We read the studies. You get the answers.

You've already answered this one. Plant protein builds the same muscle as animal protein — you read the evidence, maybe cited the numbers in a conversation you were already winning. Building muscle after 50 is answered too; your muscle fibers can still hit their peak rate at the same ceiling as someone half your age. Two reassurances, both earned.

Plant protein is harder to digest than meat. Everybody who has spent five minutes reading about protein carries some version of this. The amino acids are different, the absorption is not as efficient, and somewhere in the conversation sits a vague agreement that plant sources score lower, but not by much. The last part, "not by much," feels certain until someone asks for a number. How much worse does plant protein actually score when there is a scale designed to measure exactly this?

The muscle outcome was equal. The practical effort was not.