What are BCAAs? BCAAs are Branch Chain Amino Acids, a group of 3 amino acids called leucine, isoleucine and valine. As with other essential amino acids, the body doesn't make BCAAs, so we must get them from proteins in our diet.
W
e can get BCAAs from our food, but there are benefits to using a BCAA supplement. As BCAA supplements bypass the digestive system and go straight to the liver for processing, they are rapidly absorbed by the body.
Can women take BCAAs?
BCAAs are an excellent supplement for women who have an active lifestyle, as they provide immediate support for the metabolic processes involved in reaching your fitness goals. Women can take BCAAs at any time of day, but it’s most common to drink them before or during workouts for two main reasons.
Firstly, taking BCAAs before or during your workout will minimise muscle protein breakdown and reduce muscle soreness. Secondly, BCAAs add flavour to your water, making it easy to stay hydrated during a workout.
Are BCAAs good for women?
While there are BCAAs that are good for women, there are also plenty that aren’t. It’s important to always check the ingredients to avoid artificial flavours, animal-derived ingredients, fillers, or any other hidden nasties that can hinder your health and fitness.
Reach your fitness goals the healthy way by supporting the process with an all-natural, plant-based BCAA supplement like Tropeaka Tone BCAA+. A plant-based BCAA that’s free of herbicides, pesticides, soy and gluten, is the perfect tool for your health-focused fitness journey.
Not only is Tropeaka BCAA+ refined sugar-free, sweetened by nature and packed full of essential nutrients, but both delicious flavours also contain key electrolytes from coconut water, providing extra hydration support from magnesium, potassium, calcium and sodium.
Here are 6 reasons why BCAAs are good for women!
1
Post-workout hormone balance
BCAAs are good for women because they help balance some important hormones during and after intense workouts. When life outside of the gym gets stressful, exercise may exacerbate a pre-existing imbalance of cortisol, aka ‘the stress hormone.’
Despite its nickname, cortisol helps control blood sugar levels, regulates metabolism, reduces inflammation and assists with mental clarity. However, chronically elevated levels of cortisol can lead to an imbalance of testosterone and estrogen.
The delicate balance of these hormones directly impacts your energy, sex drive, lean muscle development and fat storage, as well as your moods and mental wellbeing. While no supplement is a replacement for prioritising your mental health and recovery time, BCAAs may help keep your hormones in balance.
Taking BCAAs to help keep your hormones in balance may assist in reducing junk food cravings, bad moods, water retention and fat storage while increasing your energy and helping your fitness goals.
2
An immediate source of natural energy
BCAAs provide a healthy way to increase energy production and reduce fatigue, which is another reason why BCAAs are good for women. A sustained energy source to power you through a busy day or fuel your training, Tone BCAA+ is a delicious, hydrating and healthy alternative to coffee.
Isoleucine and valine are converted into glucose for the extra energy that helps combat fatigue during a workout, while leucine converts to ATP, the fuel for your muscles. Not only do BCAAs improve your endurance, but they also bypass digestion and go directly to the bloodstream, providing an immediate source of natural energy.
Although we know serotonin as the ‘feel-good’ hormone, it also makes you feel sleepy. Higher levels of serotonin during exercise may lead to the early fatigue that cuts your workout short. Researchers hypothesise that BCAAs may reduce the amount of serotonin produced in response to exercise, enhancing their effect on energy and endurance.
Taking BCAAs before or during resistance training can reduce post-workout muscle soreness
3
Reduce muscle soreness and accelerate recovery
Taking BCAAs before or during resistance training can reduce post-workout muscle soreness, also known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). With a shorter recovery time, you’ll be both less likely to skip your next session, and less at risk of overtraining.
A great benefit of sipping BCAAs during your workouts is that it can help reduce muscle damage while accelerating the recovery process. Women can take BCAAs to help them safely train more frequently and at a higher intensity.
The result is that you’ll be able to reach your fitness goals faster! Tropeaka BCAA+ is even better for exercise recovery than standard BCAA powders because it’s blended with a deep-sea mineral complex that further supports rapid muscle recovery.
4
Gain lean muscle mass for better performance and long-term health
If you’re training hard, it’s only natural to want to see and feel physical improvements. However, women are often concerned about gaining ‘too much muscle’ if they lift heavy weights and take BCAAs. Unfortunately, this concern prevents many women from reaching their optimal health and fitness.
While both men and women can increase their muscle mass, men have a lot more testosterone. As testosterone is anabolic, men have the potential to gain much greater muscle size compared to women. That said, women can gain lean muscle mass just as quickly as men.
Increasing your lean muscle mass not only helps you lift heavier weights at the gym, but it’s also beneficial for your bone strength, cardiovascular health, and energy expenditure (i.e. your metabolism). BCAAs are a good supplement for women because they support us in retaining or gaining muscle mass for a leaner body composition and all the health benefits that come with it.
BCAAs are good for women who want to preserve their lean body mass, even while in a caloric deficit
5
Support healthy fat loss
As weight loss does not necessarily mean fat loss, BCAAs are good for women to use while in a caloric deficit. Cleaning up your diet and stepping up your cardio may help you lose weight, but some of this weight is likely to come from your lean muscle mass.
Why? Because our bodies have evolved to hold on to fat stores to keep us alive, especially when food supplies appear to be scarce. As they have the added benefit of being low in carbohydrates, fat, and calories, BCAAs are good for women who want to preserve their lean body mass, even while in a caloric deficit.
Drinking BCAAs throughout the day while dieting will help prevent muscle loss that naturally comes with overall weight loss. Maintaining muscle mass will keep your metabolism high, maximising your training and improving your energy.
6
Support healthy immune function
Despite the various health benefits, intense exercise is also associated with immune system suppression. Those who enjoy intense training may also be more susceptible to burn out and illness, including the common cold.
BCAAs are good for women because our lives are hectic enough without having our fitness goals derailed by frequent illness and burn out. BCAAs can support healthy immune function during periods of intense training by reducing the inflammatory chemicals released by damaged cells while increasing the release of antibodies that fight harmful bacteria and pathogens.
Tropeaka Tone BCAA+ also contains powdered sea buckthorn juice, a natural source of vitamin C for healthy immune function.
These BCAAs are good for women!
When it comes to BCAA supplements for women, there are tons of different options out there. However, it’s important to remember that not all BCAAs are created equal.
The perfect tool for your health-focused fitness journey is a plant-based BCAA that’s free from herbicides, pesticides, soy and gluten. Not only is Tone BCAA+ good for women, but the delicious natural flavours also make them perfect for fruity protein smoothies and desserts! Which one is your favourite?
