What are BCAAs?
BCAAs are food supplements that can be sufficiently supplied by a balanced and healthy diet. Athletes can have a higher demand for BCAAs through intensive and frequent training and therefore have to take them additionally through supplementation. In principle, the intake of BCAAs is safe for healthy people.
Older athletes, as well as athletes with previous illnesses should first talk to a doctor before taking BCAAs. Otherwise the intake is to be evaluated as risk-free. Only very high doses can cause side effects.
Are side effects known?
BCAAs promise a faster and stronger muscle build-up and better strength development. Therefore, more and more athletes take BCAAs through dietary supplements. Many of them handle the dosage somewhat loosely, so that side effects can sometimes occur.
However, these usually only occur with extreme overdose. Rather, care should be taken to choose the dosage so that no BCAAs are wasted. Amino acids that the body can no longer absorb are excreted through the gastrointestinal tract and are therefore worthless.
Side effects are therefore not only related to the body. Uselessly wasted amino acids mean free supplements. Therefore it is important to include the amino acids that are taken in through food in the daily dosage. Nutritional value tables show exactly how many milligrams of BCAAs are contained in which foods.
What factors influence the side effects?
If side effects occur after taking BCAAs, the side effects can be influenced by several factors. BCAA powders have the special feature that they contain ingredients for taste, consistency and solubility. When mixed with water or other liquids, side effects can also occur due to this composition of the powder.
If water is used for mixing, no side effects are to be expected. With milk this may already be different. Lactose alone can cause side effects, which are mainly related to the stomach.
An undesirable effect can be increased hair growth. The visit to the hairdresser can be more frequent, and so there are undesirable extra costs due to the intake of BCAAs. However, this side effect is rare and should therefore not be over-weighted.
All in all, it is important to have a healthy approach to your own body when taking dietary supplements. In addition, for safety reasons you should first ask your doctor for advice before you want to supplement BCAAs. In general, BCAAs can be seen as a relatively safe food supplement.
What happens in case of an overdose?
One effect that is noticeable in the case of an overdose is the high financial burden of purchasing the BCAAs. Quantities which the body cannot absorb are superfluous and are excreted again. However, the high amounts of BCAAs put additional strain on the organs, so that in addition to the empty wallet, a high physical strain is also created when processing the BCAAs.
You do not have to put this unnecessary burden on your body. Other side effects, which are very individual, such as stomach problems and digestive problems, occur rather rarely and disappear again when the overdose is over. Dosage recommendations for an average athlete are as follows: Only for competitive and extreme athletes are even higher recommendations valid. Otherwise all dosages above these recommendations are to be considered as overdose and do not bring any further benefits for training, strength and musculature. – Leucine: 4 – 5 grams per day
- Isoleucine: 2 grams per day
- Valine: 4 grams per day
