Effects of BCAAs In Your Body

Taking a BCAA supplement plays many metabolic and physiologic roles, including prevention of muscle breakdown and stimulation of protein building in muscle. Metabolically, BCAAs facilitate protein synthesis and glucose metabolism. Physiologically, BCAAs provide immune system support, increased energy and brain function stimulation. Not all BCAA supplements are created equally. If you get enough protein in your day, you likely don’t need a BCAA supplement. However, some people especially women don’t acquire enough protein, and because BCAAs are the building blocks to muscle synthesis, many brands on the market are full of sugar, artificial dyes and colors or sweetened with artificial sweeteners (many have all of these). Learn how intermittent fasting combined with BCAAs can boost your fat burning ability.

When taking BCAA supplement, your body will react on the following:

1. The muscle cells and adipose tissues first oxidize BCAAs into keto acids. The mitochondria of muscle cells have the machinery required to perform this reaction.
2. Keto acids are then used by muscle cells to fuel the Krebs cycle for ATP production or are transported to the liver for further oxidation.
3. Oxidation in the liver produces branched-chain oxo acids. These can be used by the liver for energy or metabolized in the muscle cells to give (ATP) energy. Since muscle tissue has 60% of the enzymes needed for oxidation (burning) of BCAAs for energy, it is said that they are designed to derive energy from BCAA supplement.

A BCAA supplement is available in several forms including whey protein, oral supplements, IV and injection therapies. Whey protein digests relatively quickly, but still takes several hours for the amino acids to be absorbed into the bloodstream. BCAA supplement, IV and injection therapies require no digestion and are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream. Although oral supplementation can impact overall health, when nutrients are given through an intravenous, intramuscular or subcutaneous injection, nutrients are absorbed rapidly and more efficiently on a cellular level, providing cells with the nutrition necessary to thrive and function optimally. It appears that branched chain amino acids may have an anabolic effect on the body, which makes them particularly useful for those interested in increasing muscle size and strength. A researcher stated that branched chain amino acids trigger important enzymes in protein synthesis, post-exercise. It also supports that, for muscle building purposes, leucine may be the most important of the three branched chain amino acids. A BCAA supplement provides an anabolic effect by increasing the rate of muscle building (protein synthesis) while decreasing the rate of protein degradation, or muscle breakdown.

On whether consuming BCAAs could bring on any negative side effects, experts says that they are mostly harmless. Most experts suggest that taking them regularly can increase effectiveness. However, like with any supplement, extreme or overdose can be detrimental and cause issues like nausea, headaches, and increased insulin resistance. Moreover, BCAAs can increase blood sugar levels, so it’s best to avoid taking them before or after having surgery of any kind.