Research
Hormonal
BCAA supplementation activates anabolic signaling pathways (mTORC1) and improves hormonal profiles (testosterone/cortisol ratio) in the short term, but this does not translate to long-term muscle or strength gains if total protein intake is adequate.
BCAAs do trigger muscle-building signals in your body, but this doesn't mean you will gain muscle or strength. If you are eating enough protein from food, BCAAs add no value. Do not use them to try to 'boost' your muscle growth.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Although BCAAs tended to activate anabolic signals, the benefits on performance and body composition were negligible.
Why this rating
Based on systematic review of molecular and hormonal studies.
Source
Oral Branched-Chain Amino Acids Supplementation in Athletes: A Systematic Review
Diogo V. Martinho et al. · Nutrients · 2022
DOI 10.3390/nu14194002
systematic_reviewCited 57×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Oral branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation provides negligible benefits for athletic performance and body composition in trained athletes, regardless of supplementation duration or dosage.Good
- BCAA supplementation may attenuate muscle soreness and recovery decrements in resistance-trained athletes, but effects are inconsistent in endurance sports.Moderate
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