4 Reasons To Add BCAA/EAA To Your Routine
1. Fights Physical and Mental Fatigue
When the BCAA or EAA enter your system they are taken in rapidly by the muscles providing another energy source during workouts. Not only do they fight physical fatigue but they also block the amino acid tryptophan from accessing the brain.
2. Reduce Soreness
Studies have shown that taking BCAA’s prior to your workout, or EAA during your workout, reduces the severity and length of muscle soreness the days following a workout.
3. Promotes Muscle Growth
3 grams of leucine, one of the amino acids found in BCAAs and EAAs, is responsible for maximally stimulating muscle protein synthesis.
4. Prevent Muscle breakdown
Studies have repeatedly shown that supplementing BCAAs and EAAs inhibits muscle protein breakdown.
Understanding BCAAs and EAAs
One of protein’s main functions is that it helps to build muscle. Protein is largely made up of 20 amino acids.
Of those 20, 9 are essential, meaning the body can’t produce them on its own and they need to be consumed through food. These are the ones you find in EAA supplements: phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, and histidine.
Branched chain amino acids are essential amino acids, which is important to note — BCAAS are EAAs — but they have a slightly different chemical structure. Their side chain is branched, which allows them to have a different metabolic role. There are three in total: leucine, isoleucine, and valine, and they’re what you find in BCAA supplements.
Choosing What Is Right For You
One of the benefits of BCAAs is that they digest very quickly and go directly to the muscles first before reaching the rest of the body. BCAAs provide powerful energy during workouts, and fuel muscle protein synthesis more so than EAAs. Additionally, BCAAs are effective in helping retain lean muscle, and provide you with more intense workouts on low calorie intake.
With EAAs, you’ll get better protein synthesis response as compared to BCAAs because BCAA’s are incomplete and cannot complete the process of protein synthesis.Â
At Next Level Sports Nutrition we offer products that have both BCAAs and EAAs in them, so you get the best from both!
