Are BCAAs a good supplement to have ??

siiil209

Hey guys , just wondering if BCAAs are good to add . If they help muscle growth ?

AnvilHead

Not if you already have adequate protein intake.

https://examine.com/supplements/branched-chain-amino-acids/

Niples_

Or if you plan to work out in a fasted state. Other wise don't waste the money. Just eat high protein.

BodyByYouChicago

I would say Essential Amino Acids are better, especially during training. They really help stimulate muscle protein synthesis.

Hope this helps!

jennybearlv

BCAA's didn't do anything for me. Creatine seems to make me stronger though.

sully7904

What about CLA?

AnvilHead

sully7904 wrote: »

What about CLA?

https://examine.com/supplements/conjugated-linoleic-acid/

...However, human studies on CLA are very unreliable and the overall effects seen with CLA are not overly potent as well as sometimes contradicting. CLA is a good research standard to investigated fatty acids and the PPAR system, but its usage as a supplement for personal goals is quite lacklustre...

siiil209

So if I plan to work out on a fasted state is it good to take them then ??

JohnnyPenso

siiil209 wrote: »

So if I plan to work out on a fasted state is it good to take them then ??

I think that would depend on how long you fasted for and whether your protein intake as a whole was adequate. BCAA's are already in proteins to begin with so you are getting them through your diet. Do you normally achieve .6-1.0 g/lb of bodyweight? If we're talking about 12 hours after your last meal then probably not. More than that and it might benefit you.

siiil209

I usually workout in the mornings . And hardly have time to eat breakfast . So I'm usually fasted working out . And I usually stop eating around 9pm night before . So from 9 to like 10 am fasted . And then i workout about 10am after that I eat . So if I drink BCAAs during my fasted workout will that help from preventing muscle breakdown ?

psuLemon

I'll quote another member who pulled information from Alan Aragon on some of the latest science regarding BCAAs

SideSteel wrote: »

Alan Aragon:

Hey everyone, a frequently recurring topic is BCAA supplementation. A lot of folks are simply unaware of the actual data, so they needlessly waste their hard-earned cash on BCAA supps. This might not be music to the ears of folks locked in a routine of taking their favorite supp, but my hope is that it gives some of you food for thought, and ultimately helps you zap an unnecessary (and potentially detrimental) item from your supplement shopping list.

The high-quality proteins in our diets are comprised of appx 18-26% BCAA as it is. Supplementing with extra BCAA on top of that can range from adding extra unnecessary calories (and metabolic burden), to actually inhibiting optimal use of ingested amino acids [1].

Let me also add that whey protein has a stronger anabolic/anticatabolic effect than its equivalent in supplemental EAA or BCAA [2]. It's no surprise that supplemental BCAA has an equivocal track record in the research [3,4]. For those concerned about "going catabolic" doing fasted cardio without AA supplementation, my colleagues and I found no difference in body comp effects between fed vs fasted cardio when total protein is sufficient (both groups retained their LBM) [5]. As for the ability of BCAA to inhibit muscle soreness, note that this is always compared to a non-protein placebo.

It's LOL to supp with BCAA to begin with (instead of an intact, high-quality protein such as whey, which provides the rest of the EAAs as well as other co-factors for anabolism -- but it's all moot if you're getting enough total daily protein anyway). Here’s a salient quote from a recent review [6]:

"Thus, as we speculated, consumption of crystalline BCAA resulted in competitive antagonism for uptake from the gut and into the muscle and was actually not as effective as leucine alone in stimulating MPS. Despite the popularity of BCAA supplements we find shockingly little evidence for their efficacy in promoting MPS or lean mass gains and would advise the use of intact proteins as opposed to a purified combination of BCAA that appear to antagonize each other in terms of transport both into circulation and likely in to the muscle.”

The only people who are not wasting time & money on supplemental BCAA are those who must maintain a low-protein diet, or a diet with restricted amounts of high-quality protein. With that all said, if your total daily protein is optimized, and you don't mind consuming the functional equivalent of really expensive flavored water, then be my guest.

1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27175106
2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22451437
3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20110810
4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15930475
5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25429252/
6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26388782/

LeoT0917

I agree with most of the posters above regarding the use of BCAAs and muscle growth. A well balanced diet with all of the essential amino acids is best. That said, I have found that taking a small amount of BCAAs immediately after a heavy weight lifting session significantly reduces muscle soreness.

JohnnyPenso

siiil209 wrote: »

I usually workout in the mornings . And hardly have time to eat breakfast . So I'm usually fasted working out . And I usually stop eating around 9pm night before . So from 9 to like 10 am fasted . And then i workout about 10am after that I eat . So if I drink BCAAs during my fasted workout will that help from preventing muscle breakdown ?

You didn't say anything about your protein intake.