Amino Acids: The Essentials

Amino Acids: The Essentials

Protein is for bodybuilders only. Oily, shiny, tan, hairless, bodybuilders. That’s a myth.

Everyone has an opinion on protein, so naturally, I had to research the facts. If there is one supplement to take as an athlete or any high-performing professional – it’s branched chain amino acids.

Twenty percent of the human body is made up of protein. Yes, everyone’s body, not just a shiny man in a thong has protein within them. In fact, protein plays a crucial role in almost all biological processes while amino acids are the building blocks of protein.

A large proportion of our cells, muscles, and tissue are made up of amino acids, meaning they carry out many important bodily functions:

What They Do and What Does it Mean

Improves cognitive function by regulating neurotransmitters: You will be happy, healthy, relaxed, and non-spastic healing wounds and repairing tissue: You won’t fall down your stairs after leg day
Maintenance of nitrogen: Increases blood flow to transport nutrients
Regulates blood sugar: Maintains mental and physical energy, prevents insulin spikes
Makes you a savage: You’ll be a savage, duh

As humans, we have 9 essential amino acids, and we have 11 non-essential amino acids. Essential amino acids are those that are absolutely essential for us to have in our diet because our bodies cannot produce them on its own. Non-essential amino acids are the exact opposite. Our body can produce non-essential amino acids on its own and does not need to acquire them through diet, hence they are non-essential to our diet.

Because being big, full, shredded, and juicy is everyone’s priority in life, I want to discuss 3 essential amino acids called branched chain amino acids that will aid the transformation of your dad bod to a beach bod. You can find information on the rest of these amino acids on my YouTube Channel, but for now, let’s elaborate on these 3 bad boys known as branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs).

Anyone that engages in any sort of physical activity could benefit from consuming a branched chain amino acid supplement.

Quite frankly, BCAA’s are necessary for optimal physical performance, but most diets are deficient in the appropriate amount of BCAAs. These specific amino acids have the functions of preventing muscle breakdown, aiding in protein synthesis (which is the process responsible for building muscle), enhancing immunity, and resisting nutrient loss. 

Valine, Isoleucine, and Leucine are the three branched chain amino acids found in a ratio of 1:1:2, respectively, in our muscles. To clarify, for every one unit of valine in our muscles, there will be one unit of isoleucine, and 2 units of leucine in those swollen biceps and pumped up booties. Although all three work in synergy and are all important to have in your supplement, the most important BCAA is leucine, and your BCAA supplement should have anywhere from 3 – 10 grams of it. If you’re looking for some high-quality amino acids with the listed ratios along with other essential nutrients, head on over to the shop.

Although I do not think that any supplement is absolutely necessary, (although I do think a great many provide phenomenal value), Branched Chain Amino Acids are the closest thing to necessary in my opinion. If anyone has any more questions, check out my YouTube video series that not only elaborates on BCAA’s, but also talks about the BCAA supplements that I carry and discusses the functions of the rest of the amino acids mentioned in this blog post.

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