Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are gaining a lot of popularity. They are touted to help with weight loss, muscle growth, fatigue, and more. But how much of this is justified? And how does it compare to regular, whey protein? What about side effects? And are they suitable for diabetics? And of course, the most obvious question: what are BCAAs, in the first place?
All these questions, and others will be answered in this article.
Original source: here
What Are BCAAs?
As the name implies, BCAAs are branched chain amino acids. The “branched chain” is simply referring to their chemical structure. And amino acids are the “building blocks of protein.” Think of protein as a necklace. And each bead in the necklace is an amino acid. There are 20 amino acids. And 3 of those 20 are the Branched Chain Amino Acids. They are: leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
How do BCAAs Work?
What BCAAs do is they stimulate the body to make more protein (the technical term is “protein synthesis”). They are the primary amino acids in muscle, and the primary amino acids to decline during exercise. They are replaced in the brain with another amino acid called “Tryptophan”, and it’s theorized that tryptophan in the brain causes fatigue.
That’s about as much as it makes sense to say about how BCAAs work for a “general public” audience. If you want to read about the deeper biochemistry of BCAAs, I recommend this article, on Examine.com.
How do BCAAs Compare to Whey Protein?
The astute reader will be reading this, and asking “if BCAAs are a part of protein, why not just eat protein or take whey protein?” A great question, my dear astute reader.
And unfortunately, there’s no great answer in the research, because there are very few head-to-head studies comparing the effects of BCAAs to protein, to see which one is superior, and in which situations they should be taken.
So I’ll give my take, even though it’s not really backed by research.
Here’s what I think:
If you need a meal replacement, then whey, or some other kind of protein makes more sense, because it’s more filling. Furthermore, whey actually contains the BCAAs. Just not at the same dose as if you were to get plain BCAAs.
However, if your goal is fat loss, and you don’t need a meal replacement, but you’re having a hard time getting enough protein in your diet (if you want to know how much protein you need, you can check out this article that I wrote), the BCAAs make more sense, because they have less calories than whey protein. Protein has 4 calories per gram, and a scoop of whey protein is about 30 grams, which would be 120 calories. BCAAs are typically taken in doses of 3.5-7 grams, so that’s only 14-28 calories.
Another time that the BCAAs make more sense is if you have compromised digestion. If you have problems with absorption. The most obvious example is if you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), hypochlorhydria, or achlorhydria. Why do BCAAs make sense in those cases? Because they are easier to absorb than protein. Remember the analogy of protein as a necklace. For the body to absorb it, certain enzymes called “proteases” must “cut” the string in between the beads. And BCAAs are the beads already, so there’s no “cutting” necessary.
BCAAs for Weight Loss
Do BCAAs help with weight loss? Maybe, but probably not in the way that you think. It’s not an easy “just take this pill/powder, and you’ll lose weight, without exercising or changing your nutrition.” It doesn’t work like that.
As mentioned in the earlier section, BCAAs have less calories than complete proteins, because they’re taken in lower quantities. So BCAAs don’t help with weight loss. Rather, they help maintain lean muscle during weight loss (after all, we want weight loss to come from fat, not muscle, or other tissues), without adding to the caloric load.
And even then, by far the largest impact on whether a person maintains muscle during weight loss or not is whether they are strength training. Any dietary factors are dwarfed in comparison to the importance of strength training.
BCAAs aren’t necessary, but they may give a minor advantage.
When to Take BCAAs
So if you want to take BCAAs (again, it’s an “if” – it’s not magical, and you can certainly get great results without it), when do you take it? Before or after a workout?
To figure out the best time to take it, we have to know how fast it hits the bloodstream. BCAAs are very fast-absorbing amino acids, because they bypass the liver, and go straight into muscle. So in a matter of just a few minutes from when you take them, they are already in the bloodstream, ready for uptake by the muscle.
So the best time to take BCAAs is immediately before you start your workout, assuming a warmup of 5-15 minutes before you get into the hardest part of your workout. You want to have “fuel” immediately available when muscles start to break down from exercise.
Another possible time to take them is right before bed, when you’re about to not have any food for 8-10 hours, to minimize how much muscle your body breaks down during sleep. That is if you’re trying to lose fat.
A better choice of protein to take before bed would be casein, because it’s a “slower” protein. In that it stays in the blood for 6-8 hours, unlike BCAAs, which are in and out much faster. However, casein does have more calories, and many people are sensitive to it.
BCAA Side Effects
Side effects from BCAAs are extremely rare, and when they occur, they aren’t that severe. The side effects include fatigue, which goes away after a few hours, and decreased coordination for a few hours. So if you need high energy levels, and high coordination for your job (for example, if you’re an athlete, musician, etc.), it’s better to avoid BCAAs within a few hours of work (if you decide to take them at all, that is). If you’re working at a desk, in front of a computer, you’re probably fine.
BCAAs and Diabetics
There’s a little controversy about diabetics using BCAAs. Some evidence points to BCAAs making diabetes worse, if you already have it. However, most of this evidence is in rats, and even then, it’s equivocal.
As it stands right now, we don’t really know how BCAAs affect diabetic humans. But I’m a “safety first” kinda guy. On a risk:reward ratio, the reward of using BCAAs for a diabetic is so low that it’s probably not worth the risk. There are other things that can do a similar or the same job as BCAAs, with a known risk profile.
So overall, BCAAs may be a good tool in the toolbox. They are not a magic panacea of muscle growth and fat loss without exercise or dietary changes. They are certainly not mandatory, and in the grand scheme of things, the overall effect is fairly minor, compared to other factors, like proper sleep, proper exercise, and proper nutrition.
