Beef Protein Powder

What Is Beef Protein Powder?

Beef protein powder is a relatively new type of protein powder. It's value is based on the premise of providing all of the benefits of consuming high-protein beef food sources such as steak, whilst removing the negative effects associated with the consumption of red meat.

These negative effects associated with beef consumption include; high levels of saturated fats, cholesterol and calories per serving. Additionally, a research paper in 2015 stated red meat such as; beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse and goat, are probably carcinogenic (1). This has since been backed up by further research showing high red meat intake was positively associated with various forms of cancer (2). 

Benefits Of Beef Protein Powder

Beef protein powder has an impressive nutritional profile. And although there is limited research on beef protein supplements, the studies which have been undertaken have found positive results. 

Improved Body Composition

Research has found beef protein supplements improve lean body mass, producing results similar to whey protein supplementation (3). A further study found consuming two servings of hydrolyzed beef protein isolate following resistance training lead to significant increases in lean body mass (4). This increase was 5.7% which outperformed the lean body mass improvements from whey protein supplementation. Additionally, beef isolate was found to outperform whey in terms of fat loss over an 8 week period recording a 10.8% improvement.

This research suggests beef protein may be more beneficial to whey protein when it comes to improving body composition. However, to confirm this more research is needed as there are limited studies available.

Increased Strength Levels

Beef protein supplementation has been found to significantly increase strength levels (3). In the same research study mentioned earlier regarding improving body composition it was found two servings of beef protein isolate following resistance training lead to significant increases in strength.

1 rep max (1RM) is regarded as good indicator of maximum strength. Individuals following a resistance training programme and taking beef protein isolate recorded significant improvements in both 1RM for deadlift and bench-press (4).

Preserving Muscle Mass

A study monitoring the effects of supplementation on triathletes between 35 and 60 years old found hydrolyzed beef protein isolate to provide better results than both whey protein and a carbohydrate drink. Taking a beef protein supplement after workout or before breakfast (non-training days) can be effective in preserving thigh muscle mass and in improving iron levels in male master-age triathletes (5).

A further study on triathletes aged approximately 21 found beef protein supplementation resulted in increase thigh muscle thickness. This supports the study mentioned above and suggests the benefits of beef protein isolate on endurance athletes does not depend on age. The study came to the conclusion beef protein supplementation seems to facilitate a more favourable anabolic environment (6).

High Protein Content Per Serving And Low In Fat, Cholesterol and Carbohydrates

The typical protein content of a beef protein powder will be 80% or higher. Additionally, nearly all beef protein powders come with zero or low amounts of carbohydrates, fat and cholesterol. The recommended levels of daily protein intake for a healthy adult is currently 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight which translates to about 7 grams of protein every day for every 20 pounds of body weight (7). A typical beef protein powder will contain 25g of protein per 30g serving which means an individual weighing 75kg could get nearly 50% of their recommended daily intake form just one serving.

May Improve Skin And Joint Health

Hydrolyzed beef protein is a type of collagen. Research has found oral collagen supplements increases skin elasticity, hydration, and dermal collagen density (8). Other research analysing joint pain in athletes found collagen hydrolysate could support joint health and possibly reduce the risk of joint deterioration. It was noted despite the study's size and limitations, the results suggested athletes consuming collagen hydrolysate can reduce parameters (such as pain) which have a negative impact on athletic performance (9).

How Is Beef Protein Powder Manufactured?

Beef protein powders are often mistaken to be derived from meat. In fact, it is derived from hydrolysed beef protein isolate and hydrolysed gelatin. Beef protein isolate is predominantly made up of collagen and gelatin. In most cases this collagen is extracted from offcuts from the beef production process. This will be bovine parts such as hooves and ligaments. These bovine parts are then boiled in a large vat until a liquid is formed.

This liquid is a nutrient-rich substance which contains proteins and amino acids. The liquid is skimmed in order to eliminate any carbohydrates and fats which may be present, and as a result, what is left behind is a liquid with an extremely high concentration of protein. This liquid is subsequently dried out to form a beef protein isolate powder that can serve to replace any other protein powder. The drying is usually done through a process called spray-drying.

The end product usually depends on the quality of the beef  used in the process. While one would hope that the beef used is high-quality cuts of meat, this is simply unrealistic, especially given the exceptionally high price of beef today.

The reason proper meat would be preferable in making a beef protein powder is most of the high-quality protein is contained in the actual meat of the beef, which means that this is where the quality of the amino acid profile is at its highest. This is why unwanted byproducts from the beef production process such as hides, ears, ligaments, and hooves are frequently used. 

Amino Acids In Beef Protein Isolate

Values given per 100g of Protein Powder

As you can see in the table above, beef protein powder has a lower amount of the 3 branched chain amino acids (BCAA's) when compared to whey protein. This is important if you are looking for your protein powder to help promote muscle growth as all 3 BCAA's play an important role (10). For this reason many individuals who choose to take a beef protein supplement use a powder which has additional BCAA's or take a BCAA supplement too.

Why Are The BCAA Levels In Protein Powders Important?

Within the human body, there are countless proteins, and these are made up of approximately 20 amino acids. Of these twenty amino acids, nine of them are considered essential. This means your body is not able to produce them of its own accord, and so they must be found in your diet. Three of these are the BCAAs. They are leucine, isoleucine, and valine.

BCAAs provide a number of benefits. Leucine assists in stimulating muscle protein synthesis. Many who take protein powder do so with the intention of developing or maintaining muscle mass, to do this muscle protein synthesis is required to exceed muscle protein breakdown. Leucine has the ability to promote muscle protein synthesis which makes it an important amino acid for most people.

Research has also found BCAAs reduce muscle soreness post-workout (11). This is because BCAAs help to decrease muscle damage by decreasing the breakdown of protein while simultaneously decreasing levels of creatine kinase (12).

It has also been found BCAAs have the ability to reduce fatigue induced by exercise. This is mostly because the levels of BCAAs in your blood tend to drop during exercise, causing an increase in tryptophan in your brain. This, in turn, converts to serotonin, which then contributes to fatigue (13).

Whey Versus Beef Protein

When looking at whey protein, there are essentially three different types, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. These are whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, and whey protein hydrolysate. Each of these also has different levels of protein, and this makes a significant difference in terms of the benefits of each.

Whey protein concentrate might be your best bet in terms of how it benefits your immune system and contains around 80% protein. Whey isolate is considered the purest form of whey protein while containing approximately 90% protein.

Hydrolysate, on the other hand, is the quickest of the three to be digested. This is because it contains isolates and concentrates that are pre-digested.

The rest of the percentages (20% for concentrate and 10% for isolate) contain carbohydrates and fats.

Now beef protein powder claims to contain around 99% protein, which explains its appeal to users, especially due to its extremely low levels of fat and carbohydrates.

While beef protein powder has extremely high levels of protein, it has extremely low levels of the BCAA Leucine, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the protein. This is because Leucine (along with the other BCAAs) is extremely important for stimulating muscle protein synthesis.

It is possible to purchase freeform Leucine that can be added to beef protein powder to increase the leucine levels. This will allow you to reach the required leucine threshold of between 3 and 5g.

However, whey protein typically has good levels of all of the essential amino acids and BCAAs, providing a complete protein source to which nothing needs to be added.

If you are the type of person with sensitivities to whey or dairy, then beef protein might be the better option for you, as beef protein usually contains no whey or dairy.

There is a limited amount of research that suggests beef protein is able to build higher levels of strength and mass. A far larger body of evidence exists, however, that shows that whey protein can improve strength, build muscle mass, and significantly improve recovery.

It has been established that beef protein is not a complete protein source, lacking a significant amount of the essential amino acids and BCAAs that are required for the proper synthesis of muscle protein.

Whey protein, on the other hand, contains almost double the amount of the aforementioned amino acids when compared to beef protein. The lower digestibility factor of beef protein also does not stand in its favour when being compared to whey protein.

Despite 29.1g of protein for every 30g serving of beef protein powder, the amount of amino acids such as leucine will continue to make the biggest difference.

This amino acid is essential to catalyse protein synthesis, and so if there are not high enough amounts of it present in your protein powder, the amount of protein will make very little difference.

The Concept of Bioavailability

Bioavailability is essentially the percentage of protein that is absorbed by your body, whatever the source might be. Irrespective of the amount of protein in any source, it does not mean that your body will absorb the whole amount.

Whether the protein is absorbed - or processed - by your body depends mostly on the type of protein, and so it’s essential that you understand the different types of proteins and how each of these is processed by your body.

Some proteins are processed by your body more quickly and efficiently than others, and so these are the protein sources you should stick to in order to ensure you are enjoying optimal protein in your diet.

If a protein source has a higher digestibility score, this makes it a better choice for you. What the digestibility score refers to is the bioavailability of a specific amino acid.

When comparing whey protein isolate to beef protein isolate, there is a clear distinction in that our bodies are far more easily able to absorb whey protein isolate, with a far higher absorption rate.

This means that even if the beef protein powder has higher levels of protein, our bodies will not necessarily absorb all of it. As a result, the total amount of protein that we are able to absorb from whey protein may be higher than that from beef protein.

Conclusion

Now that you understand exactly what beef protein is, you ought to be able to make an educated comparison to other types of protein powder to see which option will serve you best.

While beef protein is not a complete protein source and lacks numerous aspects that are included in other proteins, such as whey, it can still be used as an effective way to gain mass and strength.

For people with dairy or whey sensitivities, beef protein might be the only option that really works effectively for you and will ensure that you are able to use protein powder without suffering any major issues with your digestion.

It’s important that you do your research carefully if you choose to make use of a beef protein powder. This is because while some manufacturers might make use of real beef, thus ensuring a proper protein source, others may use byproducts of beef that essentially create a protein powder with a PDCAAS score of zero.