BCAA Usage in a Caloric Deficit

[The Solution]

From Alan Aragon's Facebook:


Plenty of research that goes against BCAA usage in a caloric restriction as well:


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27175106
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22451437
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20110810
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15930475
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25429252/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26388782/




The high-quality protein in our diets are comprised of appx 18-26% BCAA as it is. Supplementing with extra BCAA on top of that can range from adding extra unnecessary calories (and metabolic burden), to actually inhibiting optimal use of ingested amino acids. there might be a detrimental impact given that the AAs appear to antagonize each other in terms of transport both into circulation and likely into the muscle


*whey protein has a stronger anabolic/anticatabolic effect than its equivalent in supplemental EAA or BCAA
It's no surprise that supplemental BCAA has an equivocal track record in the research
For those concerned about "going catabolic" doing fasted cardio without AA supplementation, research & Studies show no difference in body comp effects between fed vs fasted cardio when total protein is sufficient (both groups retained their LBM)

As for the ability of BCAA to inhibit muscle soreness, note that this is always compared to a non-protein placebo.
instead of an intact, high-quality protein such as whey, which provides the rest of the EAAs as well as other co-factors for anabolism -- but it's all moot if you're getting enough total daily protein anyway


"Thus, as we speculated, consumption of crystalline BCAA resulted in competitive antagonism for uptake from the gut and into the muscle and was actually not as effective as leucine alone in stimulating MPS. Despite the popularity of BCAA supplements we find shockingly little evidence for their efficacy in promoting MPS or lean mass gains and would advise the use of intact proteins as opposed to a purified combination of BCAA that appear to antagonize each other in terms of transport both into circulation and likely in to the muscle.”


The only people who are not wasting time & money on supplemental BCAA are those who must maintain a low-protein diet, or a diet with restricted amounts of high-quality protein.

[pd]

Very interesting.