The likelihood is, if you’re into training, exercise, and weightlifting, you’ve found yourself looking for protein supplements. Whey (a dairy based protein) is by far the most popular choice, and for good reason. Another, much less known choice, is Beef Protein Powder. And though I’m sure you would’ve come across Beef based Protein supplements on your favourite supplement store before, be it labelled as Hydrolysed Beef Isolate, Beef Protein, or Beef Protein Isolate, you may not be completely aware of what it is, what it’s made of, and why people take it.
This article aims to provide you with the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions regarding your protein supplementation, and whether Beef Protein Powder could be for you.
The Science of Protein Supplementation
Before we dive into the specifics of Beef Protein, let’s explore the essence of protein supplementation. Proteins are the building blocks of life, comprising essential amino acids vital for muscle growth, repair, and overall health. There are a lot of these amino acids, each of them with their own function and efficacy. The most popular of these is Leucine, which is what makes Whey Protein, in its abundance of Leucine, so good.
Supplementing with high-quality protein supports muscle protein synthesis and aids in achieving fitness goals. This protein synthesis at a basic level can be described as the building of extra muscle, post breakdown from exercise and muscle stimulation.
Protein supplementation offers a convenient and efficient way to meet your daily protein requirements, fuelling your body in your mission to achieve the best you can be.
Introducing Beef Protein Powder: What is it?
If you often find yourself exploring your supplementation options, it’s likely that you’ve come across Beef Protein powder quite a few times. Beef Protein powder (often known as Beef Protein Isolate), alongside many other forms of alternate protein supplementation (think pea, soy, casein, hemp), have gained more and more popularity over recent years, as individuals look for protein sources that properly and completely meet the specific and unique criteria that some of us have. Be it dietary restrictions, ethical considerations, economic costing, the search for better products, or plain simple curiosity, we all have our reasons for exploring the world of protein.
Beef Protein is very distinct from Whey Protein. Beef Protein Powder is often manufactured from the left-over parts of butchery, such as hooves, ligaments, hides, and ears, to make a product known as gelatine (a form of animal collagen). This unique composition, and the amino profile of beef, come together to create a very different product to Whey Protein, through a thoroughly differing (and honestly somewhat inferior) amino profile. However, with this amino profile, Beef Protein enjoys itself a fair share of unique benefits, which all in all are comparable to, and mostly attributed to collagen. Beef Protein has been noted for its contribution to healthy skin, joints, and tendons, through its comparable abundance of amino acids like glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and arginine.
Additionally, it is shown that Beef Protein can be abundant in an array of vitamins and minerals, such as B-Vitamins and Zinc.
What is Whey Protein?
Whey Protein is by far the most complete source of protein we currently have. Derived from Cow’s Milk, which has two forms of protein, both casein and whey, which are each separated during the manufacturing process of cheese.
Whey Protein is the king of protein supplements through its Amino acid profile and rapid absorption rate. The abundance of Leucine found within Whey Protein, make it the best option for stimulating Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS).
With this, Whey Protein and Whey Protein Isolate find themselves as the most popular protein supplements currently on the market.
A Deeper Dive into Beef Protein’s Efficacy
Research has shown that Beef Protein can stimulate muscle protein synthesis, contributing to muscle growth. Studies comparing Beef Protein to Whey Protein have demonstrated that while Whey Protein tends to elicit a higher increase in muscle protein synthesis, Beef Protein can still effectively support muscle building. The unique combination of amino acids in Beef Protein, including higher concentrations of glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and arginine, may contribute to its anabolic effects.
One of the primary components of Beef Protein Supplements is hydrolysed gelatine, which is essentially collagen broken down into smaller peptides for easier absorption. Collagen, known for its role in supporting skin elasticity, also plays a crucial role in maintaining joint health.
Several studies have explored the potential benefits of collagen supplementation for joint health, showing promising results. While collagen is abundant in Beef Protein, it’s essential to understand that the collagen content may vary among different Beef Protein products. For individuals concerned about joint health, choosing a Beef Protein with higher collagen content may be beneficial.
Bioavailability and Digestibility of Beef Protein Powder
The bioavailability and digestibility of a protein source determine how efficiently the body can absorb and utilize the protein. Whey Protein is renowned for its high bioavailability, thanks to its rapid absorption rate, which results in a quick delivery of amino acids to muscles post-workout.
Beef Protein, while effective, may have a lower bioavailability compared to Whey Protein. However, it still ranks higher than some other protein sources. A key factor influencing the bioavailability of Beef Protein is the collagen content, as collagen has a lower absorption rate than other proteins. As a result, it’s crucial to choose Beef Protein Supplements with high-quality beef protein isolate and a focus on maximizing bioavailability.
Beef Protein vs Whey Protein
Beef Protein: As a protein source derived from beef protein isolate and hydrolysed gelatine, Beef Protein offers a distinct nutritional profile. It contains a higher concentration of specific amino acids like glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and arginine, which may have health benefits for skin, joint, and bone health. However, Beef Protein may have a lower content of essential amino acids, including branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which play a vital role in muscle protein synthesis. Beef Protein is said to have around 19.4g of BCAAs per 100g.
Whey Protein: Whey Protein stands as a complete protein derived from cow’s milk, boasting an impressive amino acid profile. It is particularly rich in BCAAs, especially leucine (which Beef Protein is lacking in), which are known to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. Overall Whey Protein, at 34.96g of Amino acids per 100g, has a much higher concentration of BCAA’s as opposed to Beef Protein, with only 19.4g of Amino acids per 100g.
Additionally, Whey Protein’s rapid absorption rate ensures a quick delivery of amino acids to muscles, making it an excellent choice for post-workout recovery.
Branched Chain Amino Acid Comparison
| Branched Chain Amino Acid | Beef Protein Powders | Whey Protein |
| Leucine | 3.9g | 8.09g |
| Valine | 2.8g | 4.48g |
| Isoleucine | 1.7g | 4.7g |
BCAA per 100g.
With this, we can see that in terms of BCAA’s and being a complete form of protein, Beef Protein Powders are significantly behind Whey Protein Powders.
How to Measure the Quality of a Protein Source
With the rather disappointing results of Beef Protein Powders, I feel it could be important for you to understand how to measure the quality of protein sources, so you can rest assured you’re able to choose not only the best protein sources, but the best fit for yourself.
Several key factors determine the efficacy and overall value of a protein source. Let’s explore the metrics and considerations used to assess the quality of a protein source.
Biological Value
Biological Value is a critical metric used to evaluate the quality of a protein source. It measures the proportion of absorbed protein that the body can utilize for various biological functions, particularly protein synthesis.
A higher BV indicates that a larger percentage of the ingested protein is retained and utilized by the body, making it more valuable for muscle growth and repair.
Amino Acid Profile
The amino acid profile of a protein source plays a significant role in determining its quality. Proteins are composed of various amino acids, including essential amino acids (EAAs) that the body cannot produce on its own and must be obtained through diet.
Proteins with a complete amino acid profile, containing all nine essential amino acids, are generally considered higher quality as they provide all the building blocks necessary for muscle protein synthesis.
Digestibility
Digestibility refers to how easily the body can break down and absorb the protein from a given source. Protein sources with high digestibility are more efficiently utilized by the body, ensuring that a greater portion of the protein is available for muscle protein synthesis and other physiological processes.
Absorption Rate
The rate at which the body absorbs protein from a source is crucial for post-workout recovery and muscle building. Proteins with a fast absorption rate, like Whey Protein, deliver amino acids quickly to muscles after exercise, maximizing the potential for muscle protein synthesis.
And more?
There are a few other key metrics for understanding and analysing the quality of a protein source. But for the purpose and scope of this article, the aforementioned factors are the most important. We may create another post explaining the full process of analysing a protein source.
These additional steps may include Amino Acid Scoring, and Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS).
Tailoring Your Protein Supplements to Your Goals
Personalization is the key to unlocking the full potential of protein supplementation. Assessing your fitness objectives, training routines, and dietary needs enables you to customize your protein intake. By tailoring your protein supplementation strategy, you optimize the potential benefits, leading you closer to your desired fitness outcomes.
With this, some individuals may take Beef Protein due to dietary restrictions, such as an intolerance to dairy. However, we may just recommend for the individual to take vegan protein supplementation instead, ideally one with a mix of protein sources, for a complete amino acid profile.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, Beef Protein Supplements are quite frankly just worse than Whey Protein Supplements. While Beef Protein may excel in certain amino acids, it is sorely lacking in the ones necessary to properly stimulate muscle protein synthesis, namely leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Overall, Beef Protein has around 16.5g less EAAs and BCAAs per 100g of content (19.4g), when compared to Whey Protein (34.96g), which is quite frankly massive.
Some Individuals may want to choose Beef Protein for its suggested benefits to joint and skin health. This benefit is derived from the collagen content found within these supplements, which suggests it may just be worth going for Collagen Supplements themselves if you can afford them. Other individuals may wish to choose Beef Protein due to dietary restrictions. I would however just recommend these individuals to stick with some of the more complete vegan protein source.
