The Benefits Of Branched Chain Aminos

The Benefits Of Branched Chain Aminos
"There are skeptics who suggest BCAAs are overpriced and that consumption of whey protein (which is rich in BCAAs) can simply be increased instead. Unfortunately, this is NOT the case."

Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) supplementation has come back into 'vogue' in the bodybuilding and fitness community in recent years and with good reason; BCAAs may have more research to support their use as a supplement than any other supplement available!

While BCAAs supplementation may be useful for gaining mass, it may be most useful for maintaining muscle mass while on a diet - especially for competitors who take their physiques to extreme levels of leanness. Although getting shredded can make someone look awesome, it can also cause significant loss of muscle mass.

Dieting is catabolic for several reasons. The leaner people get, the more likely they are to lose muscle mass because their bodies will try harder and harder to hold onto body fat stores. In doing so, bodies often turn to muscle to satisfy energy needs. On the molecular level, this occurs by bodies increasing protein breakdown in order to liberate muscle amino acids for fuel.

This is compounded by the fact that levels of protein synthesis will also decrease due to reduced energy intake. Since the basic equation for muscle mass = (rate protein synthesis - rate of protein breakdown), this is bad news. When the rate of synthesis equals the rate of breakdown, there is no net loss or gain of muscle. If the rate of synthesis exceeds the rate of breakdown there is a net gain of muscle. Conversely when the rate of breakdown exceeds the rate of synthesis there is a net loss of muscle mass. Therefore, during dieting the "candle can be burning at both ends" as breakdown is elevated and synthesis is reduced.

To compound the metabolic affects of dieting, there is also the workout factor to consider. As bodies becomes leaner and leaner, they also become more lethargic due to decreased energy intake and decreased glycogen storage. This causes workout intensities and strength to suffer. This may increase muscle loss by preventing the lifting of heavier loads with the intensity required, which can prevent bodies from adapting to workouts by increasing or maintaining lean mass. If lighter weights start to be used due to strength/intensity losses, bodies essentially "think", "Hey, this load isn't as heavy as we're used to. We can use some of this muscle for energy since we don't need it for lifting a heavy load."

In the face of the three-headed monster of muscle loss that has been presented above, how does BCAAs supplementation help prevent muscle loss? It does it by attacking all three heads of the monster! It is well established that BCAAs (particularly leucine ) stimulate protein synthesis and can do so to a greater extent than a normal protein meal alone.

What is even more interesting is that BCAAs also increase synthesis of the cellular machinery responsible for carrying out the process of protein synthesis. So not only do BCAAs increase the RATE of protein synthesis, they also increase the cell's CAPACITY for protein synthesis! BCAAs also work favorably at the other end of the muscle gain equation by reducing the rate of protein breakdown.

This is mostly accomplished by decreasing the activity of the components of the protein breakdown pathway and decreasing the expression (the amount of Messenger Ribonucleic Acid produced from the gene that codes for these components) of several complexes involved in protein breakdown. From the balance equation for muscle mass, one can plainly see that increasing synthesis and decreasing breakdown will swing the pendulum in favor of muscle gain/maintenance.

The positive effects of BCAAs supplementation of protein breakdown and protein synthesis are not the only benefits to BCAAs supplementation while on a cutting phase diet. BCAAs can also help improve workout focus. They compete with the amino acid tryptophan for entry into the brain where tryptophan can be converted to the neurotransmitter serotonin through a series of reactions.

During exercise, serotonin levels rise and can (amongst other things) increase the perception of fatigue and cut workout intensity short. Supplementation with BCAAs reduces the amount of tryptophan that enters the brain and therefore reduces the amount of serotonin that is produced. This can allow harder and longer workouts.

Despite the numerous positive benefits of BCAAs supplementation, there are many skeptics who suggest BCAAs are overpriced and that consumption of whey protein (which is rich in BCAAs) can simply be increased instead. Unfortunately this is not the case. The BCAAs in whey are peptide bound to other amino acids and must be liberated through digestion and be absorbed into the bloodstream to exert their effects. Even though whey protein is relatively fast digesting, it still takes several hours for all the amino acids to be liberated and absorbed into the bloodstream.

BCAAs in supplement form, however, are free form BCAAs. Free form BCAAs require no digestion and are therefore rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, which spikes blood amino acids to a much greater extent. Even a few grams of BCAAs will spike plasma levels of BCAAs to greater extent than 30 grams of whey protein. Unlike other amino acids, BCAAs are not metabolized to a significant extent by the small intestine or the liver, so an oral supplement is more like a BCAAs injection since it reaches the bloodstream so rapidly!

All of this information is all well and good, but what's the bottom line? The bottom line is new studies have shown groups supplementing with BCAAs increase muscle retention and maximize fat loss when on a diet compared to non-supplemented groups. The bottom line is more muscle mass retention and greater fat loss. BCAAs deliver the goods!