Led by Dr. Phil Chilibeck (PhD), a professor at USask’s College of Kinesiology, a new study will examine whether the benefits of pea protein – ingested as pea milk – could be more beneficial for your bones than dairy.
If this project can confirm pea protein has distinct bone health benefits, it could be used as a supplement for those suffering from osteoporosis.
“We were surprised to find the pea protein, for some reason, had just as good or even superior benefits sometimes when compared to dairy milk,” Chilibeck said. “Pulses (like peas) are good for everyone ... If we can show that they’re beneficial for bone health, it opens up a new market for pulses.”
The project received funding in part from the Agriculture Development Fund (ADF), a provincial and federal government-supported program to provide resources to innovative agriculture and agri-foods research.
Chilibeck said the inspiration for this research came from a previous project he and his team had conducted into the effectiveness of proteins from different milks – dairy, pea and almond – for young athletes.
Knowing that animal-based proteins are typically marketed as nutritionally superior to plant-based alternatives, Chilibeck was expecting to find superior results from the dairy protein in their initial research.
During that experiment, while Chilibeck noted the gains from protein between dairy and pea milk were quite similar, there was a marked increase in bone geometric measures which are predictive of bone strength – especially in the hip bone – for those who drank pea milk after their workouts.
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