Are Bodybuilding Supplements Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) Necessary

With the popularity of fitness supplements, all kinds of fitness supplements are emerging in the market, and branched-chain amino acids are one of them. Bodybuilders who have a deep understanding of fitness supplements should be familiar with branched-chain amino acids.

For beginners, people who are new to supplements are still quite confused in the face of various supplements. Many bodybuilders want to try various supplements, but they don’t know much about supplements. Branched-chain amino acids are in in.

1. The role of branched chain amino acids

The abbreviation of branched-chain amino acids is bcaa. Amino acids should be familiar to everyone. Protein synthesis depends on amino acids, and muscle growth is inseparable from protein. Therefore, in a certain sense, branched-chain amino acids can promote muscle synthesis and prevent muscle loss.

Amino acids are very diverse. There are many kinds, and branched-chain amino acids are not a simple amino acid. It is a general term for three common amino acids in proteins. These three amino acids are: leucine, valine (xié) , Isoleucine.

The packaging of branched-chain amino acids on the market is commonly seen as follows: 2:1:1 or 4:1:1 refers to the ratio of these three amino acids.

1). Leucine

The role of leucine is to prevent muscle loss as we said above, so its ratio is higher than the ratio of the other two amino acids. The reason why it can prevent muscle loss is because it can decompose and convert glucose into muscle faster. Energy Supply.

2). Valine

Valine can also prevent muscle loss and can provide muscles with more extra energy to produce glucose.

3). Isoleucine

Isoleucine is more of an icing on the cake, and the effect will be better when paired with the other two amino acids. Mixing them together can improve the efficiency of use.

The combination of these three amino acids is the branched-chain amino acid (bcaa) we use, which also promotes muscle synthesis, prevents muscle breakdown and loss, and even speeds up recovery and reduces fatigue.

2. How to use branched chain amino acids?

Generally speaking, branched-chain amino acid supplements are used before, during, and after exercise. It is characterized by faster digestion and absorption, so it will not cause too many problems when used during exercise.

Generally speaking, the dosage is 3-6g at a time, and no more than 20g a day is enough!

3. Is it necessary to use branched chain amino acids? My Personal View on BCAAs

In fact, to understand this, you must first understand that there are about 20 types of amino acids, which can be roughly divided into three types: essential amino acids, non-essential amino acids, and semi-essential amino acids.

For essential amino acids, the human body cannot synthesize them by itself and must be supplemented by food. There are 8 types of such amino acids, among which are the branched-chain amino acids we are talking about.

There are 10 non-essential amino acids that can be synthesized by the human body; semi-essential amino acids can be synthesized by the human body, but often cannot meet the needs and need to be supplemented by taking certain foods. There are 2 types.

It can be seen that the three amino acids of branched-chain amino acids are essential amino acids. It seems that it is a necessary choice for us to use branched-chain amino acids, but it is not the case!

Although it is an essential amino acid, it does not necessarily need to be obtained through supplements. We have talked about a concept before: food nutrition is always greater than supplements.

For amino acids, the amino acids contained in meat are generally richer than those contained in plants, which is why meat protein is better than plant protein, because of the diversity of amino acids.

There is another situation where it is not necessary to use branched-chain amino acids, that is, bodybuilders who supplement protein powder, especially whey protein powder.

Because whey protein powder often contains the essential amino acids needed by the human body, this is why protein powder is one of the most cost-effective supplements.

4. What kind of people are branched-chain amino acids suitable for?

I personally recommend people who use branched-chain amino acids. If your training volume is very large and you are in a fat-reducing period, you can use branched-chain amino acids to prevent muscle loss.

If you are playing a game, you can also take branched-chain amino acids as a supplement during the fat-washing period of preparation to prevent excessive muscle loss.

In addition, if you are financially rich, branched-chain amino acids are also a good choice. After all, its taste is very good. It has a beverage taste and is not as greasy as protein powder!

If the daily training intensity is not high and the diet is not bad, then there is really no need to use branched-chain amino acid supplements.