Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs): The Breakdown

Here at Pinnacle we've had a lot of questions regarding branched chain amino acids or BCAAs as they're more commonly known. So in this blog post we decided we would answer all the common questions that you may have, What are they? What do they do? When can i take them?

First of all, BCAAs are specifically 3 amino acids out of the 20 amino acids in the body. This 20 is then broken down into essential, non-essential and conditional. There are 9 essential amino acids which means like the other your body still requires them but it is unable to synthesise them itself and are therefore required to be consumed in your diet to obtain sufficient amounts to be able to perform their job within the body. The 3 BCAAs that we are referring to are Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine.

This is important because each of these when consumed in your diet work synergistically to promote muscle protein synthesis, prevent muscle protein breakdown, help with glucose uptake into the muscle and have even been seen to have anti-fatigue properties in the untrained population.

So when can you take them? Timing with BCAA supplements isn't as important as you may think, the focus is on getting enough in your body to be able to experience the benefits but they can be consumed at any time in the day. The most popular way however is to have them either pre, during or post workout.

If youre still deciding on whether supplementing BCAAs is for you then let me ask you this, if you are getting enough in through your regular diet then BCAA supplementation may not be for you, but, if you are unsure whether you are getting the right amount in your diet or you know you aren't, then BCAA supplementation is definitely something i would recommend.

For our range of BCAA products, click here...

Written by Ethan Clark