Branched-Chain Amino Acids - Why Should You Take Them?
<< Part 2 - First Supplement Usage <<
Let’s dive a little deeper into the world of branched-chain amino acids and see what they’re really capable of.
We scratched the surface of the benefits of BCAAs, but you may need more convincing.
So what exactly do these three special amino acids do?
Benefits of BCAAs
Protein has to broken down into amino acids before the energy can be used by your body. They’re broken down in your intestines, absorbed into your blood, sent to your liver and then converted to a usable energy source. Seems like a pretty long process, doesn’t it?
BUT branched-chain amino acids are special because they can bypass the liver and be used for energy in tissues like your muscle instead!
Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplements
So when you exercise, these specific amino acids are going to be used first. They’re like the starting lineup when it comes to amino acids being used as an energy source for your muscles.
BCAAs will also help keep your muscle from breaking down, letting you hold onto more of your “beefy-ness”. They also aid in muscle, tendon, skin and bone repair. These amino acids are starting to sound a bit important, aren’t they?
So what else do they do other than help build and repair your muscles?
Well, Branched-chained amino acids have also been found to hold off fatigue and I’m not talking about muscle fatigue. What I’m talking about is fatigue of the central nervous system.
When you experience this type of fatigue you’ll experience things like:
- Difficulty Thinking
- Lack of Motivation
- Poor Mood
Not really a good blend of symptoms to have in your daily life, especially if you plan on going to the gym. You need to be able to concentrate when you’re working out and if you have no motivation then you might not even make it to the gym!
Some of you might be thinking that that’s no biggie, you can handle it… but your central nervous system controls things like muscle contractions. So keep your body full of BCAAs and you can expect to perform a lot better!
If that isn’t enough to convince you, BCAAs also:
- Aid in Fat Loss
- Aid in the Production of Growth Hormone
- Regulate Blood Sugar
- Increase Endurance
So you can see why these three amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine) are so essential to our daily lives, even if you don’t workout.
If you want a strong, fully-functioning body then you need to be sure that you’re getting enough branched-chain amino acids in your diet. If you’re unable to or you’re stressing your body with workouts then it’d be good to start supplementing with BCAAs. You can get these supplements really cheap when you buy them in bulk powder form.
BUT, as always… you don’t have to believe what I say! I could have just made all these benefits up, right? So let’s see if I can back up what I’ve said with some research that has been done on branched-chain amino acids.
