All About Aminos Benefits Of BCAA/EAA

Posted January 2, 2023 by Ben Jordan in Articles/videos, Supplements 1 0

Benefits of Bcaa/Eaa utilization and their application for your fitness goals.

So, what are bcaa/eaa.

A branched-chain amino acid is a specific type of essential amino acid with a branched molecular structure. These include leucine, isoleucine, and valine.

bcaa are the primary amino acids found in skeletal muscle tissue, so they are considered the most important for muscle building. However, bcaa on their own are not a complete source.

An essential amino acid is an amino acid your body can’t make fast enough to provide the amount you require so it must come from your diet.

There are nine total eaa called leucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine, methionine, histidine, lysine, threonine, and tryptophan.

Protein sources like meat, dairy, and eggs contain all nine and are considered complete sources in contrast, plant protein sources are usually lacking in one or more eaa and are considered incomplete sources.

We all love aminos, they provide a refreshing drink in various flavors that helps our muscle growth and recovery and provides an anti-catabolic state if we are not able to get a meal in.

Bcaa are best utilized situationally, in times of caloric deprivation or if you don’t have the time to devote to eating a full meal. While they are great for stimulating muscle protein synthesis and fast at that they have a draw back. if you try to use them as a crutch or use them frequently you can actually hinder the recovery process from constantly being saturated with amino acids your body won’t have the typical “spike” in protein synthesis which is what we want and need to maximize growth and recovery. So, I guess there is such a thing of too much of a good thing can be counterproductive ehhh. If you’re in a caloric surplus whole source of protein will provide a lot better bang for your buck for your goals and needs due to your body not being deprived of nutrients so you’re less likely to have catabolism while taking in a surplus.

Now on to dosing, The Industry Standard is a (2:1:1) ratio leucine, isoleucine, valine if you find a formula that supplies that, and it meets your taste requirements your solid then no need to over think it as long as it’s a reputable brand and you’re getting high quality amino acids. 30 min prior to a training session is ample time to provide anti-catabolic support. Likewise post workout bcaa will provide a faster response then whole protein chains ie whey protein. This may or may not be beneficial utilizing aminos instead of whey ect. so, this will be dependent on your current goals or needs at that time.

So, the takeaway here is that bcaa have a lot of benefits that other protein sources cannot do but should also be used sparingly or based on your goals.