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How Many Essential Amino Acids (EAAs) are There?
There are 20 total Amino Acids and they are considered to be the building blocks of protein. Nine of the Amino Acids are considered Essential Amino Acids or EAAs. Three of those EAAs are considered Branched Chain Amino Acids or BCAAs. So, All BCAAs are EAAs, but not all EAAs are BCAAs.
What are Essential Amino Acids (EAAs)?
Our bodies can make many of the Amino Acids that we need on their own. However, there is a group of Amino Acids that our bodies can't make and those are the Essential Amino Acids (EAA). It is Essential for you to consume adequate amounts of Essential Amino Acids to meet your body's EAA requirements.
Amino Acids are considered Essential Amino Acids when your body cannot make them on its own. Essential Aminos Acids must be consumed and, when you can’t get enough EAAs from your diet, a deficiency may exist meaning that an Essential Amino Acid Supplement or a Branched Chain Amino Acid Supplement could be right for you.
How Many EAAs are There?
There are nine Essential Amino Acids and three of these nine EAAs are also considered Branched Chain Amino Acids or BCAAs. The BCAAs are Leucine, Valine and Isoleucine and these BCAAs are listed below with the other six EAAs.
- Histidine - EAA
- Isoleucine - EAA / BCAA
- Leucine - EAA / BCAA
- Lysine - EAA
- Methionine - EAA
- Phenylalanine - EAA
- Tryptophan - EAA
- Valine - EAA / BCAA
- Threonine - EAA
How do EAAs Work?
Studies show that supplementing with Essential Amino Acids before your workout can increase your body's Anabolic (Muscle Building) Response to Exercise!
When you train or compete your body breaks down protein at a rate that can lead to a negative protein balance and a Catabolic (Muscle Wasting) State. This has all the potential to waste the time that you just spent in the gym!
Taking EAAs pre, intra or post workout has been shown to increase in Muscle Protein Synthesis, creating a positive protein balance that allows your body to recover and grow.
How to Take EAAs
Essential Amino Acid Supplements are diverse and many types of Athletes can beneift from suppelmenting with EAAs. For example, both Strength and Endurance Athletes can benefit from taking a High-Quality EAA Supplement before, during or after training.
You should also consider supplementing with EAAs throughout the day when a meal or a shake isn’t possible or you're looking for something a little less milky and a lot more refreshing.
I recommend choosing an EAA product with added Electrolytes to help with hydration as well. Essential Amino Acids are mostly taken around activity and electrolytes can be a great addition to this type of supplement.
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References:
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• Shimomura, Y., Inaguma, A., Watanabe, S., Yamamoto, Y., Muramatsu, Y., Bajotto, G., ... & Mawatari, K. (2010). Branched-chain amino acid supplementation before squat exercise and delayed-onset muscle soreness. International Journal of Sport Nutrition, 20(3), 236.