Many women are turning into fitness enthusiasts now, and they prefer intense workouts and healthy food. So, if weight loss is the desired goal, some women even consume supplements. Surely, you might have many questions on your mind. After all, your health matters. Will BCAA for women affect your hormones? Is it important during the monthly cycle? Read further to get your questions answered.
What Is BCAA?
During digestion, proteins are broken down to release amino acids, and these proteins make up every cell, tissue and organ in the body. Amino acids are broadly categorised into two classes, namely non-essential amino acids and essential amino acids. The body produces the non-essential amino acids, whereas the essential amino acids must be obtained from the diet.
Some essential amino acids are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine and so forth. And BCAAs are the branched-chain amino acids that consist of essential amino acids such as leucine, isoleucine and valine. These amino acids can also be obtained from protein-rich foods such as red meat, dairy, chicken, fish and eggs. Their nutritional sources for vegans are soy proteins, lentils and nuts.
Can Women Take BCAA?
Women can consume BCAA supplements in different forms. You can obtain essential amino acids from manufactured supplements such as pills, capsules or powder. However, it is recommended to consume them in the form of powder. So, read on to know about their benefits:
It increases muscle mass: As mentioned previously, the BCAA supplement consists of three essential amino acids. And the leucine amino acid stimulates protein synthesis by activating a certain pathway in the body, which is the muscle-building routine. Besides, as per studies, when you take the supplements after strength training, it improves muscle development tremendously.
It decreases muscle soreness post-workout: After working out, most people tend to get muscle soreness. Generally, it is not a very good sign, but it is quite common. Muscle soreness occurs when there are small tears in the muscle tissue caused by strength training. It also occurs when your body is not familiar with a new movement. In these conditions, BCAAs can prevent severe damage to the muscles.
It reduces exercise fatigue: After a regular exercise or a strenuous workout, you might often tend to get fatigued at some point. It occurs because your muscles utilise BCAAs resulting in the decrease of your blood levels during the workout. And when the blood levels decrease, the tryptophan in your brain increases and converts into serotonin; this process leads to fatigue during exercise. So, when you replenish the BCAAs levels, it decreases fatigue during workouts.
Does BCAA Affect Hormones?
BCAA supplement is consumed to fill the gap within your diet. And although you require them, it doesn’t negatively affect the hormones. So far, no research has proved that they impact hormones, but there is the likelihood that they can increase testosterone.
Testosterone is also vital for females, and the reason is different from that of males. They could improve the levels of testosterone and boost workout performance, and there are no published findings of BCAAs leading to adverse effects or female fertility problems.
What Is the Importance of BCAAs During the Monthly Cycle?
BCAAs are important during the monthly cycle for women. Your progesterone and estrogen levels get elevated a few weeks before your periods. During that phase, elevated estrogen and progesterone can negatively impact the growth of the muscles. Moreover, progesterone leads to muscle tissue breakdown, and that’s when BCAAs and protein consumption is necessary to ensure muscle recovery and lean muscle mass.
Coming to the end, you can easily buy BCAA for women from online stores. Since you now know so much about them, you can be assured that consuming them will help improve muscle growth, and they are safe to be taken during your menstrual periods. However, consult your dietician before you start using them.
