New Chicken Protein Isolate Scores Higher than Beef Products in Protein Efficiency, According to New Research

Aug 4, 2022

Scientific breakthroughs in sports nutrition are rare, but a new study out of Missouri State University on meat-based protein powders promises to shake up the industry.
Researchers at Missouri State University’s Center for Biomedical and Life Sciences did a comparison study on three protein products, analyzing the efficiency ratios of the following meat-based formulas: CHiKPRO™ chicken isolate powder, and two competing beef isolate powder products. The results of the animal study found a clear winner in protein efficiency: CHiKPRO™. And it wasn’t close.

“We studied these three commercially available products to determine what’s called a protein efficiency ratio,” says Jordan Hawkins, senior research scientist at Missouri State University’s Center for Biomedical and Life Sciences. “Protein efficiency ratio looks at how much body mass you build in comparison to your protein intake. If something is really efficient you should be building more body mass with less protein intake.
“Taken all together, the CHiKPRO™ IDF protein significantly outperformed the two beef products,” she says.

In fact, the animals using the beef protein powders lost weight after ingesting the same amount of protein. “The two beef products actually gave me negative numbers,” explains Hawkins. These two beef products performed so poorly for growth because of the high amount of unexpected collagen protein, as shown by high hydroxyproline amino acid values in the analysis results.

Hawkins, who worked on the study under Paul L. Durham, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology and Director of the Center for Biomedical and Life Sciences, added that all the proteins were well-tolerated by the study subjects, but CHiKPRO™ stood alone on protein efficiency, equaling that of casein, a highly regarded dairy protein.

The result of years of development by IDF, a long-time leader in providing high-quality chicken products to the consumer food industry, CHiKPRO™ is a defatted spray-dried protein powder that contains no carbohydrates and is made from 100% real chicken meat from poultry raised in the U.S. Because this is real chicken, CHiKPRO™ protein powder isolate is biologically complete, with all the essential amino acids, including sulfur-containing methionine and cysteine. It’s packed with vital nutrients, including essential proteins, essential lipids, vitamins, and highly bioavailable minerals such as iron and zinc. CHiKPRO™ is Paleo-compliant, gluten-free, lactose-free, and has enhanced bioavailability and digestibility.

This superior chicken-protein technology yields some of the highest levels of muscle-building amino acids, and contains 180% more naturally occurring arginine than whey. An important factor for bodybuilders is that CHiKPRO™ is high in branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), comprised of leucine, valine, and isoleucine. These powerful amino acids are crucial for protein synthesis, which may explain why the Missouri State University study showed that CHiKPRO™s protein efficiency ratio gives you more bang for your buck.

The research reinforces the wisdom of bodybuilders and other athletes who have historically chosen chicken as their protein of choice. Chicken has long been a bodybuilding mainstay, but this is the first time real chicken has been manufactured into a mixable protein powder supplement that delivers similar nutritional potency. CHiKPRO™ is available as a standalone product and can be added to soups, gravies, sauces, and other foods.
While CHiKPRO™ achieved a protein efficiency ratio similar to casein in the study, CHiKPRO™ is digested more rapidly than casein, and with its higher amino content, it’s definitely a better choice for athletes looking to increase strength and muscle mass.