BCAA vs EAA: What is the difference?
A very common question in the world of fitness, What is better to consume BCAA’s or EAA?
There are a lot of supplements on the market that is classified as branched-chain amino acids. There are also many supplements classified as essential amino acids, but which one is worth consuming?
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA’s) are composed of essential amino acids (especially valine, leucine, and isoleucine). BCAAs are needed to maintain muscle tissue and preserve muscle glycogen stores. They can even help prevent the breakdown of muscle proteins during exercise.
Studies have shown that supplementation with BCAA’s can increase the amount of nitrogen stored in the muscle. This has the effect of minimizing the loss of muscle tissue after intense exercise and strict diet. Also, reduce recovery time while helping muscle growth and tissue repair. [1]
EAA
Essential amino acids (EAA) are necessary to help build new muscle tissue and aid in cell repair that occurs when muscles are recovering.
These are essential because the human organism cannot synthesize them. EAA must, in turn, come from diet or supplements. For those who are involved in intensive training, with a very tight diet, they can ensure with this supplementation, that they receive enough EAA that the body needs.
These are the essential amino acids by the body: L valine, L-lysine, L-phenylalanine, L-threonine, L-histidine, L-methionine, L-tryptophan., L-leucine, L-isoleucine.
If you do not eat enough Essential Amino Acids (EAA) in your diet, the body will not extract the maximum nutrients from the protein sources you consume. Excess calories from protein can be stored as fat. The requirement of a balanced number of amino acids in the diet is known as “the limitation of protein utilization”. Therefore, adequate supplementation is crucial. [2]
What is the difference between these two compounds?
BCAAs only consist of 3 of the 8 essential amino acids, which are mainly used for growth, muscle repair and therefore recover optimally after exercise. BCAA however, is not a complete protein as an EAA is.
EAAs are required in the synthesis of complete proteins and also contain BCAAs, but they usually have a lower amount.
Another point, BCAAs are absorbed faster. So if you considered BCAA vs EAA before or during a long workout, I recommend BCAAs
In summary, if you have an intense training routine it would be beneficial to invest in both products. Take your EAA, between meals or after workout. And the BCAAs before and during training.
BCAA or EAA?
What is the best supplement for you? And the answer will only depend on you, and there are as many cases as people. My tips to help you choose are:
- If you practice a resistance sport or are not looking for great muscle development, it is recommended to combine BCAA with glutamine.
- For muscle development, the consumption of EAA is recommended, since they are more complete to favor the formation of lean mass. Another equally good option is to combine the BCAA with other supplements with which to achieve a greater volumizing effect, such as proteins, creatine or even both.
- If you follow a very intense training routine, you can combine the BCAA with EAA, or choose a product that combines both, for greater results.
References
Disclaimer: You are responsible to verify with a health specialist that this product or exercise is good for you. You can’t held bestsupplementsformusclegrowth.ca, it’s partners, authors or any related person or company responsible for injuries, allergies, health problems. Please also note that bestsupplementsformusclegrowth.ca or the authors on the website might receive a commission from an eventual purchase. All supplements have been reviewed by the authors and it’s only their opinions on the product reviews.
I’m your supplement guinea pig! I’ve been working out from 1999 to 2004 until I got involved into a motorcycle accident. Even if I have a certification in fitness, I prefer to consider myself a self learner. I’ve started working out about 10 years ago but the leg that took the hit in 2004 left me in a lot of pain and I kept quitting and coming back, with you guested it, poor results. I then discovered supplements, started small training in September 2019 after studying weight lifting and nutrition. I’ve reached the 1000lb club in 2020 and haven’t stop since. There is a lot of supplements on the market, some good, some bad, and some almost essential! My goal is to give you unbiased information, especially on supplements, their impacts on muscle building and share my experiences with you. More info about me here : My Stats So Far