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What amino acids make up BCAAs?
What does BCAA stand for?
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Nov 23, 2023 · BCAAs are essential amino acids that include leucine, isoleucine, and valine. They are involved in muscle growth, energy metabolism, and overall health. Learn about their benefits, sources, and supplementation.
- Overview
- 1. Increase muscle growth
- 2. Decrease muscle soreness
- 3. Reduce exercise fatigue
- 4. Prevent muscle wasting
- 5. Benefit people with liver disease
- Foods high in BCAAs
- The bottom line
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Studies show that BCAAs may increase muscle growth, reduce soreness and fatigue, prevent muscle wasting, and support liver health. They are also found in a variety of food sources, including meat, eggs, and dairy products.
There are 20 different amino acids that make up the thousands of different proteins in the human body.
Nine of the 20 are considered essential amino acids, meaning they cannot be made by your body and must be obtained through your diet.
Of the nine essential amino acids, three are considered branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs): leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
“Branched-chain” refers to the chemical structure of BCAAs, which are found in protein-rich foods such as eggs, meat, and dairy products. They are also a popular dietary supplement sold primarily in powder form.
Here are 5 proven benefits of BCAAs.
One of the most popular uses of BCAAs is to increase muscle growth.
The BCAA leucine activates a certain pathway in the body that stimulates muscle protein synthesis, which is the process of making muscle (1).
In one study, people who consumed a drink with 5.6 grams (g) of BCAAs after their resistance workout had a 22% greater increase in muscle protein synthesis compared to those who consumed a placebo drink (2).
That being said, this increase in muscle protein synthesis is approximately 50% less than what was observed in other older studies where people consumed a whey protein shake containing a similar amount of BCAAs (3, 4).
Whey protein contains all of the essential amino acids needed to build muscle.
Therefore, while BCAAs can increase muscle protein synthesis, they can’t do so maximally without the other essential amino acids, such as those found in whey protein or other complete protein sources (5, 6).
Some research suggests BCAAs can help decrease muscle soreness after a workout.
It’s not uncommon to feel sore a day or two after a workout, especially if your exercise routine is new.
This soreness is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which develops 12 to 24 hours after exercise and can last up to 72 hours (7).
While the exact cause of DOMS is not clearly understood, one theory is that it’s the result of tiny tears in the muscles after exercise (8).
Meanwhile, other research suggests that it may actually be related to the connective tissue associated with the muscle rather than the actual muscle itself (8).
BCAAs have been shown to decrease muscle damage, which may help reduce the length and severity of DOMS.
Just as BCAAs may help decrease muscle soreness from exercise, they may also help reduce exercise-induced fatigue.
Everyone experiences fatigue and exhaustion from exercise at some point. How quickly you tire depends on several factors, including exercise intensity and duration, environmental conditions, and your nutrition and fitness level (13).
Your muscles use BCAAs during exercise, causing levels in your blood to decrease. When blood levels of BCAAs decline, levels of the essential amino acid tryptophan in your brain increase (14).
In your brain, tryptophan is converted to serotonin, a brain chemical that is thought to contribute to the development of fatigue during exercise (14, 15).
In two studies, participants who supplemented with BCAAs experienced a reduction in central fatigue, resulting in improved athletic performance (16, 17).
summary
BCAAs can help prevent muscle wasting or breakdown.
Muscle proteins are constantly broken down and rebuilt (synthesized). The balance between muscle protein breakdown and synthesis determines the amount of protein in muscle (18).
Muscle wasting or breakdown occurs when protein breakdown exceeds muscle protein synthesis.
Muscle wasting is a sign of malnutrition and occurs with chronic infections, cancer, periods of fasting, and as a natural part of the aging process (19, 20).
In humans, BCAAs account for 35% of the essential amino acids found in muscle proteins. They account for 40% to 45% of the total amino acids required by your body (21, 22).
Therefore, it’s important that the BCAAs and other essential amino acids are replaced during times of muscle wasting to halt it or to slow its progression.
BCAAs may offer health benefits for people with cirrhosis, a chronic disease in which the liver does not function properly.
It’s estimated that 50% of people with cirrhosis will develop hepatic encephalopathy, which is the loss of brain function that occurs when the liver is unable to remove toxins from the blood (25).
While certain sugars and antibiotics are the mainstays of treatment for hepatic encephalopathy, BCAAs may also benefit people with this condition (26).
One review of 16 studies including 827 people with hepatic encephalopathy found that taking BCAA supplements had a beneficial effect on the symptoms and signs of the disease, but had no effect on mortality (27).
Liver cirrhosis is also a major risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer, for which BCAA supplements may also be useful (28, 29, 30).
Several older studies have shown that taking BCAA supplements may offer protection against liver cancer in people with liver cirrhosis (31, 32).
BCAAs are found in foods and whole protein supplements.
Getting BCAAs from complete protein sources is more beneficial, as they contain all the essential amino acids.
Fortunately, BCAAs are available in a variety of food sources. This makes BCAA supplements unnecessary for most, especially if you consume enough protein in your diet already (34).
Consuming protein-rich foods will also provide you with other important nutrients that BCAA supplements lack.
The best food sources of BCAAs include (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44):
summary
The branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are a group of three essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
They are essential, meaning they can’t be produced by your body and must be obtained from food.
BCAA supplements have been shown to build muscle, decrease muscle fatigue, and alleviate muscle soreness.
They have also successfully been used in a hospital setting to prevent or slow muscle loss and to improve symptoms of liver disease.
BCAAs are three essential amino acids that play a role in muscle growth, recovery, and liver health. Learn what BCAAs are, where they come from, and how to use them for optimal health.
Nov 29, 2022 · BCAAs are essential amino acids that play a role in muscle building and repair. Learn about their benefits, risks, sources, and how to use them safely.
Jul 29, 2021 · BCAAs consist of three essential amino acids: leucine. isoleucine. valine. These amino acids are grouped together because they are the only three amino acids to have a chain that branches off...
Jan 8, 2024 · Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are three of the nine essential amino acids needed for survival. They include leucine, isoleucine, and valine . Since your body does not produce BCAAs, you must get them through foods or supplements. Most people consume enough BCAAs if they eat a balanced diet.
Jan 24, 2024 · Design by Health. Benefits of Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) BCAAs are best known for their role in protein metabolism (how the body creates and breaks down protein for use). Unlike other...
Mar 2, 2019 · Summary. Supplements containing branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are popular for boosting muscle growth and performance. Limited research suggests that they may provide other health...
