Beef Protein: What It Is and How It Works

Beef protein appeared on sports nutrition shelves as an alternative to whey protein for those who do not tolerate dairy products or follow a paleo approach. The name evokes an association with steak, but the jar usually contains a completely different product. The editorial team examined what exactly goes into the powder, how it is made, and how it works in the body.

What beef protein is

Under the name «beef protein» (beef protein, beef protein isolate) a concentrated protein powder obtained from cattle raw material is sold. Unlike whey, casein, or egg protein, it does not contain dairy proteins and lactose, so it is often positioned as an option for people with milk intolerance.

It is important to distinguish two concepts right away: beef as a food product and beef protein as a sports supplement. Lean meat consists predominantly of muscle (myofibrillar) proteins — actin, myosin, and others. Instead, a significant part of «beef protein isolate» powders is made from meat-processing by-products — hides, tendons, cartilage, and bones, rich in connective-tissue proteins.

Because of this, in their composition many beef isolates are closer to hydrolyzed collagen or gelatin than to meat. Manufacturers do not always directly indicate the source of the raw material, so a buyer should pay attention to the amino acid profile on the label: a high content of glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline gives away the collagen nature of the product.

There are also products made specifically from the muscle tissue of beef, but they occur less often and cost more. Therefore, speaking of «beef protein» in general, we mean a whole group of supplements with quite different biological value.

How it is made

The production technology of a beef isolate consists of several stages. First the raw material is cleaned of fat and foreign impurities, then it is ground and subjected to heat treatment in water. Next the protein is broken down by enzymes into shorter peptides — this process is called hydrolysis.

Hydrolysis makes the product soluble in water and more neutral in taste, and also speeds up its digestion. After hydrolysis, the solution is filtered, concentrated, and spray-dried, producing a fine powder. At the final stage, flavorings, sweeteners, and thickeners are added.

• Defatting and purification— removal of fat, which gives low calorie content and stability during storage.
• Enzymatic hydrolysis— breakdown of long protein chains into peptides.
• Filtration and concentration— increasing the proportion of protein in the dry matter.
• Spray drying— obtaining a powder with a long shelf life.

It is precisely the intensive processing that explains why the finished powder contains practically no fat, cholesterol, or carbohydrates, while the proportion of protein in it is high. At the same time, together with the fat and water, some useful components of the meat are also lost, for example part of the natural creatine and iron, so considering the powder a full replacement for a steak is incorrect.

The quality of the final product depends strongly on the raw material and the manufacturer's controls. Conscientious companies publish a full amino acid profile and the results of independent laboratory tests, which makes it possible to assess the real composition of the supplement.

Amino acid composition and protein quality

For an athlete, the key indicator of a protein is the content of essential amino acids, above all leucine, which plays the role of a signal for triggering muscle protein synthesis. Whey protein is considered the standard precisely because of its high proportion of leucine and rapid absorption.

A beef isolate of collagen origin contains noticeably less leucine and other branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) than whey. Collagen, moreover, contains practically no tryptophan, so from a formal point of view it is not a complete protein. Some manufacturers partially compensate for this by adding free amino acids to the composition.

Protein quality is assessed by the PDCAAS and DIAAS indicators, which take into account both amino acid composition and digestibility. Beef meat has high values of these indicators, whereas pure collagen — very low ones. Beef isolates occupy an intermediate position, and their real rating depends on how much muscle and how much connective-tissue protein they contain.

The table below compares the main characteristics of various protein sources on a qualitative level, without an attempt to give exact figures, which differ substantially between products.

So, «beef» on the label guarantees nothing yet: in each case it is worth assessing the specific product and its amino acid profile.

How it works in the body

After consumption, beef hydrolysate, like any protein, is broken down in the intestine into amino acids and short peptides, which are absorbed into the blood. Since the protein is already partially broken down in production, digestion occurs quickly, and the level of amino acids in the blood rises relatively early.

The amino acids are then used as «building material» for the synthesis of new proteins — muscle, enzymatic, structural. Leucine simultaneously activates the mTOR signaling pathway, which triggers muscle protein synthesis. That is why the lower leucine content in collagen raw material may limit the anabolic signal of a single serving.

Studies with whole beef show that meat is an effective source for stimulating muscle protein synthesis. Symons and colleagues (2009) demonstrated that a moderate serving of lean beef (about 113 g, giving approximately 30 g of protein) maximally stimulated muscle protein synthesis in both young and older people. However, these data concern precisely meat, not powder isolates.

For isolates, the key question is how much they match other types of protein in effect. A randomized study by Sharp and colleagues (2018) compared beef isolate, chicken protein, and whey after training and found no significant differences between them regarding changes in body composition over 8 weeks. We examine the evidence base in more detail in a separate article.

Glycine and proline, which are abundant in collagen raw material, are not «useless» in themselves: they are needed for the synthesis of connective-tissue collagen. However, one can speak of a specific benefit of beef protein for joints and ligaments today only with great caution.

Who needs it and why

The main audience for beef protein is people who, for various reasons, cannot or do not want to consume dairy proteins. These are primarily people with lactose intolerance, for whom even whey isolate is unsuitable, and people with an allergy to cow's milk proteins (casein, beta-lactoglobulin).

The second group consists of adherents of paleo eating and diets that limit dairy products. For them, beef protein is a way to conveniently increase daily protein intake without going beyond the chosen approach.

The third group is athletes who find it important to have different protein sources in their diet or who tolerate whey poorly from the digestive side (bloating, discomfort). For them, beef isolate can be a convenient addition.

At the same time, for people who tolerate dairy products normally, beef protein offers no proven advantages over whey, and it usually costs more. For vegetarians and vegans it is obviously unsuitable, and people with the rare alpha-gal syndrome (an allergy to red meat) must consult an allergist.

Editorial conclusions

Beef protein is a hydrolyzed protein from cattle raw material, often with a large proportion of collagen. It contains no lactose or dairy proteins, is absorbed quickly, but in leucine and essential amino acid content it usually yields to whey.

For those who do not tolerate dairy products, it is a working alternative, especially if you choose a product with a transparent amino acid profile. For everyone else, it is more a matter of taste and variety than a way to get an additional result.

The foundation of progress remains a sufficient daily amount of protein from varied sources and properly structured training, and a supplement is only a convenient tool.

We also recommend reading our materials on the evidence base of beef protein for athletes, on its forms, and on how to properly choose a protein with lactose intolerance.

References

1. Symons TB, Sheffield-Moore M, Wolfe RR, Paddon-Jones D. A moderate serving of high-quality protein maximally stimulates skeletal muscle protein synthesis in young and elderly subjects. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109(9):1582–1586.
2. Sharp MH, Lowery RP, Shields KA, et al. The effects of beef, chicken, or whey protein after workout on body composition and muscle performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2018;32(8):2233–2242.
3. Valenzuela PL, Mata F, Morales JS, Castillo-García A, Lucia A. Does beef protein supplementation improve body composition and exercise performance? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrients. 2019;11(6):1429.
4. Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:20.
5. Burd NA, Gorissen SH, van Vliet S, Snijders T, van Loon LJ. Differences in postprandial protein handling after beef compared with milk ingestion during postexercise recovery: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;102(4):828–836.
6. FAO. Dietary protein quality evaluation in human nutrition: report of an FAO Expert Consultation. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 92. Rome: FAO; 2013.