Comparison to BCAA
The abbreviation BCAA stands for Branched Chain Amino Acids. This means branched chain amino acids and describes a mixture of three essential amino acids. The BCAA mixture contains the amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine.
These three amino acids perform many different tasks in the human body. Valine is used in protein synthesis to build many different enzymes. Leucine is involved in the synthesis of proteins in the liver.
It also plays a role in healing processes of the body. Furthermore, leucine is important for the construction and maintenance of muscles. The third amino acid of the BCAA preparations is isoleucine, this is important for the energy supply of the musculature.
Isoleucine is especially important during longer lasting efforts. During these efforts and generally in phases of undersupply of the body, for example during periods of hunger, the organism begins to break down the body’s own material in order to gain energy. Here isoleucine serves as an energy source, it is broken down with the muscle mass.
All three of the BCAA amino acids are essential amino acids, which means that they must be supplied with food. Leucine, isoleucine and valine are found in all protein-containing foods, they make up about fifty percent of all amino acids in the normal diet. Some amino acids are first transported to the liver after they have been absorbed in the intestines and are metabolized there.
The BCAA amino acids have the advantage that their composition allows them to be transported directly from the intestine to the muscles where they are absorbed. Thus, BCAA have important functions in muscle building and the energy supply of the muscles. In addition, they have a supporting effect on wound healing and metabolism.
For these reasons, BCAA are taken by athletes as a supplement. The BCAA preparations are expected to accelerate muscle growth and reduce muscle breakdown. Furthermore, it is assumed that the supply of these essential amino acids suppresses the fatigue, or begins later.
Whether these effects really occur to the extent hoped for is not clear according to the current study situation, as there are contradictory studies on this topic. The fact that advantages for competitive and endurance athletes arise from the income of BCAA preparations is thus not proven. In comparison, the study situation for preparations containing the amino acid glutamine looks similar.
Glutamine also has some hoped-for effects. Glutamine is not an essential amino acid, but the body needs other essential amino acids to produce glutamine. There are free amino acids in the blood plasma, and glutamine is the most abundant.
Glutamine is also the amino acid with the highest concentration in the muscles. This suggests that it is involved in the metabolism of the muscles. In fact, glutamine causes increased water retention in the myocytes (muscle cells).
During sports or other muscular activities, an increase in cell volume is achieved through water retention. According to current knowledge, the increase in muscle cell volume is absorbed by the body as an anabolic signal. Subsequently, the protein formation and the build-up of glycogen are enhanced.
Through the build-up of muscle proteins, the muscles become more efficient.In addition, the increased build-up of glycogen makes the energy supply to the muscles more favorable, which also increases performance. These effects of glutamine have been proven in studies. The proof refers however only to body-own protein, i.e. it is not safe that the effect applies also to glutamine, which was supplied from the outside and which was won before logically artificially.
Furthermore, long-term studies on the tolerance of glutamine are missing. In conclusion, neither the effects of glutamine preparations nor those of preparations containing the BCAA amino acids have really been proven. What is certain is that such preparations can in no way replace regular sporting activity for muscle building.
Moreover, it is evident that the intake of dietary supplements never makes a healthy diet superfluous. If you want to build up muscles effectively, you should therefore eat a healthy diet. You should coordinate your nutritional plan with your sport, for example, you should eat a protein-rich diet.
If you manage your diet accordingly, you should see success in building up muscles. In addition, you cover both your glutamine and BCAA requirements. If you want to take supplements in the form of BCAA preparations or glutamine concentrates, you should consult a sports physician or other specialist beforehand. They can give you advice and can also inform you about which preparation is best for your particular training situation.