BCAAs — Have You Been Throwing Your Money Away?
The Latest Research Finally Reveals The Truth…
…and the answer may actually lie somewhere in the middle.
“Hold on, hold on…back that thang up. What’s a BCAA?”
Well, Juvenile, BCAA stands for Branched-Chain Amino Acid. There’s 3 of them — Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine. They’re 3 of the 9 Essential Amino Acids that we must consume through food because our body cannot produce a meaningful amount of them on its own…
“So, nothing like the NCAA?”
Not really. There is some corruption in both. Although, the NCAA is an entire organization built by liars and thieves whereas BCAAs are in fact real things there’s just some skewed marketing and misinformation being put out by some people who are liars and thieves.
“Okay, so what do they do and why should I care?”
The 3 Branched-Chain Amino Acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) are of particular interest to weightlifters both professional and amateur alike due to their integral role in muscle protein synthesis — the process by which new muscle is built. Typically you would consume not only the 3 BCAAs but all 9 of the essential amino acids (EAAs as they’ll be referred to from here on out) you need throughout the day in foods most of us eat like meats, milk, eggs, spinach, some varieties of beans, cheese, and nuts, and other foods. However, the supplement industry would have you believe that a BCAA supplement is what is holding you back from reaching the next step in your training.
You should care if:
- You buy BCAA supplements under the premise that you’re getting a desired result that you may, in fact, not be getting.
- You were/are considering buying BCAA supplements under the premise that you will get a desired result that you may/may not actually get.
Supplement companies can be pretty deceiving. From bold claims like “INCREASE ENDURANCE” to broad statements like “SUPPORTS MUSCLE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS”. You never really know what any of it means. Why will it increase my endurance? How does it support muscle protein synthesis? What do you mean by “support”?
These are actual examples of statements made on BCAA supplement labels. Then they talk about amino acid proportion ratios, how leucine is a muscle building powerhouse and isoleucine supports recovery and valine supplies the energy to the muscle. At a glance you feel like you’re looking at a product backed up by science and hard evidence because the promotional info on the label is wrapped up in a bunch of technical terms you’ve kinda sorta heard before and it seems to match up with what you were told about BCAAs by that guy at the gym you trust so it has to be legit, right?
Right?!?!
Personally, I don’t like taking information at face value especially when it comes from someone trying to sell me something. I’d rather dig below the surface level and gather my information from an unbiased, factual source that doesn’t deal with sensational claims or have a product or service they’re pushing on me.
The goal with this article, then, is to present to you hard evidence from a PubMed article from Robert R. Wolfe[1] where the purpose of the article was stated as follows:
The primary purpose in this paper to evaluate the assertion that BCAAs alone are anabolic is adequately supported either theoretically or empirically by studies in human subjects.
How This Article Is Going To Work
PubMed articles are an excellent resource for research when you’re looking to cut through the marketing and broscience and get to the facts. They’re also time consuming to read, meticulous with their wording, and littered with terminology the common reader does not have a firm grasp of. Overall it makes for a very irritating reading experience for most people. This usually ends up in the reader either closing out the article and relying on peer-reviews (which means they’re getting bad information) or jumping straight to the end of the paper to read the conclusion out of context of the rest of the paper (which also leads to bad information).
I don’t want you to get bad information.
So here is how this is going to work: I am going to cut and paste here the most meaningful and relevant sections of the paper. Each section will be preceded by a question that the quote will answer. Following the quote, I will break down in less-scientifical terms what the quote is saying and what it means for you.
Don’t take this as an insult to your intelligence. This is merely an attempt at making everything easier to understand because when things are easier to understand we tend to have a more enjoyable learning experience and when our learning experience is more enjoyable we tend to remember more information.
I don’t have any research to back that up. That’s just, like, my opinion, man.
1. Can BCAA supplements alone achieve an anabolic (muscle building) effect?
The research says:
“Both of these intravenous infusion studies found that BCAAs decreased muscle protein synthesis as well as protein breakdown, meaning a decrease in muscle protein turnover. The catabolic state in which the rate of muscle protein breakdown exceeded the rate of muscle protein synthesis persisted during BCAA infusion. We conclude that the claim that consumption of dietary BCAAs stimulates muscle protein synthesis or produces an anabolic response in human subjects is unwarranted.”
What it means:
Wolfe found no studies on the effect that orally taken BCAA supplements (like the ones you and I would take) had on muscle protein synthesis in humans. He only found 2 studies where BCAAs were given to humans via an IV.
The results showed that not only did BCAAs fail to produce an anabolic state but they actually decreased muscle protein synthesis.
2. Can BCAA supplements alone prevent a catabolic (muscle breakdown) effect?
The research says:
Louard et al. [13] used the forearm balance method to quantify the response to the intravenous infusion of a mixture of BCAAs for 3 h in 10 post-absorptive subjects. There was no significant change in net phenylalanine balance, indicating that muscle protein breakdown was also reduced an amount similar to the reduction in muscle protein synthesis. The balance between muscle protein synthesis and breakdown remained negative, meaning that the catabolic state persisted and an anabolic state was not produced. The simultaneous decreases in muscle protein synthesis and breakdown during BCAA infusion can be described as decreased muscle protein turnover.
What it means:
BCAAs did reduce muscle protein breakdown. This is a good thing. BCAAs also reduced muscle protein synthesis. This is not a good thing.
- When the rate of muscle protein synthesis exceeds that of muscle protein breakdown we become anabolic. Great for building muscle.
- When the opposite is true and breakdown exceeds synthesis we become catabolic. Not great for building muscle.
Generally, our body is in flux between anabolism and catabolism throughout the day so it’s not that being catabolic will be the death of your fitness hopes and dreams its just that when you are on a diet and you’re trying to cut fat/weight you must be in a caloric deficit. This produces a net catabolic effect on the body for various reasons including decreased rates of muscle protein synthesis, lowered testosterone, increased cortisol, and a host of other hormonal changes. Your stress hormones are increased, anabolic hormones are decreased, and energy levels are lower. This makes training much more cumbersome and many lifters see their numbers go down.
3. Why don’t BCAAs stimulate muscle protein synthesis?
The research says:
The overriding metabolic goal of consuming BCAA supplements is to maximize the anabolic state. It is widely asserted that BCAAs induce an anabolic state by stimulating muscle protein synthesis. An abundant availability of all EAAs is a requisite for a significant stimulation of muscle protein synthesis [7]. Muscle protein synthesis will be limited by the lack of availability of any of the EAAs, whereas a shortage of NEAAs can be compensated for by increased de novo production of the deficient NEAAs
If only 3 EAAs are consumed, as is the case with consumption of BCAAs, then protein breakdown is the only source of the remaining EAAs required as precursors for muscle protein synthesis. It is therefore theoretically impossible for consumption of only BCAAs to create an anabolic state in which muscle protein synthesis exceeds muscle protein breakdown.
What it means:
As you just read above, in order to be in an anabolic state the rate of muscle protein synthesis must exceed muscle protein breakdown. Expecting BCAAs alone to increase the rate of muscle protein synthesis is a recipe for disaster because muscle protein synthesis requires:
- All 9 essential amino acids (EAAs) in generous amounts.
- All 11 non-essential amino acids (NEAAs) in generous amounts.
Our body can create the NEAAs we need whereas we must consume the 9 EAAs. The inherent problem with the claim that BCAAs will stimulate muscle protein synthesis is that they only contain 3 of the 9 EAAs. The only way to get the other 6 EAAs is through protein breakdown thus creating a catch-22.
“Great! So BCAAs are WORTHLESS!!!! Now what am I going to do with these 5 tubs of SUPER DUPER BLUE RAZZZZZZ-BERRY?!!!”
Great question. Here’s another great question: Why did you buy 5 tubs? Was there a deal? Are you hoarding them for the apocalypse? Is the blue razzzzzz-berry really that super and duper?
In any case, you need not fear because despite the research demonstrating that BCAAs will not stimulate protein synthesis and make you anabolic by themselves, there may be a case for them as a tasty beverage to pair with a meal.
4. Can BCAAs be effective in enhancing muscle protein synthesis when paired with a protein meal?
The research says:
BCAAs may enhance the anabolic effect of a protein meal. For example, the addition of 5 g of BCAAs to a beverage containing 6.25 g whey protein increased muscle protein synthesis to a level comparable to that induced by 25 g of whey protein [23]. This result suggests that one or more of the BCAAs might be rate limiting for the stimulation of muscle protein synthesis by whey protein, or that the extra BCAAs induced a greater potential for an anabolic response of muscle to whey protein by activating the initiation factors. In either case, the response of BCAAs in conjunction with intact protein is a different issue that the effect of BCAAs alone, since the intact protein provides all of the EAAs necessary to produce an intact protein.
What it means:
BCAAs alone do not significantly stimulate MPS to create a net anabolic effect by which new muscle protein can be built. The reason being that BCAA supplements contain only 3 of the 9 EAAs needed in abundance to effectively stimulate MPS. If any of these 9 are lacking, MPS will suffer. When BCAAs are taken with a protein meal they can enhance the MPS stimulating effects to achieve a greater net MPS response than the protein meal alone as the protein meal contains protein with all EAAs.
So when companies claim that BCAAs “support muscle protein synthesis” they aren’t lying, but they aren’t telling the truth either. They can support MPS, but in order for that to happen there must already be an abundant supply of the other 9 EAAs.
Essentially, unless we eat a complete protein along with drinking our BCAAs, BCAAs as a supplement are not worth buying at all.
“Where can I get these complete proteins from? Quick, before these 5 tubs expire!”
Complete proteins are quite easy to find and in most cases rather affordable too. Whether you a vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, librarian, sagittarius, or meat lover there are plenty of complete protein options out there to make sure you get all 9 of your EAAs. For an extensive list, tap or click right here.[2]
Conclusion: Are BCAAs worth it?
It depends.
I think where BCAAs excel the most are during a fat loss phase where we must lower our overall calorie intake while keeping our protein intake high in order to retain muscle mass.
Since we now know that BCAAs can essentially make a small amount of protein pack the punch of 4x its actual amount (see #4 above) we can ensure that muscle protein synthesis is being sufficiently stimulated during a time where calories are being reduced and meals are becoming smaller thus making it more difficult to maintain protein intake while staying in a caloric deficit.
For example:
- 1 Dannon Oikos Protein Crunch = 140cals/17g of protein.
- 1 Dannon Oikos Protein Crunch + 5g BCAA = 140cals/68g of protein (theoretically).
If you’re looking for the best bang for your protein buck during a caloric deficit, pairing a scoop of BCAAs along with a small protein meal can save you a lot of calories and still pack a massive protein synthesis stimulating punch.
So yes, I do think BCAAs can be helpful in this context. I also think you could simply buy a quality whey protein that contains BCAAs and you’d have your complete protein (the whey protein itself) and your serving of BCAAs packed into one container.
Summary
BCAAs are absolutely beneficial. When paired with a small portion of complete protein like chicken or yogurt they increase the protein’s effect on muscle protein synthesis thus increasing the net anabolic response and improving the body’s capability to maintain/build muscle all while sparing calories.
Do I think they essential, “must-have” supplements on the same level as a creatine or quality whey protein when it comes to building muscle? Absolutely not.
In my eyes, BCAA supplements are a luxury; They’re nice to have, but not having them won’t hold you back from getting to where you want to go.
Sources:
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About The Author: I’m Zach Newman — Personal Trainer/Physical Therapy Student/a guy who just love learn and write about fitness, and nutrition. Conversation is insanely important to me. It’s why I love creating things because creation sparks discussion and discussion is the best way to learn from each other and create community. So please, hop in the comments and respond to the article, ask a question, or simply tell me what you had for lunch today — seriously, I’m curious. What DID you have for lunch today?
