023 Jan 10;15(2):342. doi: 10.3390/nu15020342. PMID: 36678213; PMCID: PMC9867418.

4. Babault N, Païzis C, Deley G, Guérin-Deremaux L, Saniez MH, Lefranc-Millot C, Allaert FA. Pea proteins oral supplementation promotes muscle thickness gains during resistance training: a double-blind, randomized, Placebo-controlled clinical trial vs. Whey protein. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015 Jan 21;12(1):3. doi: 10.1186/s12970-014-0064-5. PMID: 25628520; PMCID: PMC4307635.