What are BCAA's?

What are they? Do you need them? Where do I start? I am here to help answer all of these questions and more.

A couple weeks ago, I was with my sister and her boyfriend and we had just decided to go for a run through the beautiful Metroparks of Ohio. While my sister and I bundled up in anticipation of the chilly weather, her boyfriend chugged a branched chain amino acids (BCAA’s), loaded up the car, and we were on our way. Once we arrived and started the workout, my sister’s boyfriend took off looking like he was shot out of a cannon—my sister commented “don’t mind him, he just took his BCAA’s, he’ll calm down" we laughed and carried on. This got me thinking-let’s discuss BCAAs!

Branched chain amino acids are referring to three specific amino acids- leucine, valine, and isoleucine. Unlike most amino acids, these can be broken down and used as energy in the muscle, capable of contributing up to 10% of total energy during exercise, endurance exercise to be exact. How does this work? Typically, during exercise, there is a serum decline in BCAAs, this decline causes an increase in tryptophan in the brain, followed by serotonin production, we experience this process as fatigue. Supplementing with BCAA is thought to inhibit this reaction because of high serum levels. Now, contrary to what I described above with my sister’s boyfriend, it’s not an immediate reaction— you don’t take BCAA and immediately feel energized, so is there a partial placebo effect? Maybe. But it can prevent fatigue, particularly during endurance exercise,

So, should you be taking BCAAs? As always with supplementation, take a look at your current daily intake, specifically of protein. Supplementation is unnecessary for people with an adequate protein intake (~1-1.5g/kg of bodyweight a day). Good sources of the three BCAAs include: poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, soybeans, lentils, chickpeas, and almonds. Look to include these in your daily intake and look to consume protein throughout the day. If you do this, chances you have adequate intake. If you lack in overall protein intake, this may be something to consider, but as always TALK WITH YOUR DIETITIAN to ensure they are a right fit for you.

-Brooke