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View Full Version : any truth to this regarding bcaas?



Vitamin S
14-04-2011, 10:06 PM
i know your take on this, but after running into scivation xtend on bb.com lol hoping its just a marketing scheme.

If I already eat a lot of protein, will additional free-form BCAA be beneficial to me?

The metabolic effects seen from ingesting free-form amino acids are different from ingesting the same amino acids when they are in a whole protein (peptide bond). The rapid flushing of the system with the particular amino acid exerts a much more powerful activation of its target pathways. For example, if you were to ingest 5 grams of free-form arginine pre-workout you may notice a greater pump then without it.* If you were to ingest 5 grams of arginine in the form of a whole protein (1) you'd have to eat a ton of protein to acquire the 5 grams of arginine and (2) the rate of delivery would be much slower and (3) you would not be flooding your system with a large dose of arginine at one time. The same holds true for BCAA. Ingesting 10 grams of BCAA will lead to greater activation of mTOR, PI3K, etc.* than ingesting 10 grams of BCAA from a whole protein.

What if I already take in a lot of whey protein which is high in BCAA?

Free-form amino acids are absorbed quicker than whey, and as stated above, whey will not flood your bloodstream with BCAA as quick as ingesting free-form BCAA. The BCAA from whey compared to free-form BCAA could be compared to filling up a glass of water from a garden hose (whey) to a faucet (free-form BCAA). If you use a garden hose you have to wait until the water travels the length of the hose before you can use it. With a faucet, the water is right there when you turn it on. On top of this, the faucet has a wider opening than the garden hose and releases more water than the garden hose. During your workout and times of stress (dieting), you want the BCAA to get to your muscles as quickly as possible.

Praetorian
15-04-2011, 11:08 AM
They are making things much too complicated as a marketing ploy...if you consume whey isolate you are getting plenty of BCAA's adding more in unnecessary...just keep things simple.
P