Pork vs plant protein meals and recovery after army fitness test
What it found
In 23 cadets, eating pork-based meals before and after a tough army fitness test led to less muscle soreness, lower stress markers and better appetite than plant-based meals.
Fitness test performance was about the same on both diets.
What they found
Studies in people
Muscle soreness
Cadets reported less muscle soreness after the fitness test when eating pork-based meals compared to plant-based meals. For example, mid-thigh soreness rose by 175%, 354% and 163% at 24, 48 and 72 hours on the plant diet, but not on the pork diet.
Stress and anabolic markers
Cortisol levels dropped from baseline by 14.5% at 48 hours and 14.6% at 72 hours on the pork diet, while the testosterone to cortisol ratio rose by 33.6% at 48 hours. These changes were not seen on the plant diet.
Protein breakdown
Urinary urea nitrogen and creatinine differed between diets, suggesting less protein breakdown with pork-based meals.
Inflammation
On the plant diet, IL-1β increased by 6.1%, while on the pork diet IL-5 rose by 6.2% and IL-8 fell by 8.8% at 48 hours.
Fitness performance
Performance on the Army Combat Fitness Test after 3 days of recovery was not different between the two diets. Both groups improved in some tasks like push-ups and plank.
Blood lipids
Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were lower after the plant-based diet compared to the pork-based diet, though values were low and differences small.
What the authors conclude
“In comparison to consuming plant-based MREs, consuming pork-based MRE meals can favorably impact perceptions of muscle soreness, reduce urinary markers of protein degradation, attenuate markers of inflammation and stress, promote a more favorable anabolic status (i.e., cortisol/testosterone ratio), and improve perceptions of restful sleep.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that consuming pork-based MRE meals can improve perceptions of muscle soreness, reduce urinary markers of protein degradation, lower inflammation and stress, and promote a more favorable anabolic status compared to plant-based MREs.
- They suggest that the military should consider using animal-based protein for MREs or fortifying plant-based MREs with essential amino acids (6–10 g/d) and creatine (2–3 g/d).
- They state that more research is needed to assess how different amounts and types of protein in MREs influence exercise capacity and recovery over time in female and male military personnel.
How it was done
Military personnel doing intense exercise need enough quality protein to maintain protein balance and recover. Plant proteins have fewer essential amino acids and less creatine than pork, so the authors wanted to see if pork-based meals helped recovery more.
Twenty-three members of a university corps of cadets took part in a randomised, double-blind, crossover trial. They ate either pork-based or plant-based military-style meals before and for three days after performing the Army Combat Fitness Test, then switched to the other diet after 2 to 3 weeks.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a short-term study over 3 days of recovery, so it cannot show what happens with longer-term use.
- The study included only six women, so it cannot reliably show differences between men and women.
- The results apply to young, fit military cadets doing intense exercise, and may not apply to other groups.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by National Pork Board (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- R.B.K. has conducted grant and contract-funded research on nutritional supplements awarded to the universities he has been affiliated with, received honorariums for making scientific presentations, and served as a paid scientific expert. He has no financial conflict of interest with the study sponsor or product evaluated in this study. The remaining coauthors report no financial conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- Texas A&M University, USA; Lionel University, USA
The paper
- Title
- Effects of Pork Protein Ingestion Prior to and Following Performing the Army Combat Fitness Test on Markers of Catabolism, Inflammation, and Recovery
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Gonzalez DE, Hines KE, Sowinski RJ, et al (2025). Effects of Pork Protein Ingestion Prior to and Following Performing the Army Combat Fitness Test on Markers of Catabolism, Inflammation, and Recovery. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu17121995Free full textPubMed 40573107DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error