5 Proven Benefits of BCAAs (Branched-Chain Amino Acids)

One of the most popular uses of BCAAs is to increase muscle growth.

The BCAA leucine activates a certain pathway in the body that stimulates muscle protein synthesis, which is the process of making muscle (1Trusted Source).

In one study, people who consumed a drink with 5.6 grams (g) of BCAAs after their resistance workout had a 22% greater increase in muscle protein synthesis compared to those who consumed a placebo drink (2Trusted Source).

That being said, this increase in muscle protein synthesis is approximately 50% less than what was observed in other older studies where people consumed a whey protein shake containing a similar amount of BCAAs (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).

Whey protein contains all of the essential amino acids needed to build muscle.

Therefore, while BCAAs can increase muscle protein synthesis, they can’t do so maximally without the other essential amino acids, such as those found in whey protein or other complete protein sources (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source).

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BCAAs play an important role in building muscle. However, your muscles require all of the essential amino acids for the best results.

Some research suggests BCAAs can help decrease muscle soreness after a workout.

It’s not uncommon to feel sore a day or two after a workout, especially if your exercise routine is new.

This soreness is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which develops 12 to 24 hours after exercise and can last up to 72 hours (7Trusted Source).

While the exact cause of DOMS is not clearly understood, one theory is that it’s the result of tiny tears in the muscles after exercise (8Trusted Source).

Meanwhile, other research suggests that it may actually be related to the connective tissue associated with the muscle rather than the actual muscle itself (8Trusted Source).

BCAAs have been shown to decrease muscle damage, which may help reduce the length and severity of DOMS.

Several studies show that BCAAs decrease protein breakdown during exercise and decrease levels of creatine kinase, which is an indicator of muscle damage (9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source).

In one 2010 study, people who supplemented with BCAAs before a squat exercise experienced reduced DOMS and muscle fatigue compared to the placebo group (11Trusted Source).

Therefore, supplementing with BCAAs, especially before exercise, may speed up recovery time (12Trusted Source).

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Supplementing with BCAAs may decrease muscle soreness by reducing damage in exercised muscles.

Just as BCAAs may help decrease muscle soreness from exercise, they may also help reduce exercise-induced fatigue.

Everyone experiences fatigue and exhaustion from exercise at some point. How quickly you tire depends on several factors, including exercise intensity and duration, environmental conditions, and your nutrition and fitness level (13Trusted Source).

Your muscles use BCAAs during exercise, causing levels in your blood to decrease. When blood levels of BCAAs decline, levels of the essential amino acid tryptophan in your brain increase (14Trusted Source).

In your brain, tryptophan is converted to serotonin, a brain chemical that is thought to contribute to the development of fatigue during exercise (14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source).

In two studies, participants who supplemented with BCAAs experienced a reduction in central fatigue, resulting in improved athletic performance (16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source).

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BCAAs can alter levels of certain chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, which may be useful in decreasing exercise-induced fatigue.

BCAAs can help prevent muscle wasting or breakdown.

Muscle proteins are constantly broken down and rebuilt (synthesized). The balance between muscle protein breakdown and synthesis determines the amount of protein in muscle (18Trusted Source).

Muscle wasting or breakdown occurs when protein breakdown exceeds muscle protein synthesis.

Muscle wasting is a sign of malnutrition and occurs with chronic infections, cancer, periods of fasting, and as a natural part of the aging process (19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).

In humans, BCAAs account for 35% of the essential amino acids found in muscle proteins. They account for 40% to 45% of the total amino acids required by your body (21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source).

Therefore, it’s important that the BCAAs and other essential amino acids are replaced during times of muscle wasting to halt it or to slow its progression.

Several studies support the use of BCAA supplements for inhibiting muscle protein breakdown. This may improve health outcomes and quality of living in certain populations, such as older adults and those with conditions like cancer (23Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source).

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Taking BCAA supplements can prevent the breakdown of protein in certain populations with muscle wasting.

BCAAs may offer health benefits for people with cirrhosis, a chronic disease in which the liver does not function properly.

It’s estimated that 50% of people with cirrhosis will develop hepatic encephalopathy, which is the loss of brain function that occurs when the liver is unable to remove toxins from the blood (25Trusted Source).

While certain sugars and antibiotics are the mainstays of treatment for hepatic encephalopathy, BCAAs may also benefit people with this condition (26Trusted Source).

One review of 16 studies including 827 people with hepatic encephalopathy found that taking BCAA supplements had a beneficial effect on the symptoms and signs of the disease, but had no effect on mortality (27Trusted Source).

Liver cirrhosis is also a major risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer, for which BCAA supplements may also be useful (28Trusted Source, 29Trusted Source, 30Trusted Source).

Several older studies have shown that taking BCAA supplements may offer protection against liver cancer in people with liver cirrhosis (31Trusted Source, 32Trusted Source).

As such, scientific authorities recommend these supplements as a nutritional intervention for liver disease to prevent complications (33).

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BCAA supplements may improve the health outcomes of people with liver disease, while also possibly protecting against liver cancer.

BCAAs are found in foods and whole protein supplements.

Getting BCAAs from complete protein sources is more beneficial, as they contain all the essential amino acids.

Fortunately, BCAAs are available in a variety of food sources. This makes BCAA supplements unnecessary for most, especially if you consume enough protein in your diet already (34Trusted Source).

Consuming protein-rich foods will also provide you with other important nutrients that BCAA supplements lack.

The best food sources of BCAAs include (35Trusted Source, 36Trusted Source, 37Trusted Source, 38Trusted Source, 39Trusted Source, 40Trusted Source, 41Trusted Source, 42Trusted Source, 43Trusted Source, 44Trusted Source):

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Many protein-rich foods contain high amounts of BCAAs. If you consume enough protein in your diet, BCAA supplements are unlikely to provide additional benefits.

The branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are a group of three essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, and valine.

They are essential, meaning they can’t be produced by your body and must be obtained from food.

BCAA supplements have been shown to build muscle, decrease muscle fatigue, and alleviate muscle soreness.

They have also successfully been used in a hospital setting to prevent or slow muscle loss and to improve symptoms of liver disease.

However, because most people get plenty of BCAAs through their diet, supplementing with BCAA is unlikely to provide additional benefits.