Protein Powders VS Amino Acids for Building Muscle

Protein VS Amino Acids (BCAA’s)?

Not an article but really a question. What is better Protein or Amino Acids?

Please feel free to respond and comment as this is an opportunity for you to help clarify this question for all of us.

Whenever you are training to build muscle everyone will (rightly) tell you that you need to take enough protein in order to feed your muscles to grow. People will also tell you that you should take Aminos as well to help in your quest to build muscle.

All of this is true but as is normal in the bodybuilding world there is so much information available and so many contradictions that this only leads to confusion and of course a lot of hype.

The truth is that protein is broken down into Aminos before it is used to facilitate muscle growth. In fact BCAA’s are frequently referred to as the building blocks of your muscles. Basically you need to break down the proteins you take into usable forms that your body can process. While BCAA’ss are already broken down for use in building muscle.

This really leads to the obvious but not often asked question. If protein is broken down into Amino Acids, why not just take Amino Acids instead?

People will tell you that if you are looking for BCAA’s “you gotta look at the essential Aminos” and there are several studies which show the benefit of taking essential BCAA’s.

There is the argument when you ask the question which is better aminos or protein shakes? that yes, aminos can be actually better than protein and that they can be used for specific purposes but overall the protein shake have so much more stuff in them rather than just normal protein that this makes the use of protein shakes more beneficial and therefore this question easy to answer.

However the question here is what is better protein or BCAA’sif protein is ultimately broken down into amino, and not the benefits of the other ingredients in protein shakes.

Other people will say in answer to this question “Whatever floats your boat “…but this is no answer at all when there must be a scientific answer to this question rather than a flippant comment from someone who doesn’t actually know the answer.

Clearly finding the right dietary supplement for achieving your fitness goals requires some thought and the answer to what you would think was a simple question, What is better supplement of the two? would help in your quest to build muscle and achieve your fitness goals. Again I ask the question if BCAA’s are proteins that have been broken down or pre-digested, where the body can immediately use them for protein synthesis why would these not be better than taking protein powders that then need to be broken down into Amino Acid form?

BCAA’s Benefits

Is the largest benefit of Aminos the overall convenience? Aminos can be found in an easy to take capsule, powder or tablet form. According to research published by the “Journal of Applied Physiology,” ingestion of 6 grams of branched chain amino aids (BCAA) with carbohydrates within one to three hours after resistance training, have been shown to prevent muscle breakdown by promoting muscle protein synthesis.

Does this then answer the question of what is better Protein or Amino Acids?

Protein Powder Types

There are two popular protein powders that are produced and they are made from whey or casein. Both whey and casein are high-quality sources of protein that provide all the essential amino acids needed to build muscle. The main difference found among these milk proteins, is that casein is digested slower than whey; potentially providing a steady supply of aminos for longer periods of time.

This timing issue could give us a clue as to why protein shakes may be more beneficial than amino acids!

Eating a Balanced Diet

Amino acids supplements can aid muscle growth, however, by eating enough protein in your diet, you can accomplish the same task. Therefore it really is essential that you eat a good balanced diet and ensure that at each meal you have a good protein source to help you build muscle. However as already mentioned BCAA’s, can be a convenient way to feed your muscles, if you lack the time to eat properly. Protein supplements can also be beneficial for those of you who have trouble eating enough meals each day to meet your protein requirements.

Still after reading this I ask the question.

What is better Protein or BCAAs?

You may have the answer to this question if so can I urge you to share this with us all so we can all make more informed decisions in our quest to build muscle.

I would like to thank you for the time you have taken to read this article and to thank you even more if you have anything to add or share with us in order to answer this question.