What are BCAA's, and why do I hear so much about them?
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are essential nutrients. They are proteins found in food. Your muscles "burn" these amino acids for energy. The names of the specific amino acids that make up the branched-chain are leucine, isoleucine, and valine. The term branched-chain simply refers to their chemical structure. they are part of a group of 9 amino acids that are considered essential, which means your body can't create them and need to be consumed through food (or supplements)
What does that mean, now that you are probably more confused about BCAA's? It means they are important! There you have it, BCAA's, buy them and take them, goodbye---JK we can talk more about their importance and benefits.
The main reason to take these, especially if you are active and currently working out regularly is to help your muscles grow. The BCAA leucine activates a certain pathway in the body that stimulates muscle protein synthesis, which is the process of making muscle. In one study, people who consumed a drink with 5.6 grams of BCAAs after their weight lifting workout had a 22% greater increase in muscle protein synthesis compared to those who consumed a placebo drink. That means by just consuming some BCAA's you could see your muscles growing 22% faster than your workout partner who decided to skip on supplements.
The main reason that I take BCAA's before (or after) a workout is because I hate being sore. I don't mind being a little sore, but it's those days where it hurts to sit, walk, breath, basically do anything--especially if you did a really tough leg workout. Many studies show BCAA's do a great job in preventing muscle soreness. Those of you who work out, and have gone too hard on squats after taking some time off are probably familiar with DOMS, aka delayed onset muscle soreness. It's the worst because the next day you feel great, and then another day goes by and, boom, severe muscle soreness. Although it's not fully understood why DOMS occurs, researchers think it’s the result of little tears in the muscles after exercise.
BCAAs have been shown to decrease muscle damage, which may help reduce the length and severity of DOMS. Several studies show that BCAAs decrease protein breakdown during exercise and decrease levels of creatine kinase, which is an indicator of muscles getting weaker. In one study, people who supplemented with BCAAs before a squat exercise experienced reduced DOMS and muscle fatigue compared to the placebo group. So, for those looking to work out more consistently, and take fewer days off due to muscle soreness, this might be your reason to take BCAA's daily.
The last reason we will look at today for why you might want to start taking BCAA's is that they might reduce muscle fatigue. This news would be especially encouraging if you are a runner, or like to do High-Intensity Training. When your body is in balance – meaning, you’re not in the middle of a run or still recovering from one – there is symmetry within your bloodstream, including the BCAAs and tryptophan, which is another amino acid. Usually, tryptophan and the BCAAs compete for access to the brain via the blood-brain barrier, but that balance gets thrown off when you exercise. As you run (or workout), your muscles will soak up the BCAAs in your blood for fuel; this is generally a good thing, but it means less competition for tryptophan at the blood-brain barrier, so more of it winds up in your brain. Tryptophan isn’t bad for you, but once in the brain, it’s converted into serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of fatigue. You hear about tryptophan a lot around thanksgiving as it's found in turkey, and why your whole family might be napping on the couch after dinner. By supplementing with BCAAs during a long-distance run, you can re-establish the balance in your bloodstream and effectively restrict the amount of tryptophan that gets into your brain. Doing all of this will regulate serotonin production and reduce fatigue as you run--so like mentioned earlier, this is great if you want to be able to workout longer!
As you can see, BCAA's offer a lot of great benefits for those who are serious about working out, and want to build muscle or recover faster. BCAA's don't only aid those working out but offer many other benefits as well, such as aiding in liver function, Whatever the reason you are looking for, we always want to encourage you to do your research as well, and if you think you would benefit from taking BCAA's check out verawella.com to pick up a bottle. We can assure you that our products are pure, with no fillers so you will only be getting high-quality BCAA's in each serving.
