6 Shocking Reasons to Drink BCAAs

There are many benefits to taking BCAAs (Branch Chain Amino Acid). BCAAs are something that I drink several times a day…you can say I am almost addicted to them! But because I love them so much and get so much from them, I wanted to share my top 6 benefits with you. These are things that I have found through research and my own personal experience. While not everyone needs to be taking BCAAs, if you are working out and active, this is one thing you will want to be drinking.

I drink BCAAs throughout the day and throughout the night. During the times that I wake up at night, I’ll drink some BCAAs and, through research, what I found was they do offer some benefit when consuming through the night. When you sleep, your body goes into a catabolic stage because, technically, you are fasting overnight. Plus, it helps with muscle retention and muscle recovery overnight.

Top 6 Benefits of Drinking BCAAs:

Muscle Growth: There are studies show athletes that take BCAAs have a significant increase in muscle growth versus those who do not. Whether you are trying to lose weight or put on lean muscle, muscle growth is important to your goals [1].

Delay Fatigue: Drinking BCAAs increases the rate of perceived exertion, meaning you can go stronger, faster, longer and more efficient while you are working out. This is why I recommend you taking them inter-workout if you were to only take them one time once a day. No matter what your goals are, exercise most likely plays a large part, so you don’t want to fall short mid-session. With BCAAs you will have the energy to make it through your workout [2]. 

Mental Focus: I’ve come to learn that BCAAs are also good for mental focus and brain function by modifying large, neutral amino acid (LNAA) transport at the blood–brain barrier. These help me stay focused on the work at hand so I can get even more done. And if you know how busy I am, you know I need to be able to stay focused! [3]

Boost Fat Loss: Some studies even suggest that consuming BCAAs can boost fat loss. A study out of the University of Illinois suggests that drinking BCAAs can help enhance glucose and insulin homeostasis by stabilizing fasting and postprandial levels of blood glucose, and has unique roles in metabolic regulation [4].

Wards Off Hunger: This doesn’t happen right away, but if you drink them routinely over a period of time, you will start to notice that you are less hungry, as BCAAs can help you ward off hunger. This is something that I didn’t know until I began to notice it as a side effect. In fact, this helps me to curb many of my cravings as well [5].

Repair and Recovery: Before and after a workout, drinking BCAAs can help you recover from all of your hard work. Muscle go through a process of repair and recovery after use, especially after an intense training session and drinking BCAAs can help your muscles through this recovery process [6].

The two most optimal times to take your BCAAs is during your workout and post workout. You want to take them during your workout because they fuel your body and allow you to workout longer and more intensely while extending the rate to perceived exertion. It is also important to take them post workout to help your body with muscle recovery and regeneration.

Leucine, the most important of the three Branch Chain Amino Acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine), actually stimulates muscle protein synthesis. It also boosts insulin levels, which is an anabolic hormone. When you ingest amino acids, they are preferential to the liver and go directly into the liver.

The Morellifit BCAAs are the cleanest and because they are so clean, I drink them 3-5 times a day. In fact, they are so clean, I don’t have to worry when my two-year-old takes a sip. When looking for quality BCAAs, you need to make sure that there are no artificial coloring or flavoring.

This means no artificial sweeteners! To learn more about sugar and artificial sweeteners, click here.

If you are going to drink and use BCAAs for any of the reasons mentioned above, the most important thing is to make sure the ones you are consuming are clean and of high quality, otherwise, you could be doing just as much damage as you are doing good.