In a word is it worth taking BCAA?

[pu12en12g]

so you say to take bcaa pre/during/post workout well i add 15g of bcaa + 4g leucine in 1 litre of water + crystal light and i drink it before and during my workout, along with water from the fountain, and i time the mix so im finishing it off when im finishing my workout, and then i drink my protein shake about 10-15 mins after... how does that sound?

Nutrient Timing Summary:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...&postcount=186

Nutrient Timing Logic:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...&postcount=190
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...3&postcount=34

[Sockomalo]

so pure, do bcaa supplements have protein in them? thats my understanding from reading in this thread. anyone know any numbers? like how many grams of protein in 20grams BCAA

[pu12en12g]

so pure, do bcaa supplements have protein in them? thats my understanding from reading in this thread. anyone know any numbers? like how many grams of protein in 20grams BCAA

The free form aminos technically are not considered a protein.. no.

[Trans_Isomer]

The free form aminos technically are not considered a protein.. no.

^^ A LOT of people dont realize this. It takes ~50 amino acids peptide bonded to be considered a protein.

[Sockomalo]

The free form aminos technically are not considered a protein.. no.

ok cool, thanks for the heads-up. i haven't been counting them as protein, i woulda just considered it an extra

[Sockomalo]

The free form aminos technically are not considered a protein.. no.

how does xtend have protein than, if more than just bcaa's are needed to make protein?

im confused

Calories 40
Calories From Fat 0
Total Fat 0 g 0%
Saturated Fat 0 g 0%
Cholesterol <0 mg 0%
Total Carbohydrates 0 g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 10 g 20%

[pu12en12g]

how does xtend have protein than, if more than just bcaa's are needed to make protein?

im confused

Calories 40
Calories From Fat 0
Total Fat 0 g 0%
Saturated Fat 0 g 0%
Cholesterol <0 mg 0%
Total Carbohydrates 0 g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 10 g 20%

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...&postcount=426

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...&postcount=430

[Sockomalo]

so does that mean xtend doesnt really have any protein

and thanks for the quick reply

[Training Pig]

is Optimum Nutrition Superior Amino 2222 any good? sorry for cutting into the thread, just that I have not heard anyone talking about it.

[Zachattack43]

is Optimum Nutrition Superior Amino 2222 any good? sorry for cutting into the thread, just that I have not heard anyone talking about it.

not worth the price, look into xtend by scivation

[johnny1979]

The only real downside to BCAA intake is that extremely high levels will cause a.) niacin depletion and b.) will diminish neurotransmitter synthesis slightly in the brain, although this is only when you get up to absurd BCAA doses, but you could converesely make the same argument (indirectly) about excessive whole protein consumption as well.

Excessive protein consumption doesn't produce niacin deficiency, it's the opposite, dietary lack of protein which causes it.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellagra
Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease caused by dietary lack of niacin (B3) and protein, especially proteins containing the essential amino acid tryptophan.[1]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16207585
Pellagra is a systemic disturbance caused by a cellular deficiency of niacin, resulting from inadequate dietary nicotinic acid and/or its precursors, the essential amino-acid tryptophan. In Europe and North America cases of pellagra are rarely encountered, but in some developing countries this disease is frequent, and is the most frequent clinical feature of nutritional deficiency of adult. The principal causes of pellagra are: nutritional niacin deficiency; chronic alcoholism; gastro-intestinal malabsorption; some medications (5-fluoro-uracil, isoniazid, pyrazinamide ehtionamide, 6-mercaptopurine, hydantoins, phenobarbital and chloramphenicol).

[Skigazzi]

Excessive protein consumption doesn't produce niacin deficiency, it's the opposite, dietary lack of protein which causes it.

.

You just replied to a 3 year old post

But good info.

[ianfkirby]

You just replied to a 3 year old post

But good info.

Digging up an old one again, but I am just wondering if there has been any further developments on the concept of taking bulk Leucine alone over a 2:1:1 with valine and isoleucine? Layne seemed to be very keen on the idea of Leucine supplementation, however he also qualified his postings on mTor by saying
"Whether or not it is of benefit for athletes and bodybuilders to supplement with additional leucine on top of a high protein diet to further increase muscle mass in the long term has yet to be determined however." Wondering about further developments.

Also I'm wondering about absorption timing again. I have read the entire 9 pages of this thread and one of the more interesting things to me is the concept that free form aminos can be absorbed and utilized within 15 min, whereas the aminos in the whey we take upon rising/PWO aren't biologically available until about 30 minutes after consumption.

My question is, does taking BCAA powder (~5GM seems to be the consensus dose w up to 25GM daily) in your morning/PWO shake affect the rate of absorption for the free form aminos in the BCAA powder, i.e. slow digestion?

It's reminiscent of the topic of mixing whey and casein; some fall on the side of casein slowing the PWO absorption of whey and thus being bad PWO, whereas others promote the idea of casein being beneficial for synergistic insulogenic (sp?) effects and promoting a positive nitrogen balance longer term. Thoughts on either of these subjects?

Please bear in mind these are my extremely simplistic understandings of these topics derived mainly from a layman's perception of what the mighty and knowing Alan Aragon has shared with us... so if I'm off base, then just blame him ;-)

As a final note, I have been using CL Purple Wraath for sometime now and I like its effects however, I am wondering about the addition of BCAA's in addition to this EAA/BCAA blend. According to the label, one dose provides about 7GM of EAAs. I mix this in a 32oz bottle and I usually consume 10% pre wo, 80% intra and 20% post followed by my PWO .25g/TBW protein .5g/TBW CHO (whey & oats)

I am thinking that a 5GM shot of BCAA's with my initial Wraath pre-workout chug, 5GM BCAA's mixed in with the bottle of Wraath intra-wo and then 5GM PWO w/ the last bit of Purple Wraath just before I chug my PWO shake.

When also adding in my 5GM pre and post morning cardio BCAA doses, this would seem to follow the "megadosing" guidelines of 25GM a day and would also seem to play it safe in regards to not slowing absorption down. Or, are BCAA's better absorbed w/ food/liquid like a protein shake? So even if the shake slowed something down, would they still be better absorbed by the system?

Anyway, just looking for some advice as to whether this regimen would be effective or redundant (waste of $$), or if I am just plain missing something.

Thanks!

[Mboymaxi]

For example a 220 pound athlete with 10% bodyfat would be carrying 22 pounds of fat mass, so this athlete's LBM calculates out to 198 pounds.

You're forgetting to deduct bone mass.

[Bigdumogre]

You're forgetting to deduct bone mass.

Strong everything