JudoJosh
Pro Virili Parte
For a brief period HMB supplementation had quite a bit of popularity but that quickly died out after researched failed to demonstrate it being effective in trained individuals. Now what about other leucine metabolites? Many of you guys here are no stranger to Alphamine and as a result alpha-hydroxy-isocaproic acid (HICA) has gained some attention. But is their evidence to support HICA supplementation or will this leucine metabolite suffer the same fate as HMB.
A few years back there was a study posted in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition titled, "Effects of alfa-hydroxy-isocaproic acid on body composition, DOMS and performance in athletes". What the authors of this paper attempted to do was to try and validate HICA as a valid anti-catabolic substance.
They recruited 15 active males (soccer players) and gave them either HICA at 583 milligrams, three times a day or a placebo (650 mg of maltodextrin). The study ran for 4 weeks and during this time the participants participated in their normal daily activities (weight trainings, soccer practice, etc). Not only were they active but a dietary record was also maintained and monitored. The average macronutrient intake amongst both groups was, protein 119 ± 37 g, carbohydrate 341 ± 87 g, and fat 82 ± 23 g.
So we have 15 physically active guys separated into two groups. One group given HICA and the other given placebo. Training and nutrition were both monitored and there was no significant difference in either category between the groups.
After the 4 weeks was up the researchers the body composition and strength of all participants. What they found was that the placebo group lost lean body mass (lbm) while the HICA group actually gained lbm (HICA: before 62.2 ± 6.7 and after 62.5 ± 6.5 PLACEBO: before 62.2 ± 4.9 and after 62.2 ± 4.6) Fat mass in both groups remained constant. It is also worth mentioning that this increase in lbm was in the soccer players legs which is pretty impressive I would say considering their sport is pretty taxing to the leg muscles and their training isn't exactly for hypertrophy.
So it appears HICA does have some validity as an anti-catabolic (protein sparing) compound as well as contributing to some muscle gains.
Full text of the study - Invalid Link Removed
NOTE: To my knowledge this has not yet been duplicated and while it would be nice to see someone replicate the results this is still an actual human in vivo study demonstrating effectiveness which is more than what we can say about the majority of the supplement ingredients on the market today.
A few years back there was a study posted in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition titled, "Effects of alfa-hydroxy-isocaproic acid on body composition, DOMS and performance in athletes". What the authors of this paper attempted to do was to try and validate HICA as a valid anti-catabolic substance.
They recruited 15 active males (soccer players) and gave them either HICA at 583 milligrams, three times a day or a placebo (650 mg of maltodextrin). The study ran for 4 weeks and during this time the participants participated in their normal daily activities (weight trainings, soccer practice, etc). Not only were they active but a dietary record was also maintained and monitored. The average macronutrient intake amongst both groups was, protein 119 ± 37 g, carbohydrate 341 ± 87 g, and fat 82 ± 23 g.
So we have 15 physically active guys separated into two groups. One group given HICA and the other given placebo. Training and nutrition were both monitored and there was no significant difference in either category between the groups.
After the 4 weeks was up the researchers the body composition and strength of all participants. What they found was that the placebo group lost lean body mass (lbm) while the HICA group actually gained lbm (HICA: before 62.2 ± 6.7 and after 62.5 ± 6.5 PLACEBO: before 62.2 ± 4.9 and after 62.2 ± 4.6) Fat mass in both groups remained constant. It is also worth mentioning that this increase in lbm was in the soccer players legs which is pretty impressive I would say considering their sport is pretty taxing to the leg muscles and their training isn't exactly for hypertrophy.
So it appears HICA does have some validity as an anti-catabolic (protein sparing) compound as well as contributing to some muscle gains.
Full text of the study - Invalid Link Removed
NOTE: To my knowledge this has not yet been duplicated and while it would be nice to see someone replicate the results this is still an actual human in vivo study demonstrating effectiveness which is more than what we can say about the majority of the supplement ingredients on the market today.
- Invalid Link Removed , Invalid Link Removed , 
