BCAA's vs EAA's

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Published on Friday, 22 March 2013 18:20

Written by Mehmet Edip, Fitness Model / Fitness Author

 

That age old question, which is better – BCAA’s or Essential Amino Acids? There are a lot of supplements on the market which are classed as Branched Chain Amino Acids but there is also many supplements classified as Essential Amino Acids, but which one is worth buying? 

BCAA’s: Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s) are comprised of essential amino acids (specifically, valine, leucine and isoleucine).  BCAA’s are needed for the maintenance of muscle tissue and preserve muscle glycogen stores and even may even help to prevent muscle protein breakdown during exercise. 

Studies have show that BCAA supplementation can increase the amount of nitrogen stored in the muscle, which in turn may minimize the loss of lean muscle tissue after intense exercise and dieting as well as reducing recovery time while aiding muscle growth and repair 

 

EAAs: Essential Amino Acids (EAA’s) are required in order to help build new muscle tissue and help with cell repair which occurs when muscles are recovering.  They are “essential” because your body cannot produce them.  EAA’s must then in turn come from your diet or supplementation.  For those who are involved in intensive training supplementation can to ensure they receive enough EAA’s to meet the body’s needs.

The main essential amino acids required by the body (some of which are included in the BCAA’s) are L Leucine, L Isoleucine, L Valine, L Lysine, L Phenylalanine, L Threonine, L Histidine, L Methionine, L Tryptophan. 

If you do not get your EAA’s in your diet, the body will not extract the maximum nutrients from protein sources you consume, and the excess calories in the protein can be stored as fat. The requirement for a balanced number of amino acids in the diet is known as 'limiting protein utilization', so proper supplementation is crucial.

So what is the difference? 

-BCAA's only consist of 3 of the 8 essential amino acids, which are used primarily for growth, repair of muscle and thus recover optimally from exercise. BCAA's however are not a complete protein like an EAA is. 

-EAA's are required for complete protein synthesis and actually also contain BCAA's as well but typically have a smaller quantity.

-Studies have shown that EAA's are better utilized by the body pre-training and a high requirement for BCAA's is needed post-workout to help speed up the recovery process. 

So to sum up, if you are a heavy lifter or someone who has an intense training routine it would be beneficial to invest in both products.  Take your EAA’s before training and your BCAA’s after.