Serious sports people often pay attention to sports nutrition, so they know how and with what to take BCCA. Indeed, among the whole variety of sports nutritional supplements, this is the most popular. She is covered in a huge number of rumors and speculation, but not everyone knows what she is. The article will give clear answers to questions about how and with what to take BCCA, what are the benefits for athletes and what side effects may occur.
The properties
BCCA are amino acids characterized by the presence of a branched side chain. Before you learn how and with what to take BCCA, you should understand the properties of this product. The bottom line is that in one bottle as many as three acids are connected: valine, leucine and isoleucine. All of them are indispensable. These amino acids are present in the diet in a minimal amount, but the intensity and rate of protein synthesis depends on them.
The most important amino acid is leucine. Its main advantage is that:
- he, as a powerful energetic, supports the work of muscles while limiting glucose intake;
- from it, the body can synthesize glutamine, which supports immunity against the background of high-intensity training;
- without leucine, protein synthesis will not occur, and therefore, muscle will not grow.
People are often interested in how and with what to take BCCA, which contains leucine, since in its pure form this amino acid is poorly absorbed due to the rather low bioavailability. But if you combine leucine with valine and isoleucine, the percentage of digestibility increases markedly.
Why then, not only professionals, but also beginners in sports want to know how and with what to take BCCA (photo is given below)? In fact, branched chain amino acids have another important property - beneficial effects on the liver. Exhausting workouts, a large amount of food and a high-protein diet have an adverse effect on the main organ of human detoxification. If you take amino acids in high doses relative to the daily diet, then as a result you can restore liver cells, and in this case it will be much more effective than the current expensive hepatoprotectors.
Release Forms
To understand how and with what to take BCCA for a girl or boy, you should learn about the existing forms of product release. All of them are taken and combined with other drugs in different ways. Due to the diversity, each athlete will be able to find the most suitable option for himself. It should be remembered that the period of assimilation and the onset of the desired effect depend on the pharmacological form.
Tablets
The most disadvantageous form are tablets. In fact, this is a regular compressed product. The amount of active substance in them is not known to anyone, and the quality of impurities is a big question. The only advantage of the tablets is the low cost, which is quite suitable for beginners.
The second relative "plus" can be considered a long release time from the tablet of the active substance. Taking the product in this pharmacological form before bedtime, a person can protect himself from pronounced night catabolism.
In order to understand how and with what to take BCCA to a girl, it is necessary to study the instructions for the product, as well as the composition of each tablet, and only after that determine the dosage. It is best to trust a specialist if the drug is used for the first time.
Capsules
A fairly good pharmacological form is BCCA capsules. How and what to take correctly will be described below, but first you need to understand their advantages. First of all, capsules are distinguished by bioavailability and the presence of an excellent enteric coating. They are not able to increase the acidity of gastric juice, are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and begin their action within half an hour after administration. Following from this, the optimal time of admission is 30 minutes before training.
As for how and with what to take BCCA, the instructions are quite simple. The amount of product taken depends on the amount of active substance contained in each capsule. Along with this, you need to know your own weight, as it depends on how many capsules you need to take at a time. For example, if 500 mg of leucine is contained in one capsule, then an athlete weighing 90 kg will need to take exactly 6 capsules at a time, since 36 mg of product per 1 kg of a person’s weight is considered to be the optimal amount. Manufacturers prescribe all these details in the instructions.
Liquid
The real champion in the speed of assimilation and the onset of action is the liquid form. As you know, any liquid begins to be absorbed even when it only enters the oral cavity. That is why the time of receipt of amino acids in the bloodstream is several minutes.
The liquid pharmacological form is very popular with people who conduct high-intensity training with a restriction in caloric intake, which happens when preparing for a competition or because of the desire to go into a smaller category. In such cases, branched chain amino acids in liquid form are taken during training and immediately after it. Due to this, considerable loss of muscle mass, which occurs as a result of catabolism, can be avoided. The only disadvantage of the product is its high cost.
Powder
The powder form of amino acids is used to prepare an amino acid cocktail. It is absorbed as quickly as liquid. BCAA powders are divided into two types: with and without flavors and all kinds of flavors. Adherents of a healthy lifestyle immediately want to purchase the second option, but experts strongly do not recommend doing this. Natural powders without any additives are very bitter, and their smell and taste are so specific that, regardless of the liquid in which they dissolve, the drink will simply be spoiled.
When taking the powder, one more nuance must be taken into account. Many people believe that when preparing a cocktail, foam must necessarily form on the surface. This is a big mistake, since modern products dissolve fairly quickly in liquids, and the appearance of foam, on the contrary, indicates a low quality of raw materials or the presence of creatine in the composition.
If odorless amino acids are used, in addition to water, they can also be diluted with juice. The intake should be calculated in the same way as in capsules: for 1 kg of weight, you need to take 36 mg of the product.
Chewable tablets
Together with the main pharmacological forms, a specific form of the supplement should be mentioned. Amino acids in the form of chewable tablets have several advantages, the main of which are the quick start of action and bioavailability. This option is considered a dietary product, characterized by a high content of acids essential for the body.
Chewing amino acids help to maintain a longer and cleaner diet, providing psychological relief. That is, thanks to them, you can eat something sweet, while not harming the progress in fat burning.
Often you can find chewable tablets with the addition of glutamine. They are preferable because when taken, leucine will be used to synthesize muscle protein without wasting money on the synthesis of glucose and glutamine.
How and with what to take BCCA: dosage and frequency of use
The main advice on the use of amino acids is that before taking it is necessary to study and consider all the recommendations on the packaging from the manufacturer. They are made in such a way as to motivate a person to take the drug faster and buy the next package. The consumer’s task in this case is to look at the content of one serving and calculate the necessary amount of amino acids relative to it, using this dosage in the future.
Be attached to the first product purchased should not be. It is best to familiarize yourself with several manufacturers and choose the product that is best perceived by the body.
Reception scheme
The amount of drug taken depends on the training schedule. On non-training days, experts advise taking 10 g once a day, and on training days you need to take the drug before and after the training. In this case, the dose is determined individually for each person. It depends on the goal pursued, as well as the weight of the athlete. In some cases, a third dose is allowed on the training day - during the session itself, but not earlier than half an hour after the start of the training.
What to combine with
When consuming a protein or gainer, taking amino acids is possible and even necessary. This idea is pretty good, because by combining these products, you can provide the muscle growth process with an additional amount of amino acids, which are most likely to be used by muscle tissues for protein synthesis.
The most important point in the combination of products is that there are different composition of amino acid preparations and protein mixtures. In the case of proteins, it should be remembered that there are soy proteins, as well as proteins that are synthesized from wheat ("vegetarian sports food"). Any plant proteins are not complete, and therefore, they do not have a complete spectrum of essential amino acids. They cannot provide the body with complete protein synthesis. Just BCAA amino acids are capable of filling the deficiency, the dose of which should be doubled to get a good result, compensating for the lack of the necessary valine, leucine and isoleucine.
Features of taking liquid amino acids
At first glance, it seems that there should not be unnecessary questions about how and with what to take BCCA. Features of the reception claim the opposite. Liquid bottled amino acids are considered a unique sports supplement, which is often used as an alternative to protein. In this case, we are not talking about sports cocktails, but about concentrated gelatin solutions. This product is, of course, excellent, but it has one important flaw: since gelatin replaces the matrix, the amino acid profile is formed so that arginine and histidine are contained in excess in one serving, and there is a clear lack of essential acids. From this, the combination of BCAAs with liquid amino acids can be beneficial in speeding up the recovery process after training and gaining lean muscle mass.
Side effects
Beginners often wonder if BCCA has side effects. How and with what to take this drug is necessary to avoid this, described below.
The main cause of negative effects is taking the drug on an empty stomach. Acids make digestion work, after which intestinal motility and juice secretion are enhanced. Organic compounds are absorbed very quickly, the concentration of digestive juice increases. The consequence of this may be:
- belching;
- diarrhea;
- heartburn.
A thorough study of the instructions, as well as contacting a specialist for advice before admission, will help to avoid this.