Description

Every physical action - from stretching hands to smiling - involves complex and multiple movements of muscles. Protein is one of the most important substances in the body. Muscles, hair, eyes, organs, and many hormones and enzymes are primarily made out of protein. It also helps to repair and maintain your body tissues. However, not all protein is created equal. Protein is a very large nutrient that’s made up of smaller substances called amino acids. There are 18 amino acids, but human body can only make 9 of them. The other 9 are called essential amino acids, and you can only get them through the diet. High-quality protein sources contain all nine of the essential amino acids. These are also called whole proteins or complete proteins (2).

muscles are formed from an intricate matrix of protein fibers. Every flex, every bench press, and every movement of our muscles is the result of these protein fibers working in synchronicity. These muscle fibers are in a high state of dynamic motion in athletes and active individuals, as they are being constantly broken down and rebuilt during exercise. Athletes and active individuals have higher requirements of protein, as the body needs the building blocks to recover from this muscle damage and initiate the process of building new muscle (2).

The sports nutrition research in the area of muscle recovery and growth is unequivocally in favor of protein supplementation, especially for individuals who want to improve lean muscle, and for athletes who undergo rigorous exercise (2).

After intense workouts, the body is starved for protein, and in the absence of additional protein intake, the body may start to leach protein away from the muscle. Supplementation with a suitable protein source helps prevent this breakdown of muscle protein, enabling individuals to retain and build lean muscle mass. Additional protein intake is also key to comprehensive muscle recovery after endurance activities - studies have shown that protein aids in the repair of muscle damage induced by high-intensity exercise. Supplementation with a complete protein source rich in amino acids also promotes adaptations in muscles in response to training, and facilitates the replenishment of energy stores and glycogen in muscle post-exercise (3).

Protein Digestion

Proteins are large polymers of amino acids joined by peptide bonds. The peptide bond is an amide linkage joining the amino group of one amino acid to the carboxyl group of another. There are 18 different amino acids found in proteins. They differ in the chemical nature of the “side chain”, R. When several amino acids are joined in this way, the result is a peptide. Protein digestion begins when you first start chewing. There are two enzymes in your saliva called amylase and lipase. They mostly break down carbohydrates and fats. Once a protein source reaches your stomach, hydrochloric acid and enzymes called proteases to break it down into smaller chains of amino acids. Amino acids are joined together by peptides, which are broken by proteases. From your stomach, these smaller chains of amino acids move into your small intestine. As this happens, your pancreas releases enzymes and a bicarbonate buffer that reduces the acidity of digested food. This reduction allows more enzymes to work on further breaking down amino acid chains into individual amino acids.

Benefits of pea protein

Amino acids are the fundamental building blocks of protein in the body, making them of one of the cornerstones of sports nutrition research. The assimilation of amino acids by the body is the first step towards repairing muscle damage and building new muscle after high volumes of exercise. Post-workout, positive levels of certain amino acids in the body directly influence the rate of protein anabolism and new muscle growth (4).

In human nutrition, amino acids are categorized as 'Essential' and 'Non-essential'. Essential amino acids are hence named because they are not synthesized by the human body, and have to be ingested through food sources. Non-essential amino acids are synthesized by the body - however, physically active individuals need supplementation of non-essential amino acids because of their higher requirements. Additionally, 8 of the 11 non-essential amino acids - including Arginine and Glutamine which are key to sports nutrition - are referred to as 'conditionally essential amino acids'. The synthesis of conditionally essential amino acids in the body is limited, especially after bouts of high exercise – making it imperative that a well-rounded sports nutrition regimen should include a source of non-essential amino acids (4).

Pea Protein Isolate is a complete source of all essential and non-essential amino acids. 

Arginine content

Pea protein isolate contains the highest amount of arginine among all protein sources, including whey protein.

Arginine has received much focus in sports nutrition research because of its extensive role in muscle recovery and muscle performance. Studies have shown arginine to initiate protein synthesis and muscle growth after high-impact exercise. Arginine is also a promoter of nitric oxide in the human body. Nitric oxide greatly increases blood flow and delivery of amino acids to muscles, which results in better muscle pumps and superior performance during high endurance training. This amino acid also reinforces the body's immune system- which means better recovery after exercise, and protection against oxidative stress and inflammation resulting from aerobic exercise (5).

High digestibility

Our pea Protein out-flexes whey-based supplements with its superior digestibility, and by eliminating common problems associated with the ingestion of animal-based proteins.

Digestibility is one of the most important benchmarks for determining the efficiency of a protein supplement. Animal protein is built differently, and in order for the human body to utilize the amino acids in animal protein, the body has to expend more energy into digesting it and breaking it down into amino acids. As it contains plant-based protein, Unived pea protein isolate has an extremely high digestibility of 98%, making it a rich source of highly bio-available and easily accessible amino acids (6).

Pea protein is also classified as an 'Intermediate-Fast' protein. This means that once digested, pea protein is quickly assimilated by the body for protein synthesis, while ensuring that the muscles get a consistent and prolonged supply of amino acids. The intermediate-fast absorption rate combined with high digestibility gives your body all the resources it needs to repair post-exercise muscle damage, recover comprehensively, and build new muscle (6)

The lactose present in whey-based supplements is the most common cause of digestive distress - especially in lactose-intolerant individuals who lack the enzyme necessary to break down the lactose sugar in whey protein. In the absence of this enzyme, lactose sugar is not digested properly, leading to abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Even if lactose is removed from whey protein, digestive discomfort can persist with whey-based supplements. As whey is an animal-based protein, it contains very little fiber. The lack of dietary fiber can lead to constipation and irregular bowel movements, which can be rectified only by the consumption of high-fibre foods in addition to whey.

As a completely plant-based vegan protein, Unived's pea protein isolate is naturally contains fiber in addition to being highly digestible.

PDCAAS Score

PDCAAS (Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score) is a standardized method to evaluate protein quality based on nutritional requirement in humans and their ability to digest protein (7). On a scale of 0-1, pea protein has high PDCAAS score of 0.93 - which is equivalent to the PDCAAS score of sources of meat, eggs, and soy, and far superior to that of common vegetables found in the regular diet like spinach and broccoli. Pea Protein Isolate delivers high-quality protein isolate that is equivalent in nutritional quality to traditional animal-based supplements, along with the superior digestibility of plant-based protein.

Heart friendly

Along with being a rich source of unsaturated fatty acids, plant-based proteins like pea protein contain low levels of saturated fat, a factor that promotes HDL ('good cholesterol') levels in the body.

As a plant-sourced supplement, Unived Women’s Protein is 100% cholesterol-free, and does not contribute to dietary cholesterol, unlike animal & dairy sources.

Hypoallergenic

Pea Protein Isolate is hypo-allergenic, making it a suitable and safe choice for people who are allergic to milk and whey products, those with lactose intolerance, those allergic to soy products, or for those athletes who avoid animal-derived products because of ethical reasons.

Purity

Pea Protein Isolate has a complete and perfectly balanced amino acid profile, without the addition of any synthetic amino acids. As plant-based protein involves significantly less industrial processing and carbon emissions, Pea Protein Isolate is an environment friendly protein. Unived Women’s Protein is a compassionate way for women to meet their protein requirements, as it contains no animal-derived ingredients, and is 100% vegan, GMO-free, and dairy-free.

The Unived difference

Pea Protein Isolate has a complete and perfectly balanced amino acid profile, without the addition of any synthetic amino acids. As plant-based protein involves significantly less industrial processing and carbon emissions, Pea Protein Isolate is an environment-friendly protein. It doesn't contain any animal-derived ingredients and is 100% vegan, GMO-free, and dairy-free.

Evidence-Based or Bust

We use ingredients backed by a significant body of research that is growing each day.

1. The Current Situation of Pea Protein and Its Application in the Food Industry
   Shanthakumar, P., Klepacka, J., Bains, A., Chawla, P., Dhull, S. B., & Najda, A. (2022). The Current Situation of Pea Protein and Its Application in the Food Industry. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 27(16), 5354.
2. Protein – Which is Best?
   Hoffman, J. R., & Falvo, M. J. (2004). Protein - Which is Best?. Journal of sports science & medicine, 3(3), 118–130.
3. Regulation of Muscle Glycogen Repletion, Muscle Protein Synthesis and Repair Following Exercise
   Ivy J. L. (2004). Regulation of muscle glycogen repletion, muscle protein synthesis and repair following exercise. Journal of sports science & medicine, 3(3), 131–138.
4. Protein and amino Acid supplementation in athletes
   Armsey, T. D., Jr, & Grime, T. E. (2002). Protein and amino Acid supplementation in athletes. Current sports medicine reports, 1(4), 253–256.
5. L-arginine enhances aerobic exercise capacity in association with augmented nitric oxide production
   Maxwell, A. J., Ho, H. V., Le, C. Q., Lin, P. S., Bernstein, D., & Cooke, J. P. (2001). L-arginine enhances aerobic exercise capacity in association with augmented nitric oxide production. Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 90(3), 933–938.
6. Fueling the vegetarian (vegan) athlete
   Fuhrman, J., & Ferreri, D. M. (2010). Fueling the vegetarian (vegan) athlete. Current sports medicine reports, 9(4), 233–241.
7. The protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score
   Schaafsma G. (2000). The protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score. The Journal of nutrition, 130(7), 1865S–7S.