WHAT ARE BCAAS AND WHY IS IT GOOD FOR RUNNERS?

The world of sports nutrition and dietary supplements for running has become increasingly complex. The more we learn about nutrition and energy metabolism before, during, and after exercise, the more we need to supplement. In particular, supplements of various amino acids, and more specifically BCAAs for runners, are now gaining significant traction in runners' supplementation, energy and sports nutrition routines at all levels.

And in this article, we'll cover all the information that you need to know about BCAAs for runners to help you decide if they can benefit your running performance and overall health.

What does BCAA mean?

Before we get into the specifics of BCAAs, it would be helpful to review some basics from high school biology class. Our bodies break down all the proteins found in food into 20 different amino acids including proteins that come from meat, beans, dairy, eggs, fish or vegetables. These amino acids are considered the building blocks of proteins, that is, our bodies use amino acids to produce all the different protein structures and functions in the body.

Like the letters of the alphabet, by stringing different combinations of these amino acid "letters" together, our bodies can make hundreds of different amino acid combinations and a variety of proteins that we need to function.

Although we often only think that proteins contribute to muscle formation, they are actually involved in almost every structure and function of the body in some way, from forming DNA to producing energy, which produces neurotransmitters to power white blood cells.