Beef Protein and muscle & strength

What 3 graded rows on beef protein agree on for muscle & strength, and where they differ. Counted side by side, never averaged.

Consensus finder Rows from the Beef Protein page, reviewed Oct 21, 2026 How it decides

What the rows agree on

Each block and row is one graded row from the Beef Protein page, with its PubMed record.

Supplement

Beef Protein Choose another

3 rows · 335 people

They agree: all 3 rows found an improvement.

No difference

Improved

Each block is one evidence row, sized by how many people it enrolled, with its grade inside.

From the rows

The best-graded row, grade C, is a meta-analysis of 270 people (2019) and found an improvement.

The rows run from 24 to 270 people, published from 2017 to 2019: 1 pooled review and 2 single studies.

3 improved

Grade CLean body mass, fat mass and strength with training · Improved
Meta-analysis, 7 studies · n 270 · 2019 · 7 randomised trials of exercise training with beef protein, whey protein or no protein
Varied by study · Varied by study
Versus no protein: lean body mass SMD 0.34 (p = 0.049) and lower-limb strength SMD 0.40 (p = 0.014), with no difference in fat mass or upper-limb strength. Versus whey: no differences in protein intake, lean mass or fat mass.
Row on the Beef Protein page · PubMed 31242624 (opens PubMed)
Grade DBody composition and strength during 8 weeks of resistance training · Improved
RCT · n 41 · 2018 · Young men and women (about 10 per group)
46 g/day after training (and on off-days) · 8 weeks
Beef (51.68 to 54.65 kg), chicken and whey each increased lean body mass from baseline (p < 0.0001), while the maltodextrin control did not. Strength rose in all groups with no differences between conditions.
Row on the Beef Protein page · PubMed 28399016 (opens PubMed)
Grade DFat-free mass, muscle thickness and strength · Improved
RCT · n 24 · 2017 · Recreationally active men (8 per group)
20 g/day · 8 weeks
Fat-free mass rose with beef (2.0%) and whey (1.4%) but not carbohydrate. Only beef increased arm and thigh circumferences; squat strength rose in all three groups.
Row on the Beef Protein page · PubMed 28530448 (opens PubMed)