Essential Amino Acids vs Branch Chain Amino Acids- Which is best for building muscle?

 

What exactly are EAAs and BCAAs, and how do they differ? When it comes to building muscle and boosting performance, are EAAs or BCAAs the way to go?

In this article, we'll break it down for you in a way that's easy to understand, even if you're new to the topic.

Key take aways:

• Essential amino acids (EAAs) are crucial amino acids that must come from your diet or a quality supplement. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are three of these essential amino acids.

• While BCAA supplements may not directly help you build muscle, they can offer other benefits like improving fatigue tolerance and reducing post-workout soreness.

• On the other hand, EAA supplements can help with muscle growth.

• Your best bet is an EEA supplement that includes a perfect 2:1:1 ratio of BCAA’s. 

Proteins are like the MVPs of your body - they're the real deal when it comes to keeping everything running smoothly. They're not just nutrients, they're the building blocks that make up your muscles, organs, skin, tendons, ligaments, and even your intestines. Plus, proteins are essential for making enzymes and hormones that help your body function properly. If you were to strip away all the water and fat from your body, what's left is mostly proteins. That's how important they are!

It's crucial to make sure you're getting enough protein in your diet. If you skimp on protein, you won't see the gains you're looking for.

Amino Acids are the little guys that make up proteins. There are twenty different amino acids, and they're like the tiny building blocks that link together to form proteins.

When you consume protein, your digestive system goes to work breaking down those protein chains into amino acids. These amino acids then get absorbed into your bloodstream and travel to wherever your body needs them to build new cells or repair old ones.

These amino acids can be split into two categories: essential amino acids and non-essential amino acids. Both play a crucial role in keeping your body in tip-top shape. Your body produces non-essential amino acids on its own so in this article we will focus on the importance of essential amino acids.

There are nine essential amino acids (EAA’s), and they've all got some fancy names. Here they are, in alphabetical order:

• Histidine
• Isoleucine*
• Leucine*
• Lysine
• Methionine
• Phenylalanine
• Threonine
• Tryptophan
• Valine*

Unlike non-essential amino acids, your body can't produce them on its own, so you have to get them through diet or a quality supplement.

 

Branched-Chain Amino Acids, or BCAAs, are a group of three essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Simply put, BCAAs are a subset of EAAs.

The difference between BCAAs and EAAs may seem confusing at first, but it's actually quite simple. They are just a group of 3 special essential amino acids. Don't let the terminology trip you up - it's all just a matter of understanding the unique characteristics of these 3 special amino acids.

EAAs, BCAAs, and Your Muscles 

By now, you know that you only get essential amino acids from your diet or supplements and all nine essential amino acids are needed to pack on new muscle.

When you consume protein, it gets broken down into amino acids in your gut and intestines. These little guys then make their way into your bloodstream. And when a bunch of amino acids show up all at once, your body is like, "Hey, muscle-building materials! Time to get to work!”

If you take a EAA+BCAA supplement, those amino acids are already good to go. Your body doesn't have to do any extra work to break them down. This means you can absorb them quicker than if you were getting them from a regular

 meal.

The whole process of building new muscle is known as muscle protein synthesis. So, keep fueling those muscles with protein and essential amino acids to help them grow bigger and stronger!

Long story short, if you're looking to pack on muscle, BCAA supplements alone won't cut it. You need the full set of EAAs to really see results. So, make sure you're getting all the essential amino acids with a quality EEA+BCAA supplement!

 

References

• National Library of Medicine: Amino acid supplements and metabolic health: a potential interplay between intestinal microbiota and systems control
• Healthline: 5 Proven Benefits of BCAAs (Branched-Chain Amino Acids) 
• Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition. International society of sports nutrition position stand: essential amino acid supplementation on skeletal muscle and Performance
• American Journal of Physiology: Essential amino acids and muscle protein recovery from resistance exercise.

   

  Copyright © 2024 ABBullet

  

   

   

  Larry Enger: Owner

  Owner: ABBullet

  First and foremost, our #1 goal is to provide our customers with a high quality, durable home fitness product that does exactly what we say it will do along with the highest quality, innovative and effective nutritional products on the market.

  Our secondary mission is to help fund disabled veteran athletes in support of their personal goals and dreams.  Being a disabled veteran owned and operated company we will always strive to support these heroes, our brothers and sisters.  ONE SHIRT. ONE HAT. ONE PURPOSE. allows us to do that.