The Essential Supplementation’s Suggested

BCAAs stand for branched chain amino acids, and the branched chain refer to the structure of the amino acids. The three branched chain amino acids are leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Out of these three, the most essential is leucine because it has been known to stimulate protein synthesis (muscle growth) on its own. They take them with the intention of preventing muscle breakdown, stimulating muscle mass gain, promoting muscle recovery and reducing fatigue during endurance training. Protein are made of amino acids, which constitute their base structural units. There are nine essential amino acids, of which the body is not able to create by itself and must necessarily find them in food to meet its needs. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) are composed of three of those essential amino acids which are leucine, isoleucine and valine. It has been suggested that supplementation with BCAAs could potentially promote muscle mass gain, decrease protein breakdown in the muscle, and delay fatigue in endurance events.

However, all studies were not able to demonstrate the effects of BCAAs on performance or on delay in the onset of fatigue and, therefore, prolongation of the duration of exercise. It should be known that muscle synthesis requires the presence of all the essential amino acids. In addition, taking such supplements may be accompanied by undesirable effects such as the inhibition of absorption of other amino acids, water retention in the stomach and gastrointestinal disorders. Many athletes take a BCAA supplement during weight training exercises, thinking that it will prevent the breakdown of muscle mass. However, during physical activity, carbohydrates are the best source of energy for the muscles. Thus, it is rather a lack of carbohydrates that could cause the degradation of proteins to provide the muscles with the missing energy, thus decreasing performance, since proteins are not an effective source of energy for the muscles. It is also important to know that branched-chain amino acids are abundant in our diet. A tablet of BCAA is composed on average of 100mg of valine, 50mg of isoleucine and 100mg of leucine.

In conclusion, yes BCAAs are important for building muscle, but they can be easily found in high quality proteins such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, combinations of vegetable proteins and even whey protein isolate (whey protein powder), which already contain them naturally. In this sense, if you have an optimal protein intake (20 to 30g of protein per meal), taking a BCAA supplement will not bring you additional benefits. An amino acid or branched chain amino acid are made up of three different types of amino acids; Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine which in return allows the muscles to grow quicker, a result in anyone’s gym routine. These can also help you achieve greater fitness goals by helping reduce fatigue, through reducing serotonin, this shows why taking BCAA’s before and after your workout can be an ideal solution to train harder and recover quicker! It is proven that BCAA’s also reduce muscle soreness, so in conclusion whether you’re looking to gain mass or recover after your cardio session BCAA’s work for every athlete out there.