Creatine Side Effects

http://professionalwhey.com Recent research has found that individuals who eat L-Leucine rich protein foods and exercise have more lean muscle tissue, a higher metabolic rate and naturally burn more body fat. [1],[2]

So what exactly is L-Leucine?

L-Leucine (aka Leucine) is one of three essential branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) the other two are L-Valine and L-Isoleucine. Leucine has long been used in conjunction with other BCAAs as a supplement to help preserve muscle and improve recovery whilst losing fat. However, Leucine has recently emerged to be the most potent and beneficial of all of the Branched Chain Amino Acids after the release of recent research studies between 2006 and 2009 (see footnotes below).

Leucine = The Champion BCAA

What has been determined from the research is that Leucine on its own is one of the most anabolic amino acids a person can ingest. Studies have shown that it can:

Help to preserve lean muscle tissue[3],[4]
Preserve muscle glycogen[5]
Improve performance[6]
Supply the body with energy during bouts of extreme exertion[7]
Increase fat loss[8]
When consumed alone, Leucine is now believed to be the only amino acid that can increase protein synthesis[9]
When combined with other proteins give a huge anabolic response[10]
It has also been shown to speed up the recovery process and therefore stimulate muscle growth and prevent muscle breakdown.[11]

Martha Stipanuk, PhD from Cornell University states

At this point, it seems clear that most of the effects of amino acids on protein synthesis are mediated by Leucine.[12]

A Little Science

BCCAs are called “branched chain because of their molecular carbon side chains which are different to other amino acids. The BCAA’s make up one third of the amino acid composition of skeletal muscle, but cannot be made by the body, and are therefore only acquired through nutrition; hence they are also essential amino acids.[13] They function differently to other amino acids in that they are not metabolised in the liver, but in the muscle and contribute to the anabolic effect: increasing muscle tissue. Leucine is the fourth most concentrated amino acid in skeletal muscle tissue and accounts for around eight percent of the total amino-acid count in your whole body. As one of the three BCAA’s it is essential for health as it has both medical and athletic applications. In particular it plays a special role in muscle metabolism, by exerting an anti-catabolic and anabolic effect on protein metabolism.[14],[15] In fact, Leucine assimilation into skeletal muscle has long been used as an indicator of protein synthesis within the muscle cells[16] and oxidation.[17]

Because Leucine stimulates protein synthesis amazingly well, even the BBC have reported that Leucine supplementation can combat and prevent sarcopenia – age-associated muscle loss and other muscle wasting disorders due to its anti catabolic effects.[18][19]

So with a little scientific background lets see how Leucine has worked in the real world of training for improved body composition, increased recovery and improving performance?

Increased Protein Synthesis

Two Universities in 2005; Maastricht (Netherlands) and Birmingham (UK) jointly researched to determine post exercise muscle protein synthesis and whole body protein balance following the combined ingestion of carbohydrate with or without protein and/or Leucine.[20] The researchers found that taking carbohydrate with protein and (0.1g per kg of bodyweight) Leucine supplement stimulated muscle protein synthesis and optimised whole body protein balance compared with the intake of carbohydrate and protein only.

The authors concluded their work by stating:

The present data indicates that the additional ingestion of free leucine in combination with protein and carbohydrate likely represents an effective strategy to increase muscle anabolism following resistance exercise,[21]

http://www.professionalwhey.com In 2008, research backed this up by showing that Leucine achieves this muscle synthesising effect by activating a receptor on muscle cells called mTORC1, which in turn stimulates the conversion of amino acids into protein and muscle tissue.[22]

To read more and see the full article Click Here http://www.professionalwhey.com/blog/?tag=leucine

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 10:31 am and is filed under creatine monohydrate powder. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.