Mycoprotein, blood fats, blood sugar and muscle
What it found
In people, eating mycoprotein lowered blood cholesterol and blunted the rise in blood sugar and insulin after a meal.
It also kept people fuller and may help support muscle, though most muscle work so far is early.
What they found
Studies in people
Cholesterol in people
In a 3-week trial, people with mildly raised cholesterol who ate about 40 g dry weight of mycoprotein a day saw total cholesterol fall from 5.54 to 4.81 mmol/L and LDL cholesterol fall from 4.16 to 3.78 mmol/L. HDL cholesterol rose from 0.58 to 0.65 mmol/L. The control group generally moved in the opposite direction.
Blood sugar after meals
In young healthy adults, 20 g dry weight of mycoprotein taken during a glucose tolerance test led to a smaller rise in blood sugar and insulin than a soy and skimmed milk drink. In overweight adults, about 40 g dry weight led to lower insulin but not lower blood sugar compared with a chicken meal.
Fullness and food intake
A mycoprotein meal led to less food eaten later that day (by 24%) and the next day (by 17%) compared with a chicken meal. Other studies found similar fullness effects.
Muscle protein building
In healthy young men, the amino acids from mycoprotein reached the blood as well as those from milk protein, though more slowly and for longer. The effect grew with larger doses up to 60 to 80 g of mycoprotein.
Animal and lab studies
Gut bacteria and fibre
In lab tests, mycoprotein and its fibre were fermented by gut bacteria, boosting propionate and butyrate. This may help explain the cholesterol and fullness effects, but the authors say more human work is needed.
What the authors conclude
“Mycoprotein is a sustainably produced fungal-derived dietary protein source that has been shown to improve blood lipid profiles and acute post-prandial glucose control, and provides a potent satiety effect.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say mycoprotein improves blood lipid profiles and acute post-meal glucose control, and provides a potent satiety effect.
- They call for future work to assess the anabolic potential of mycoprotein in various situations and populations, such as athletes and older adults.
- They note that whether the acute effects on blood sugar translate into better insulin sensitivity or long-term control when eaten daily is unclear.
How it was done
The world needs more protein, and animal protein is hard on the environment. The authors wanted to see whether mycoprotein, a fungal protein, could support heart and metabolic health and muscle.
They pulled together human and lab studies on mycoprotein, including trials where people ate it for up to 3 weeks, and studies measuring blood amino acids after eating it.
What it can’t tell you
- Most of the cholesterol and blood sugar findings come from short studies, so they cannot show what happens over months or years.
- The muscle studies were small and in young men, so they cannot show whether mycoprotein helps older adults or athletes build or keep muscle.
- The lab tests on gut bacteria cannot show what happens in the human gut.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Exeter, United Kingdom; University of Glasgow, United Kingdom; Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, United Kingdom
The paper
- Title
- Mycoprotein as a possible alternative source of dietary protein to support muscle and metabolic health
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY-SA. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Coelho MOC, Monteyne AJ, Dunlop MV, et al (2020). Mycoprotein as a possible alternative source of dietary protein to support muscle and metabolic health. Nutrition reviews. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuz077Free full textPubMed 31841152DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error