What Supplement Companies Don't Tell You about BCAAs

Supplement - noun - something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.

It’s worth saying that at least 80% of your physical fitness is determined by nutrition, sleep, stress level, and consistency. Considering that these factors of your lifestyle are relatively in check, adding certain supplements can have extra benefits that would otherwise be very difficult to sustain through diet alone. 

Branched Chain Amino Acids 

Leucine, isoleucine, and valine are the three amino acids commonly grouped together and called BCAAs. Leucine is the most important of the three, playing a vital role in muscle protein synthesis. Isoleucine holds the slightly less-significant role of increasing glucose uptake into the cells. The benefits of valine are basically insignificant. 

The main selling point of BCAAs lies in leucine. According to the supplement industry, your muscles will begin to break down in the middle of a workout without a proper intra-workout dosage of leucine. For anyone performing relatively long workouts, 60-90 minutes, this scary news makes BCAAs a necessity for the sake of gains. 

And all those supplement companies aren't lying. Protein synthesis rates are significantly slowed in the absence of leucine, eventually to the point of muscle breakdown if not properly supplied. The recommended dose of leucine in most formulations is 2g.

Here's what the industry doesn't advertise: Branched Chain Amino Acids are very difficult to avoid in a well balanced diet. 

Leucine in common foods:

6oz chicken breast, turkey breast, sirloin, tuna, salmon, or tilapia: ~ 3g

2 eggs: 2.8g

6oz peanuts: 3.1g

1 cup 2% milk: 0.8g

The one situation in which BCAAs can be advantageous is when your body is in a fasted state (at least 6 hours of zero calories). There are times when meals simply can't be structured perfectly before and after a workout, or when fasted training is better suited for your goals. In these cases, taking at least 2g of leucine can prevent muscle breakdown and allow you to reap the benefits of lifting without having to take in any calories.

You will notice that every BCAA product lists the specific ratio of leucine : isoleucine : valine. Since leucine is the main reason for taking the supplement, the leucine content should be the deciding factor in your choice of products.

The main take-away from all this is that a well balanced diet contains more than enough BCAAs, therefore supplementation is largely unnecessary. Supplement companies sell oodles of BCAAs based on the fact that your muscles need them, but ignoring the equally important fact that you probably have plenty of them already circulating in your body from proper nutrition.

Click here to find the specific studies from where I compiled this information.

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