The human body needs different types of amino acids among which 20 amino acids make up thousands of different proteins present in the body. Nine of them are considered essential amino acids. Your body cannot make them and needed to obtain them through your diet. Among them, the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are really crucial. BCAAs include leucine, isoleucine and valine.

Why are they called branched-chain? it refers to the chemical structure of BCAAs. They are mostly available in protein-rich foods such as eggs, dairy products, and meat. They’re available as supplements in powder form.

Let's find out what benefits BCAAs can offer you

Increase muscle growth

BCAAs are popular because they help in increasing muscle growth.

Leucine activates a certain pathway in the body that can stimulate muscle protein synthesis. This process can help in making building more muscles in the body.

Scientific studies done on the subject found that people who consume 5.6 g of BCAAs after a resistance workout had a 22% greater increase in muscle protein synthesis.

Decreases muscle soreness

BCAAs can help decrease muscle soreness after a workout. After working out, you may feel sure for a day or two. This may happen if your exercise routine is new or if you are pushing yourself harder. This soreness is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). It may develop 12 to 24 hours after exercise and can last up to 72 hours.

It may happen because of the tiny tears in the muscles after exercise. BCAAs has found to decrease muscle damage. Thus it can help reduce the length and severity of DOMS.

Several studies done on the subject found that BCAAs decreased protein breakdown during exercise and decreased levels of creatinine kinase, which is considered an indicator of muscle damage.

People who consume BCAAs before a squat exercise experience reduced DOMS and muscle fatigue.

Reduces exercise fatigue

Besides decreasing muscle soreness from exercise, BCAAs may also help reduce exercise-induced fatigue.

Whenever you experience you will have fatigue and exhaustion after the workout is done. How quickly you feel tired will depend on several factors including the intensity and duration of the workout, environmental conditions, and, your nutrition and fitness levels.

When you work out, your muscle will use BCAAs during exercise. When blood levels of BCAAs decline, levels of the essential amino acid tryptophan in your brain increase. Tryptophan is converted to serotonin in your brain, which is a brain chemical that is associated with the development of fatigue during exercise.

When people consume BCAAs, they found better mental focus during exercise. It happens due to the fatigue-reducing effect of BCA.

Try XTEND Original BCAA Powder Blue Raspberry Ice. It is a sugar-free post-workout muscle recovery drink with amino acids. It is suitable for both men and women. It offers 7 grams of BCAAs in the nature-designed and research-proven 2:1:1 ratio. 

It contains zero sugar, zero calories, and zero carbs in every delicious serving. XTEND post-workout drink mix helps support muscle recovery and growth. You can consume a minimum of 14 grams of BCAAs per day – before, during, and after your workout.