In this article we will discuss BCAA; a well-known supplement in the sports world. We will talk about all the aspects of what BCAA is, how BCAA works and the benefits of BCAA.
Table of Contents
What is BCAA?
BCAA stands for Branched-Chain Amino Acids; it consists of 3 essential amino acids (leucine, isoleucine & valine). The term essential amino acids means that they are amino acids that your body cannot produce.
For this reason, it is important to get enough BCAAs from your diet. There are many BCAAs in foods such as meat, fish, dairy and nuts.
BCAAs are mainly found in the muscles, this has to do with their effect, which we will come back to in a moment.
How do BCAAs work?
As discussed earlier, it is possible to get BCAAs from your diet, but there are also nutritional supplements available that contain a high amount of BCAAs.
In the muscles, BCAAs ensure the building and repair of muscle tissue. They can also be broken down to release energy. In addition, BCAAs are involved in protein synthesis. They stimulate protein synthesis and at the same time they inhibit protein degradation. Protein synthesis simply means making proteins.
What are the benefits of BCAAs?
In this section we will discuss some of the benefits of BCAAs.
- Increased muscle growth: Due to the increased protein synthesis, BCAAs will ensure more muscle growth. It is important to get all essential amino acids in your diet, this is necessary for a good build-up of proteins.
- Reduced muscle pain: BCAAs have been shown to reduce the amount of muscle soreness after a workout. This probably has to do with its function in the repair of muscle tissue.
- Decreased appetite: It has become clear that BCAAs reduce appetite. For this reason, a relationship has also been found between an increased intake of BCAAs and a lower risk of obesity.
In addition to these benefits, BCAAs also appear to have a positive effect on muscle coordination, endurance, vitality and heart and kidney function.
Lifestyle coach [5+ years of fitness experience]