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Vegan Power-Sleep Protein Shake

Vegan Power-Sleep Protein Shake

If you’ve read our article What Are the Benefits of a Protein Shake Before Bed?, you’ll already be aware that a protein shake before bed can have a whole host of incredible health benefits. Whether your goal is weight loss, muscle gain, recomp (losing fat while building muscle), or even just improving your overall health; the many benefits of a pre-sleep protein shake will have you covered! Protein plays an important role in stimulating the synthesis of new muscle tissue, boosting metabolism and tryptophan which helps to improve sleep quality and increase melatonin (often referred to as the ‘sleep hormone’) and serotonin (commonly referred to as a ‘happy hormone’), both of which are known for positively affecting mood and sleep (1, 3) We wanted to create a recipe that delivers maximum benefits while you catch those z’s! So, we’ve added a dreamy combination of pineapple and bananas, both shown to boost levels of ‘sleep hormone’ melatonin by a whopping 266% and 188% respectively (2) They are also both sources of carbohydrate which has been shown to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep (4).

While dairy and meat products are often hailed as the top sources of tryptophan; there are also many great plant-based sources including pumpkin and sunflower seeds, soy milk (and other soy products such as tofu), spinach and nuts (particularly cashews). 

Ingredients: 

Method: 

  1. Simply throw all ingredients in a blender, blitz until smooth and enjoy! 

Serves: 1 (large) shake

Nutrition per Serving –  kcal: 400, Protein: 41g, Carbs: 15g, Fat: 19g,

Reference List:

  1. Claustrat, B. & Leston, J.. (2015). Melatonin: Physiological effects in humans. Neurochirurgie. 61. 10.1016/j.neuchi.2015.03.002. 
  2. Johns, Nutjaree Pratheepawanit & Johns, Jeffrey & Porasuphattana, Supatra & Plaimee, Preeyaporn & Sae-Teaw, Manit. (2012). Dietary Intake of Melatonin from Tropical Fruit Altered Urinary Excretion of 6-Sulfatoxymelatonin in Healthy Volunteers. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. 61. 10.1021/jf300359a.
  3. Lindseth, Glenda & Lindseth, Paul & Thompson, Mark. (2011). Nutritional Effects on Sleep. Western journal of nursing research. 35. 10.1177/0193945911416379.
  4. Spring, Bonnie. (1984). Recent Research on the Behavioral Effects of Tryptophan and Carbohydrate. Nutrition and health. 3. 55-67. 10.1177/026010608400300204.  

Here’s What You’ll Need:

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