FatCat -
All these years and I had never heard of athletes supplementing with Pea Protein. Probably because it has a very poor bioavailability, it's a 49 out of 100 BV, which means it would bascically be more efficicient to consume solid foods to get the protein. Or at best consuming pea protein WITH a meal (containing protein) would result if a more complete amino acid profile (assuming that meal is not all peas and carrots). It's definitely a supplement of the lowest value. Unless soy causes your friends problems (hey many people have allergies to it) I would recommend soy over pea. Soy has several benefits including a positive cholesterol impact...and damn that Silk Soy Lite Chocolate tastes so good.
Isolated Whey: 100
Whole Egg: 93.7
Cow’s Milk: 91
Egg Whites: 83
Fish: 83
Casein: 80
Beef: 80
Chicken: 79
Soy: 74
Wheat Gluten: 54
Kidney Beans: 49
Hydrolyzed casein is too new and Peas don't make the cut.
Ultimately regardless of BV, PER, NPER, etc the substance net effects on Nitrogen Balance is most important. Positive nitrogen balance is what's important when it comes to sparring and rebuilding muscle.
p.s regarding BV BV = (nitrogen retained / nitrogen absorbed) * 100
Some sources have stated that some proteins result in a higher than 100 score, but given that Egg was the original 'yardstick' it's understandable, since whey is higher than egg.
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