Are BCAAs a Waste of Money?

[BD Bodybuilder]

Key point:

"So, BCAAs do not boost muscle growth. Furthermore, it’s best to ingest all nine EAAs together instead of just the three BCAAs alone. This can be done with an EAA supplement, but those are not cost-effective. What’s best and most cost-effective is a protein source that includes all nine amino acids. This could be a whey protein powder or a whole food source, preferably animal-based: beef, chicken, fish, dairy, etc. (Vegans can get all nine amino acids together from a few plant sources, including quinoa, chia, and spirulina, or by combining non-animal foods.)"

 

[Robplumm]

There's some evidence that leucine alone or eaa added to protein helps with MPS. There's almost as many studies that nope it as well. So...

Take a few scoops of whey, eat meats...

ETA:

Systematic review of leucine trigger for mps

Evaluating the Leucine Trigger Hypothesis to Explain the Post-prandial Regulation of Muscle Protein Synthesis in Young and Older Adults: A Systematic Review - PMC

Background: The “leucine trigger” hypothesis was originally conceived to explain the post-prandial regulation of muscle protein synthesis (MPS). This hypothesis implicates the magnitude (amplitude and rate) of post-prandial increase in blood leucine ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[GQdaLEGEND]

Key point:

"So, BCAAs do not boost muscle growth. Furthermore, it’s best to ingest all nine EAAs together instead of just the three BCAAs alone. This can be done with an EAA supplement, but those are not cost-effective. What’s best and most cost-effective is a protein source that includes all nine amino acids. This could be a whey protein powder or a whole food source, preferably animal-based: beef, chicken, fish, dairy, etc. (Vegans can get all nine amino acids together from a few plant sources, including quinoa, chia, and spirulina, or by combining non-animal foods.)"

Full article:

if you asked anyone here 10-15years ago, everyone woulda said no .. but yeah now people are going away from them and more towards eaa ( rob pointed out the study that most mentions )

i personally dont think they are a waste, all on whats in your diet .. if you are getting enough protein no need to take any form of amino acids

theres always gonna be good and bad to ANY supplement ..you can find bad stuff about any vitamins

back in the day people swore by BCAA alone - scivation XTEND

i personally enjoy any type bc it helps my sugar cravinngs and keeps me off soda's .. i used to buy unflavored and mix them in sns focusXT .. keeps me off energy drinks too

dont get me wrong .. i still drink 1 a week, just too addicting but have cut down alot.

 

[KlausCoin]

if you asked anyone here 10-15years ago, everyone woulda said no .. but yeah now people are going away from them and more towards eaa ( rob pointed out the study that most mentions )

i personally dont think they are a waste, all on whats in your diet .. if you are getting enough protein no need to take any form of amino acids

theres always gonna be good and bad to ANY supplement ..you can find bad stuff about any vitamins

back in the day people swore by BCAA alone - scivation XTEND

i personally enjoy any type bc it helps my sugar cravinngs and keeps me off soda's .. i used to buy unflavored and mix them in sns focusXT .. keeps me off energy drinks too

dont get me wrong .. i still drink 1 a week, just too addicting but have cut down alot.

mmmm scivation XTEND- used to sip on that stuff all the time about 10 years ago

mango madness was S tier!!!!!

 

[GQdaLEGEND]

mmmm scivation XTEND- used to sip on that stuff all the time about 10 years ago

mango madness was S tier!!!!!

hells yea .. xtend and purple wraath ruled industry lol

scivation had one pre workout that i enjoyed back in the day too .. before quake, cant think of the name but remember liking the lemonade flavor.

 

[Young Gotti]

are bcaa's a waste of money, that could mean different things to different people

i say they can be useful, back in the day when ppl transitioned to eaa's, the eaa supplements were more expensive but now they can be found for roughly the same price as bcaas so someone might as well get eaa's if they are interested

we don't all live a perfect life and i'd say hardly anyone here makes a living off of being totally optimal all the time...i say that because if someone wakes up and has a tough time eating in the morning but also knows they won't eat again for hours, they may have 2 eggs which isn't enough protein for MPS but add in some bcaa/eaas and the meal theoretically is more beneficial.....a parent may just get done working out but now has to go sit at a soccer field with their kids for the next 6 hours, they grab a protein bar with 20g's of protein but...can they further boost that by also grabbing a water bottle of aminos for the ride as they eat the bar on the way out of the door?

if memory serves correctly, most of the science indicated they had little impact...meaning they did have some impact..people spend money on supplements all the time that have "some" impact, but bcaas got a bad wrap somehow

can someone grab a protein shake in these situations, yes, but someone may not always want a thicker shake or the calories or whatever...like mentioned, amino drinks usually are sweet and can help with sugar cravings and are just more enjoyable than protein shakes in most cases

 

[Nac]

The Future is Clear

 

[N2ofusion]

Not a waste at all. I feel so much better replacing lunch with a few heaping BCAA scoops, more energy and feel just as strong. I made this switch in summer 2019, alongside picking up the BCAA habit, and haven’t looked back.

 

[Smont]

If you eat meals regularly throughout the day then you always have amino acids available and bcaas will still jump right into that amino pool. I perfer eaa's and sometimes i add bcaas to my eaas or i might even go kitchen sink with pro synthesis 17 but regardless, i would say bcaas always work unless the only thing you ingested that day was bcaas. There not the greatest but i can think of a boatload of more useless supplements with 3-5× the price tag

 

[LeanEngineer]

Personally I find one that I enjoy the taste and use it as water flavoring to help me stay hydrated as well so essentially killing two birds with one stone.

 

[sns8778]

I prefer to use EAA supplements over BCAA's, as EAA's already have the BCAA's in them + the other essential amino acids.

In the original post, it says that EAA's are not cost effective - which I don't agree with. The EAA that I use provides 14 grams of EAA's per scoop and it costs less than half the price per serving than the energy drink I'm drinking now while typing this and also less than the bottle of water I bought at the store earlier today.

 

[Smont]

I prefer to use EAA supplements over BCAA's, as EAA's already have the BCAA's in them + the other essential amino acids.

In the original post, it says that EAA's are not cost effective - which I don't agree with. The EAA that I use provides 14 grams of EAA's per scoop and it costs less than half the price per serving than the energy drink I'm drinking now while typing this and also less than the bottle of water I bought at the store earlier today.

I feel like op has a few threads like these. I gather hes kinda new to researching these things and sharing whatever info hes come across so far, as many of the topics seem to be toipcs many of us were cunfused with 5-10 years ago. So maybe hes just diving into these topics? Cant be certain about that, but its what i have taken away from the posts they make

 

[Smont]

And ya, i paid $3.59 for a bottle of water at the gas station this morning

 

[WickedWarlock]

And ya, i paid $3.59 for a bottle of water at the gas station this morning

You ain’t kidding. Prices are outrageous

 

[LeanEngineer]

And ya, i paid $3.59 for a bottle of water at the gas station this morning

It's crazy how expense things are not just compared to a few years ago. Gotta start stocking up at Aldi's. They seem to have good prices compared to a lot of places.

 

[Smont]

It's crazy how expense things are not just compared to a few years ago. Gotta start stocking up at Aldi's. They seem to have good prices compared to a lot of places.

I do about 3/4 of my food shopping at aldi now, the rest costco. It helps cut costs for sure

 

[LucasBagoDoce]

Personally I find one that I enjoy the taste and use it as water flavoring to help me stay hydrated as well so essentially killing two birds with one stone.

Exactly how I use xtend
Have it on hand when I crave something sweet.
Tastes amazing and hydrates me
Win-win

 

[Young Gotti]

I do about 3/4 of my food shopping at aldi now, the rest costco. It helps cut costs for sure

Same, Aldi’s or Sam’s club since I don’t have Costco…my girl doesn’t always love it but she can pick up a few items from regular grocery stores

 

[LeanEngineer]

Exactly how I use xtend
Have it on hand when I crave something sweet.
Tastes amazing and hydrates me
Win-win

Yep saved me many times from binging on something way worse for me.

 

[Smont]

Same, Aldi’s or Sam’s club since I don’t have Costco…my girl doesn’t always love it but she can pick up a few items from regular grocery stores

Fun fact, all the aldi branded products (theres several brands exclusive to aldi) but there mostly natural products, no synthetic dye, no partially hydrated oils. There significantly better then the competition in that aspct and cheaper. I use my garden first and aldi seccond for fruits and vegetables. all my carb sources like rice, breads, Pastas i get from aldi. Milk, cheese eggs and chicken breast. Then i fill in the gap at costco. Occasionally i go to a butcher for beef when i want a good steak but otherwise il grab the vaccum sealed steaks aldi has. The one by my house Doesn't have the greatest meat selection but they also restock 2 times a week on wedensday and sunday so at least I know it's always fresh cus i shop on tjose days.

 

[Young Gotti]

Fun fact, all the aldi branded products (theres several brands exclusive to aldi) but there mostly natural products, no synthetic dye, no partially hydrated oils. There significantly better then the competition in that aspct and cheaper. I use my garden first and aldi seccond for fruits and vegetables. all my carb sources like rice, breads, Pastas i get from aldi. Milk, cheese eggs and chicken breast. Then i fill in the gap at costco. Occasionally i go to a butcher for beef when i want a good steak but otherwise il grab the vaccum sealed steaks aldi has. The one by my house Doesn't have the greatest meat selection but they also restock 2 times a week on wedensday and sunday so at least I know it's always fresh cus i shop on tjose days.

same, our aldi's isn't great on meat, i'll get my chicken breast there but it's hit or miss sometimes, if they are low on stock the day i go it's usually the packages that are leaking, the chicken doesn't look great but sams also has chicken breast for about the same price if needed

i do like their grass fed meat since it's been on sale a lot lately, and their ground pork is cost effective as well