Updated: September 8 2013
What Is It?BCAAs are amino acids having aliphatic side-chains with a branch (i.e. a carbon atom bound to more than two other carbon atoms). There are three BCAAs: leucine, isoleucine and valine.
Where Can It Be Found?
BCAAs are found in proteins (such as whey protein).
1. Decrease in fatigue (mental fatigue when measured after the workout); small effect and usually in untrained or lightly trained individuals.[1,2,4,5,6]
2. Increase in fat oxidation; probably related to the glycogen preserving effects of BCAAs; small effect.[4,8,9]
3. Increase in aerobic exercise (time to exhaustion appears to exist in prolonged endurance exercise); small effect and usually in untrained or lightly trained individuals.[3,7,9]
4. Increased processing accuracy; small effect; probably due to reducing exercise-related fatigue, and occurs when testing is after exercise.[2]
5. Reduction in the rate of perceived exertion during exercise (improving performance); small effect and unreliable.[4]
6. Decrease in weight loss that occurs during prolonged strenuous exercise; small effect; may be due to increase in lean mass and/or hydration.[6]
7. Decrease in reaction time; small effect and may be due to the anti-fatigue effects.[8]
8. Non-significant to very small effect on delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS).[1,10]
9. No/non-significant effect on lactate production.[8,9,10]
10. No/non-significant effect on heart rate (HR).[2,4]
11. No/non-significant effect on cortisol.[2]
12. No/non-significant effect on power output.[2,10]
13. No/non-significant effect on anaerobic running capacity.[4]
14. No/non-significant effect on oxygen uptake.[4]
15. No/non-significant effect on fasting insulin levels.[10]
16. No/non-significant effect on adrenaline (epinephrine), dopamine, and noradrenaline.[8]
17. No/non-significant effect on blood glucose.[8,9]
18. No/non-significant effect on ketone bodies.[9]
Do You Need This Supplement?
May decrease the mental fatigue when measured after the workout.
Verdict: Not needed in your supplement stackRecommended Dosage (Used in Research)
A good BCAA supplemental dose could be 10g of leucine and 10g isoleucine with no valine or simply 20g of combined BCAAs with a fairly balanced ratio of leucine to isoleucine.
Where Can You This Supplement?
Amazon.com
Side Effects of This Supplement
1. BCAAs appear to be safe for most people when used for up to 6 months
2. Some side effects are known to occur, such as fatigue and loss of coordination.
3. BCAA supplementation may be linked (non-established link) with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); BCAAs induce hyperexcitability of the cortical motoneurons.[11]
References
1. Energy expenditure during 2-day trail walking in the mountains (2,857 m) and the effects of amino acid supplementation in older men and women
2. Effects of branched-chain amino acids supplementation on physiological and psychological performance during an offshore sailing race
3. Ingestion of branched-chain amino acids and tryptophan during sustained exercise in man: failure to affect performance
4. Influence of ingesting a solution of branched-chain amino acids on perceived exertion during exercise
5. Effect of branched-chain amino acid supplementation on mental performance
6. Branched-chain amino acid supplementation during repeated prolonged skiing exercises at altitude
7. Administration of branched-chain amino acids during sustained exercise--effects on performance and on plasma concentration of some amino acids
8. The effect of branched chain amino acids on psychomotor performance during treadmill exercise of changing intensity simulating a soccer game
9. Branched-chain amino acids supplementation enhances exercise capacity and lipid oxidation during endurance exercise after muscle glycogen depletion
10 .Branched-chain amino acid supplementation before squat exercise and delayed-onset muscle soreness
11. Stronger is not always better: could a bodybuilding dietary supplement lead to ALS?
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