#8 The Secrets of Amino Acids

A funny (or scary) little story, well known by the oldest among you: BCAAs made from Chinese prisoner hair. ⛓️👮 That's quite something! 

At the time, consumers were less concerned about the origin of their supplements. Until one day it was suspected that BCAAs were made from Chinese prisoners' hair. 

In fact, there are different methods for extracting amino acids. The two most common are fermentation and hydrolysis. 

With fermentation, bacteria convert sugars into amino acids. The hydrolysis method, on the other hand, requires animal... or human proteins. So it could be from goose feather hydrolysis, for example, but sometimes, human hair. As always, it's a question of cost. And collecting human hair, well, it's cheaper. 

So is this story true? As a precaution, I would advise you to pay close attention to the origin, and to choose BCAAs from vegetable fermentation. Unless... everyone has their own thing! 😅 

There are over 500 amino acids in nature. But we most often talk about 20 main ones, which are the components of proteins. 🧬 Because yes, proteins are formed by peptide bonds (peptides), which are themselves formed by amino acids. But we will see later that certain non-"proteinogenic" amino acids (those that do not make up proteins) can be beneficial for the body! 

Amino acids are divided into two categories: essential and non-essential. 

The essential ones, the body cannot produce them and must be supplied through food. The non-essential ones, the body can produce itself, so there's no need to supply them through food (in theory). 

In theory, yes, because the body doesn't always produce them in large quantities. It is therefore sometimes useful to supplement, especially if you have a very specific goal (e.g. arginine and muscle pump). 

Also, as the current diet is poor in certain amino acids, supplements are an excellent alternative to find them in sufficient quantities. Especially for athletes, who have greater needs (especially for muscle), and vegan diets. 🍃 

Health, cutting, pump, muscle recovery, sleep, joints... 

A lot of things actually! 

Let's take some examples to be clearer. 

Tryptophan helps with falling asleep, just like glycine (one of the most important amino acids in collagen). 

Glutamine, the most abundant amino acid in muscle, is therefore useful for muscle, but also for digestion! 

Taurine (non-proteinogenic) is important for health because it supports our cells, preserves our DNA, reduces inflammation, etc. 

Arginine for muscle pump and cardiovascular health (they dilate blood vessels), just like citrulline (non-proteinogenic). 

What about BCAAs?  

💪 Contracted Biceps Defined Abs? No, that's something else... it's more Branched-Chain Amino Acids. 

It's one of those supplements that has been talked about a lot lately. It would be useless if you take "enough whey". 

But what is it about? 

In fact, as with most supplements, it's all about individual profile and goals. It's on a case-by-case basis. 

For muscle recovery, and endurance, it's great! So if it gives you a boost before training and a whey makes you feel too heavy in your stomach pre-workout, why deny yourself? 

Yes. You may even have the opportunity to get new ones soon (they are supposed to build mass and are currently in the testing phase with our Legend customers). I've been testing it for two days already and my performance has increased! 🙄 

Well, to further demonstrate the effectiveness of BCAAs, here's a study highlighting their benefits for fat oxidation and reduction of post-exercise fatigue (1). 

A review (synthesis of many studies) on taurine shows its positive effects on heart function and hypertension (2). 

Another review, this time on tryptophan, shows its beneficial effects on sleep (3).