Beef vs Chicken – Which Protein is Best for Building Muscle?

Beef vs Chicken – Which Protein is Best for Building Muscle?

As we all know, chicken breast is a proven muscle builder used by many professional fitness, bodybuilder and figure competitors around the world. However, beef (especially grass-fed beef) has many muscle-building benefits of its own, as many successful professional bodybuilders of the past dispute. In fact, there are many reasons why beef is even a superior muscle building protein compared to chicken! Let's take a look...

While most bodybuilders and many general fitness buffs seem to feel that most of their meals must revolve around boring chicken breasts or canned tuna, they may be missing an important source of vital nutrition to build a leaner, healthier and stronger body - good quality beef. One of the benefits of chicken breasts is that they are a high-quality lean protein source that is very versatile for meal ideas.

However, beef (good quality grass-fed organic beef) potentially offers even more diverse nutritional benefits than chicken. As you'll soon see, beef from free-range, grass-eating cattle can even provide a specific type of fat that can actually help you build muscle and lose body fat.

Beef contains high levels of creatine, minerals and B vitamins, which contribute to red blood cell production and protein metabolism. All of this contributes to building lean muscle tissue. Beef can also help you break the routine of a bland chicken or fish diet. It's just a matter of choosing the right cuts for you.

The “round” cuts are typically the leanest cuts of beef available. However, it's important to note that if you're using GF beef instead of grain-fed beef (most grocery stores carry grain-fed beef), fat content isn't all that important. This is because the fats in grass-fed meat are healthier for you than grain-fed meat.

For example, the omega-3 fatty acid content of Grass fed beef is many times higher than that of grain-fed beef. And we all know that the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 in your diet is very important. Beef helps you improve the balance of fats in your diet. Additionally, a healthy fat called conjugated linoleic acid, found in grass-fed beef, may help build muscle mass and lose body fat (and there's even evidence of possible benefits of CLA for reducing cancer risk).

It is therefore important to know that the healthy fat in grass-fed beef can actually stimulate the release of stored fat in the body and increase strength. This is all in addition to the fact that grass-fed beef is one of the highest quality sources of protein you can possibly eat with a very high bioavailability in the body.

These are just a few of the benefits that many people derive from this fantastic muscle food. So don't be afraid to add variety to your bodybuilding diet and start including grass-fed beef as one of your best sources of protein and the healthiest meat on the market.

Inspired by Maureen Kurman