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Ten Benefits of BCAAs
by Poliquin Group™ Editorial Staff
12/17/2013 12:03:35 PM
One of the most effective ways to be lean and strong for life is to familiarize yourself with the branchedchain amino acids (BCAAs). A few of the most compelling reasons to know about BCAAs include the
following:
• BCAA metabolites were found to be a significant indicator of lean mass in a population of young and
middle-aged adults.
• People who consume a threshold dose of essential amino acids that contain BCAAs with every meal
have less visceral belly fat and more muscle mass.
•
BCAAs trigger protein synthesis and inhibit the breakdown of muscle cells.
• In healthy people, BCAAs improve glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity. In diabetics, BCAA dietary
intake with other therapeutic interventions may improve metabolic markers.
• BCAAs play an important role in muscle and energy production during exercise, which is the reason
that they are often used during workouts.
• BCAAs convey many health benefits and a higher dietary intake has been identified as a predictor of
longevity.
•
They have ben found to reduce muscle soreness from intense muscle-damaging exercise.
•
They improve training motivation, especially when fatigued.
This article will review BCAA basics and give you ten benefits of getting enough BCAAs.
The Basics of BCAAs
The BCAAs are made up of three essential amino, leucine, isoleucine, and valine. They are essential
because the body is unable to make them out of other amino acids, meaning they must be ingested
through food or supplements. The BCAAs make up 40 percent of the daily requirement of all nine
essential amino acids, indicating their importance.
The BCAAs are found in foods containing protein, with the highest concentrations in chicken, beef,
salmon, eggs, and whey protein. They can also be supplemented, which can be useful for athletes
because free form BCAAs bypass the liver and gut tissue and go directly to the blood stream.
As their name suggests, BCAAs have a branched side chain that simplifies the job of converting each
amino acid into energy during intense exertion. They make up about 35 percent of all muscle tissue. The
more BCAAs that are present in the muscles, the more they will be used for energy, slowing the
breakdown of muscles cells and preventing muscle loss.
Are BCAAs Worth It?
A common question is whether BCAA supplementation is “necessary” or “worth it” for athletes and body
builders. Despite the fact that there’s boatloads of research showing BCAAs improve protein synthesis
both after resistance training and in the absence of exercise, there’s not much evidence that this actually
leads to greater muscle mass gains in the long term.
It appears that total protein intake above a threshold roughly defined as 1.5 g/kg is most important for
gaining muscle from resistance exercise. Foods with a high BCAA content, such as whey protein, have
been shown to produce greater muscle gains with resistance training.
Based on the evidence, focusing on having a high BCAA and total protein intake will produce the greatest
increases in muscle with training. The beauty of BCAA supplements as you’ll see below is they can be
easily used during exercise to reduce fatigue, accelerate recovery, reduce muscle soreness, and improve
the use of fat for energy.
#1: BCAAs Enhance Muscle Protein Synthesis
BCAAs are well known for triggering protein synthesis. Combining BCAAs with resistance exercise results
in maximal protein synthesis because they both trigger something called the mTORC1 signaling pathway
that is essential for muscle building.
The BCAAs along with alanine, aspartate, and glutamate are all taken into muscle tissue for energy. It is
suggested that muscle is designed to burn BCAAs for energy during exercise, making a large pool
essential for performance.
Another great benefit of BCAAs is that if you have to take time off from training due to injury, a need for a
break, or lack of time, increasing your BCAA intake will minimize muscle loss. In addition, because
BCAAs trigger protein synthesis even in the absence of exercise, the preservation of lean muscle tissue
can keep metabolism up and help prevent fat gain when inactive.
For example, in a rodent study, giving BCAAs to rats that had their hind-limbs immobilized for six days
helped preserve protein synthesis. The BCAAs didn’t completely prevent muscle atrophy in the rats’ hind
limbs, but they helped preserve the muscle to a greater extent than a placebo. The BCAA-fed rats also
had lower body fat levels following immobilization.
Take Away: BCAAs Trigger Protein Synthesis for Greater Muscle Growth and the Maintenance of Lean
Muscle Mass during Time Off From Exercise.
#2: Leucine-Enriched BCAAs Equalize Muscle Building Between Old & Young
The BCAA leucine can increase protein synthesis by as much as 145 percent when you take it after
strength training. It’s become popular lately to take leucine alone without valine and isoleucine, however
this is not indicated by the literature.
Research shows that when leucine intake is out of balance with the other BCAAs, it can lead to an
imbalance in the blood amino acid levels, reducing the anabolic response. A ratio of about 4 to 1 of
leucine to the other two BCAs is most effective for muscle development.
For older people, leucine intake with the other BCAAs is paramount. As you age, creating a musclebuilding environment in the body is important, but hard to do. Activation of protein synthesis is impaired,
dropping off after age 35. This decreased muscle-building effect along with a tendency to eat less dietary
protein with aging are the primary contributors to muscle loss and sarcopenia.
Leucine-enriched BCAAs (a BCAA mixture that is 40 percent leucine) are a “cure” for this because they
have been shown to elevate and prolong protein synthesis even in older people in a dose dependent
manner after resistance training.
Take Away: A Protein Intake that is Enhanced with Leucine Is Necessary for Older Trainees Who Want
to Put On Muscle.
#3: BCAAs Increase Fat Burning and Can Support Fat Loss
Surveys show that people with a higher BCAA intake in their diets have less body fat, more muscle, and
better body composition. For example, a large study of 4,429 subjects found that those with higher BCAA
intake were the slimmest and had significantly less chance of being overweight compared to those with
lower BCAA intake.
Researchers think leucine is the magic bullet for leanness, although only in conjunction with the other
BCAAs—a leucine-enriched mixture is best. Isoleucine improves glucose tolerance, while leucine
increases energy expenditure and fat oxidation. Greater fat mobilization allows for a more flexible
metabolism, which can enable fat loss from a combination of training and diet.
In a review of the role that the essential amino acids play in body composition, scientists wrote that the
BCAAs “appear to have unique obesity-reducing effects” because they decrease food intake and body
weight by increasing the gene signaling of muscle building pathways.
Take Away: BCAAs Increase Fat Burning and Glucose Tolerance to Keep You Lean. For Fat Loss, Favor
Foods with a High BCAA Content.
#4: BCAAs Support Hormone Balance During Intense Training
BCAAs support hormone balance, which plays a role in an athlete’s ability to respond to extreme training
loads.
For example, a study that tested the effect of “loading” BCAAs with 6 grams of BCCAs for 3 weeks
followed by a week of high-intensity resistance training found that compared to a placebo group, the
BCAA group had higher testosterone (T) and lower cortisol (C). In addition to a better T:C ratio, the BCAA
group had lower biomarkers of inflammation, indicating that they were responding to the training load
effectively.
A second study found that by combining BCAAs, arginine, and carbs, trainees had better hormone
balance and a better T:C ratio after an exhaustive exercise test compared to a placebo. Participants who
received the BCAA drink recovered much more quickly than those in the placebo trial and had a lower
fatigue score at 120 minutes post-workout.
Take Away: BCAAs Improve Hormone Balance for Greater Strength, Power & Endurance Adaptations
from Intense Training.
#5: BCAAs May Improve Strength Development With Training
A study of untrained young men taking 4 g/day of leucine gained more strength than a placebo group
after 12 weeks of training. The leucine group increased strength by an average of 31 percent more on all
exercises compared to the placebo group.
This study hasn’t been replicated with BCAA supplementation; however, protein supplementation has
been found to lead to greater strength development in conjunction with strength training.
A recent large-scale analysis of training studies showed that protein supplementation led to greater
increases in leg press strength to the tune of an average of 13.5 kg. This review included a variety of
protein sources, but all had a high content of BCAAs even though the actual proportions of amino acids
varied.
This evidence suggests a diet rich in amino acids from multiple sources including meat, eggs, protein
powders, and BCAA supplements for maximizing strength results from training.
Take Away: Boosting Protein Intake Enhances Strength Gains from Training Because The BCAAs
Improve Neuromuscular Adaptations.
#6: BCAAs Enhance Endurance Performance and Decrease Fatigue
Reducing fatigue and improving endurance performance is the clinical trial area where BCAAs perform
most impressively. There are two mechanisms via which BCAAs improve performance.
First, BCAAs can be burned as energy to maintain ATP energy levels during glycogen-depleting exercise.
BCAAs may also enhance the body’s ability to burn fat, increasing the accessible energy pool.
Second, BCAAs prevent central fatigue of the nervous system by inhibiting uptake of tryptophan into the
brain. Tryptophan is used to make serotonin in the brain, increasing tiredness and fatigue. Scientists who
study the limits of human performance believe that the real limiting factor in performance is when the
brain tells you “I’m done.”
For example, participants who took 300 mg/day of BCAAs for 3 days and then completed in an
exhaustive exercise trial had 17.2 percent greater resistance to fatigue compared to a placebo, due at
least partly to greater fat oxidation in the BCAA trial.
Take Away: Using BCAAs Is an Easy Way to Test Your Endurance Performance Limits by Helping Your
Body Burn Fuel More Efficiently.
#7: BCAAs Decrease Muscle Soreness & DOMS for Greater Training Frequency
A series of studies on both trained and untrained individuals show that BCAAs are worth the time and
money to reduce (not prevent) DOMS in response to both resistance and endurance exercise.
For example, taking 100 mg/kg of BCAAs reduced muscle soreness at 48 hours and allowed for faster
recuperation of strength in untrained women. That BCAAs were effective in an untrained population is
noteworthy because DOMS tend to be more severe in untrained muscles.
A second study of trained men found that dosing BCAAs before and after doing 100 muscle-damaging
drop jumps reduced muscle soreness significantly. Maximal strength was decreased 33 percent less than
a placebo.
The dosing protocol had trainees take BCCAs for 7 days before and for 2 days after training as well as 20
grams before and after the workout for a total of 280 grams. Researchers point to the steady stream of
essential amino acids hitting the blood as the reason BCAAs were so effective in this study.
BCAAs are the gem of workout supplements because by preserving the integrity of muscle fibers and
reduce post-workout soreness, you can train at a higher intensity more frequently.
Take Away: Using BCAAs to Decrease Soreness and Accelerate Recovery Will Allow You to Train More
Frequently So As To Reach Your True Strength and Size Potential.
#8: BCAAs Prevent Muscle Loss During Long-Duration Exercise
In addition to improving endurance performance, BCAAs prevent muscle loss during ultra-endurance
exercise. For example, it was found that trained athletes who performed a 24-hour-long exercise trial that
included 12 cycles of running, cycling, and kayaking experienced significant muscle protein degradation
and had evidence of metabolic stress linked with muscle damage. There was a pronounced drop in
plasma levels of BCAAs over the exercise trial, which is linked with muscle loss.
Scientists suggest that providing “simultaneous nutritional support” with BCAAs or a high-BCAA
containing protein will prevent catabolism by improving the overall energy-burning pool so that amino
acids aren’t released from muscle tissue.
Take Away: Consuming BCAAs is a No-Brainer to Support Performance in Long-Duration Endurance
Sports Since They Protect Muscle Tissue.
#9: BCAAs Improve Insulin Health & May Reduce Diabetes Risk
The BCAA isoleucine improves glucose tolerance on its own, and the whole trio of BCAAs can support
insulin sensitivity and metabolic rate for improved body composition. For example, a recent study found
that the individuals who were in a weight loss trial who lost the most weight had the greatest
improvements in insulin sensitivity and the highest BCAA levels.
One thing that should be noted is that diabetics have dysfunctional BCAA metabolism and taking BCAAs
elevates insulin, so they should not be used as a treatment for diabetes. Naturally, diabetics should focus
on achieving optimal body composition through diet and exercise and work with their doctor to cure
diabetes.
Take Away: Non-Diabetics Can Focus on Getting A High Dietary BCAA Intake in Food and Use BCAAS
with Training To Support Insulin Health and Reduce Diabetes Risk.
#10: BCAAs Correlate With Longevity and Are Therapeutic
BCAAs are used in medicine to treat liver disease, prevent muscle loss with aging, and reduce mortality
risk with cancer. In addition to being therapeutic, BCAAs have an anti-aging effect because they increase
the formation of new mitochondria.
In rodent studies, BCAAs have been found to extend lifespan in the same way caloric restriction does,
while simultaneously supporting cardiac health.
In a review on BCAAs and human health, scientists write that BCAAs “behave as evolutionary conserved
modulators of lifespan,” meaning they will help you live longer if you get enough of them. They also have
been found to improve cognition because of the effect they have on the neurotransmitters, improving
synthesis of glutamate and GABA and inhibiting serotonin.
Take Away: BCAAs Improve Health and Keep You Young. Tell Your Parents and Grandparents!
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