As we begin the 2nd part of our explanation on types of protein were going to cover animal based proteins. Animal based proteins are proteins made from beef, pork, salmon, chicken, or even bone broth, and collagen proteins. And as you might have guessed each type of protein provides different benefits. Today I’m going to break down the benefit of red meat based proteins.
Beef! Its what’s for dinner!
Recently beef protein has seen a rise in popularity as it has increased in usage as a protein source. But the company Muscle Meds has been producing a hydrolyzed beef protein called “Carnivore”, for years. Their product has consistently done well with third party reviews and testing; and personally, I saw about 30 lbs of fantastic results from using carnivore for a few years. But not all beef protein is made the same, and this is the source of debate on the benefit of beef. Because it would be expensive to dehydrate and powderize fillet mignon, or flank, or New York strip. Most beef protein is going to be made from the leftovers of the animal, similar to the way hot dogs are made; because of this, most companies argue that beef has a similar amino acid profile to gelatin or collagen and therefore is not very good for repairing and building new muscle. But before we throw out the baby with the bathwater, there are several other factors to this scenario that might provide nuance. First of all, the research shows that beef works better at building muscle. In one specific study performed by the junior international society for sports nutrition; Subjects were given either 46 g of beef isolate, whey protein isolate, or maltodextrin and then recorded after 8 weeks to determine strength and muscle mass increases. After 8 weeks the participants who consumed beef protein isolate gained more muscle, and lost more fat, but had the same strength increases as the other 2 groups. This supports the claim that even without as many essential amino acids, beef protein is still capable of building the same, or more muscle. This is probably because beef protein has naturally occurring creatine (about 2.5 grams per 25gs of protein), and higher levels of immunoglobulins which serve as precursors for your body’s natural production of hormones and growth factors. These factors give beef based protein a boost in the muscle development department, while also making beef protein a great companion to other proteins.