Are you a fitness enthusiast, a sportsperson, or just someone working on building their muscles? If yes, then a must-have for your supplement shelf is BCAA.
BCAA is short for branched-chain amino acids and is essential for muscle building and recovery. You must have heard about this supplement since it has gained massive popularity in the recent past. Popular enough to challenge whey protein!
This article will teach you the benefits of BCAAs and why you need this supplement. But first, a little more on what exactly this supplement is.
What are Branched Chain Amino Acids?
The human body has approximately 20 amino acids, out of which the body cannot manufacture 9. BCAAs are among the 9 amino acids essential for the body.
Amino acids are vital because they help synthesize proteins, the building blocks of body cells and tissues. Subsequently, the building blocks for all organs and the body. Additionally, it plays an integral part in your body’s metabolism.
Since the body cannot produce it, it must be supplemented through your diet or supplements. Now that you know why these amino acids are essential, it is time to move on to their benefits.
Benefits of Branched Chain Amino Acids
BCAAs need to be consumed either in the form of supplements or in your diet. They provide several benefits. Some of the benefits are:
Increasing Muscles
Is the goal of your workout to build muscles and gain pounds? Your body needs BCAAs. Leucine, one of the BCAAs, activates a pathway that stimulates protein synthesis in the body. This is the process of building muscles.
Reduce Muscle Soreness
If you have a strict workout routine or are into weight training, your muscles tend to experience soreness. In turn, the soreness will affect your workouts. The best way to get rid of it is by consuming BCAAs.
Reduce Fatigue
Exercise causes exhaustion and fatigue at some point. The intensity, duration, nutrition, and fitness levels affect how quickly you experience fatigue. BCAAs help reduce fatigue caused by exercise, just as they reduce muscle soreness.
Support Weight Loss
The logic is quite simple. BCAAs are known to increase muscle mass. The more muscles you have, the increased number of calories you burn because of a high metabolic rate.
A study showed that males who consumed BCAAs daily lost 1% more body fat than whey protein consumers.
Decrease Liver Related Diseases
BCAAs have been known to benefit people suffering from liver diseases such as cirrhosis. Such diseases can disrupt the body’s ability to metabolize proteins, thus causing a protein deficiency. Consuming BCAAs can improve the quality of life for liver disease patients.
Improve Exercise Performance
Consuming BCAAs can significantly improve your endurance levels, especially since it reduces fatigue. Supplementing BCAAs can improve metabolism and energy levels. Besides, it also reduces muscle damage.
Wrapping Up
Seeing the many benefits of supplementing BCAA must have convinced you to add these to your diet. These are essential amino acids and cannot be made by your body.
It is only because of their science-backed benefits that BCAAs have gained massive popularity, and rightly so. For best results, make sure that you follow a healthy diet and an active lifestyle while you consume BCAAs.