Whey Protein or Beef Protein: What's the Difference

Beef protein is marketed as "meat protein in a convenient form" and as an alternative to milk whey for those who cannot tolerate milk. But does a powder with the word "beef" on the label really equal a steak? Our editorial team looked into how beef protein differs from whey in raw material, composition and scientific data.

Raw material and technology

Whey protein is produced from milk whey by membrane filtration. Depending on the degree of purification, a concentrate, isolate or hydrolysate is obtained. The raw material is standard, the process has been well established over decades, and the quality of the product is easy to control.

Beef protein is usually a hydrolysed beef protein isolate. Meat raw material is used for its production, as well as connective-tissue parts of the carcass rich in collagen. The raw material is hydrolysed with enzymes, filtered to remove fat, dried, and a powder with a high protein content and a minimum of fat and carbohydrates is obtained.

Manufacturers do not always disclose the exact composition of the raw material. It is precisely this that determines how close the product comes to muscle-tissue protein and how close to collagen. This is the main reason why different brands of beef protein can differ substantially in amino acid profile.

Because of hydrolysis, beef protein consists mainly of peptides of varying length. This improves solubility but gives the product a specific taste that has to be masked with flavourings.

• Whey:dairy raw material, a stable profile from batch to batch.
• Beef:meat and connective-tissue raw material, composition depends on the manufacturer.
• Both:can be isolates with over 80-90% protein.

Collagen and amino acid composition

The key feature of beef protein is a high proportion of collagen amino acids: glycine, proline and hydroxyproline. Collagen is an incomplete protein: it contains practically no tryptophan and little leucine, so its quality score on the PDCAAS scale is very low.

Whey protein, on the contrary, has a full set of essential amino acids with a high proportion of leucine, isoleucine and valine. This is what explains its reputation as the "benchmark" protein for muscle protein synthesis.

Therefore, when comparing labels, it is worth looking not only at the total protein content but also at the amino acid profile per serving. If glycine and proline dominate the list, the product is closer to collagen than to meat protein.

Some manufacturers add free amino acids or BCAAs to beef protein to boost the profile. This is a legitimate technique if it is honestly stated on the label, but it changes the comparison: you are in fact getting a blend, not pure beef protein.

Absorption and the anabolic signal

Both products belong to the fast proteins: whey thanks to its solubility, beef hydrolysate thanks to its prior breakdown into peptides. Therefore the rate at which amino acids enter the blood is comparable for them.

However, speed does not equal the strength of the anabolic signal. Muscle protein synthesis is triggered when the concentration of leucine in the blood exceeds a certain threshold, and all essential amino acids are needed to sustain it. Collagen peptides trigger this mechanism weakly.

In practice this means that for an equal effect a serving of beef protein may need to be increased, especially if it contains a lot of collagen. For older people, in whom the leucine sensitivity threshold is higher, this difference is even more noticeable.

At the same time, collagen amino acids are not "useless": glycine and proline are used for the synthesis of connective tissue. However, for the task of muscle growth they do not replace a complete protein.

Research results

There are few direct comparisons. The most frequently cited is the work of Sharp and colleagues (2018): participants performed strength training for eight weeks and after each session received beef isolate, chicken protein, whey or a control drink. The improvements in body composition and strength indicators in the protein groups were similar.

This result should be interpreted with caution. The duration was short, the sample small, and the total protein intake from the diet could have levelled out the difference between the supplements. In addition, the composition of the beef product in the study cannot automatically be transferred to all brands.

A broader evidence base concerns not beef powder but meat proteins in general and collagen. Review works attest that muscle-tissue proteins of animals are of good quality, whereas collagen on its own as a source for muscle growth is inferior to whey.

The main conclusion of the meta-analysis by Morton and colleagues (2018) applies here too: the effect of a specific protein source on muscle gain is smaller than the effect of a sufficient daily amount of protein and the training stimulus.

Tolerance, taste and myths

The main advantage of beef protein is the absence of lactose and milk proteins. For people with a milk allergy or pronounced lactose intolerance it can be a convenient animal source of protein without the risk of a reaction to dairy components.

The taste of beef hydrolysate is specific, so products are usually released with cocoa, berry or fruit-juice flavours. The consistency is thinner than whey's, which some find convenient for taking with water.

A common myth is that beef protein "contains the natural creatine of meat". Raw meat does indeed contain creatine, but after heat treatment, hydrolysis and purification only indeterminate amounts of it remain in the powder. If creatine is listed on the label, most often it has been added separately.

Another myth is that beef protein is supposedly "more anabolic because it is from meat". As shown above, the real quality depends on the ratio of muscle protein to collagen, not on the name on the tub.

Editorial conclusions

Whey protein has a stable, complete amino acid profile with a high proportion of leucine. Beef protein is a hydrolysed animal protein without lactose, whose composition depends heavily on the proportion of collagen in the raw material.

The few studies have not shown a large difference in results, but for an equal serving whey, as a rule, produces a stronger anabolic signal.

Beef protein is justified above all where dairy products are undesirable; in other cases whey remains the simpler and more predictable choice.

For a deeper understanding of the topic, we recommend our articles on collagen and its role in sport, on the "leucine threshold" and on how to read the amino acid profile on a label.

References

1. 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.
2. Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(6):376–384.
3. 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.
4. Hoffman JR, Falvo MJ. Protein – which is best? J Sports Sci Med. 2004;3(3):118–130.
5. Tang JE, Moore DR, Kujbida GW, Tarnopolsky MA, Phillips SM. Ingestion of whey hydrolysate, casein, or soy protein isolate: effects on mixed muscle protein synthesis at rest and following resistance exercise in young men. J Appl Physiol. 2009;107(3):987–992.
6. FAO. Dietary protein quality evaluation in human nutrition: report of an FAO Expert Consultation. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 92. Rome: FAO; 2013.