What is the best BCAA ratio?

You probably know that branched chain amino acids are important for muscle energy and growth. However, you may not know the best ratio to take them in. The supplementation gurus can advise you. Question:

I've seen BCAAs with all sorts of different ratios of each amino acid - from 2:1:1 to 10:1:1. What ratio is best?

Answer:

The BCAAs are these three essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine and valine. However, there is a lot of confusion around what ratio is optimal to take them in. Before we talk about ratios, let's go over the basics of BCAAs.

BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids) are called branched-chain amino acids because of their structure. Each one has a branched, protruding layer that looks like a branch. In addition to being unique in their structure, they are also essential for many other reasons.

BCAAs help with energy, and even weight loss, but their main benefit is helping muscle growth. This is ultimately the number one goal for most of us. When it comes to building muscle, BCAAs are essential amino acids. And the most useful player of the three is leucine. Leucine plays one of the most essential roles in growth signaling.

LEUCINE IS KING:

Leucine functions much like a key in starting a car. The car in this case is a muscle cell or fiber. Starting it sparks the process of proteosynthesis, which adds to muscle proteins, making muscles grow. More scientifically, leucine activates a complex called mTOR, which increases muscle proteosynthesis, and thus muscle growth.
"Research says that people who add extra leucine to a post-workout drink composed of protein and carbohydrates experience significantly higher levels of proteosynthesis compared to those who supplement with only protein and carbohydrates."

Research says that people who add extra leucine to a post-workout drink composed of protein and carbohydrates experience significantly higher levels of protein synthesis compared to those who supplement with only protein and carbohydrates. Since leucine is so essential for muscle growth, we want our BCAA supplement to have more leucine than other amino acids.

RIGHT RATIO:

I recommend using a product that will contain BCAAs in a 2:1:1 ratio, meaning leucine, isoleucine and valine. Many products pump the leucine ratio up to 8:1:1, and even approach 10:1:1. The premise there is simple. Leucine only the best, so five times more leucine means five times better product. Before you spend your hard earned money on these products, hear me out first.

BCAAs are most important around training, whether you take them before, during or after. And yes, I mean taking them along with your traditional protein, which already contains quite a bit of them. You want your leucine to be pretty high for muscle proteosynthesis. That's why most people think the highest ratio is best.

Some products even recommend taking leucine alone. This is a big mistake. There is a study that pitted leucine alone and all three BCAAs against each other in a 2:1:1 ratio. The researchers gave college athletes either one of these two combinations or a placebo before and after their leg workouts. They found that protein synthesis was best increased by the BCAA combination, with leucine second, of course, and the placebo last. That's a good reason to stick with a 2:1:1 ratio, or at least something close to it.

Another reason to use BCAAs with the ratio described above is to provide more energy and reduce fatigue. BCAAs are used directly in the muscle fibers as an energy source. This is especially true during intense training. Many studies prove that BCAAs before training increase muscle endurance and reduce fatigue during training. This is where the role of valine in the body comes in.

During training, the brain uses a lot of tryptophan. This is converted into 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), better known as serotonin. Higher levels of serotonin signal the brain that the body is tired. This leads to a reduction in muscle strength and endurance. Valine competes with tryptophan for space in the brain and usually wins.

This means that if you take BCAAs before/during your workout, less tryptophan gets into the brain, which is converted into less serotonin. Your muscles there can work harder and longer. In other words, you are able to squeeze out more reps and you can rest for shorter periods of time between sets and have more energy at the end of your workout. Valine can also make you more alert and more efficient outside of training.

For these reasons I recommend taking BCAAs before, during and/or after your workout in a 2:1:1 ratio, meaning leucine : isoleucine : valine.

JUMPSTART WEIGHT LOSS:

If you're wondering how to maximize weight loss, a 2:1:1 BCAA ratio is again best. This is where it's time for isoleucine, which seems to have the best fat-burning potential.

Japanese researchers found that mice fed a high-fat diet gained significantly less weight when supplemented with isoleucine. This is due to its ability to activate special receptors, known as PPARs, which improve fat burning and prevent fat storage. PPARs increase the activity of genes that improve fat burning, and conversely decrease the activity of genes with the opposite function.

It seems that using BCAAs, which have a much higher ratio of amino acids than 2:1:1, may even be detrimental to your energy levels, weight loss, and perhaps muscle growth. Some BCAAs with high ratios will only give you 500 mg or less of valine and isoleucine. Stay away from those. That amount won't do anything to your energy and fatigue. It may not even be enough to maximize proteosynthesis and subsequent muscle growth.
"It seems that using BCAAs that have a significantly higher amino acid ratio than 2:1:1 may even be detrimental to your energy levels, weight loss, and perhaps muscle growth"

CONCLUSIONS:

My advice is to stick with a 2:1:1 BCAA ratio, where the product contains at least 1 gram of both isoleucine and valine in each serving. However, if you want optimal gains, it is ideal to have at least 3 grams of leucine in each serving, which is the minimum amount you need for optimal mTOR activation and maximizing proteosynthesis.

I recommend taking 5 grams of BCAAs with a 2:1:1 ratio (so you get 3 grams of leucine and more than 1 gram of isoleucine and valine) about 30 minutes before your workout.

After your workout, take another dose of at least 5 grams of BCAAs. Here again, a 2:1:1 ratio is good, even 3:1:1 is fine, which will give you a bit more leucine after your workout to kick-start proteosynthesis.

Think of it all to be added to pre- and post-workout drinks, or one big protein drink that you'll be sipping before, during and after your workout. The latter will give you a bit of BCAAs on its own, but you'll still need to add them with a separate supplement for maximum energy activation and muscle growth.

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