Beginners Guide to BCAA's

Beginners Guide to BCAA's

When I first started working out with my PT Matt, he advised me to take BCAA's (Branched Chain Amino Acids). Having never heard of them before I set out to find out what the fuss was about!

What are they?

• BCAA stands for Branched Chain Amino Acids (sometimes called Block Chain Amino Acids as they are the building blocks of protein), they contain 3 vital amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) our bodies need to function.
• They are specifically required for making protein (they make up 35% of the essential amino acids in muscle proteins and 40% of the preformed amino acids required by our bodies).
• The body needs more than 20 amino acids in order to build muscle, repair tissue, make red blood cells and hundreds of other functions.
• Although the  body can actually produce a number of the amino acids itself however there are 8-10 amino acids that you have to take through your diet or by means of supplements.
• This is why so many people take BCAA's as for the body to reach its full fitness potential a full amino acid profile is needed.

In addition to building cells and repairing tissue the amino acids also form antibodies, are part of the enzyme & hormonal system; build RNA and DNA and they carry oxygen throughout the body.

Sources of BCAA's 

• BCAAs are found in foods containing protein, so naturally the good sources are foods with the highest concentrations of protein such as chicken, beef, salmon, eggs, and whey protein.
• They can also be taken in supplement form  which is useful for athletes as free form BCAAs bypass the liver and gut tissue and go directly to the blood stream.

Some Benefits of BCAA's 

Trigger Protein Synthesis: BCAA's trigger protein synthesis which enables greater muscle growth and  helps your body to maintain lean muscle mass when you are resting / not exercising.

Supports Fat Loss: Research indicates that people with a higher BCAA intake in their diets have less body fat, more muscle, and an overall better body composition.

Helps Endurance: BCAA's help your body burn fuel more effectively enabling you to workout for longer. In a research trial participants where those who took 300mg/day of BCAA's for 3 days then completed an intensive exercise trial showed 17% greater resistance to fatigue than those who took a placebo

Accelerates Recovery: Research indicates that taking BCAA's reduces muscle soreness post workout, enabling you to recover faster and train more frequently

Read about more benefits here



Sources
http://www.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1088/Ten_Benefits_of_BCAAs.aspx
 http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/3-main-reasons-you-need-to-use-bcaas.htm
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bcaa.htm

Recipe: Bruschetta Chicken!

Bruschetta Chicken!

Eating a low carb diet does not mean no flavour! This dish has all the flavour of one of my favourite dishes, Bruschetta, but is a healthier alternative!

Ingredients:

• Fresh Basil (torn)
• 4-6 chicken breasts
• 6 tomatoes
• 1 large red onion
• Feta Cheese
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 pack rocket
• Balsamic Vinegar (good quality is needed)

Method:

1. Butterfly your chicken breasts and place under the grill, cook each side for 5-10 minutes, or until golden
2. Dice the tomatoes and onion and put in a large bowl, add the Basil - as much or as little to your taste, and the garlic cloves
3. Once the chicken is done, pour the tomato mix over the chicken
4. Crumble the feta and place over the tomato and chicken mix, place back in the grill for 5-10 minutes or until the feta has started to brown
5. Serve on a bed of rocket with a dash of balsamic over it!
6. Enjoy!

 

 

If you watch one thing today...

FED UP

 

Trailer to the Fed Up movie contains a lot of information about food and nutrition that many people will not know

 

If you watch one thing today let this be it! - educate yourself.

 

We need to care more about what we are putting in our bodies!

Why Breakfast Cereals are actually junk food!

YES your breakfast cereal is in fact JUNK FOOD!

One of the reasons why we are battling an obesity epidemic at the moment is because we have been eating foods that Marketing companies have been telling us to eat! If a food doesn't need marketing its generally because its naturally good for you and hasn't been processed (e.g. bananas, broccoli, almonds - have you even seen an advert for them, probably not!).

What exactly is Cereal?

Actual definition of cereal is any grass that produces a seed that is used for food e.g. rice, oats, wheat, barley. However this isn't really what pops into your head when you think of cereal.

Next time the ad breaks come on the television count how many cereal adverts you see - you will be surprised how many there are! One of the really scary facts is that most of these adverts are targeted at kids, think colourful ads with cartoons etc.

 

For example - Frosties

Ingredients: Maize, Sugar, Barley Malt Flavouring, Salt. Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, Iron, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin), Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12

Notice that sugar is the second ingredient in this list? This means that it is in the second highest quantity of the ingredients above. The company have added other items like vitamins and iron to make you think that you are eating a healthy food (take a look at the label again - now it has a reason to say a source of "Folic Acid" and "Contains Vitamins"). Trust me there are far better ways of getting both in your diet!

Lets take a look at the "nutritional value" of the serving size (which by the way is 30g and most people would have DOUBLE this)

There is 11g of sugar in one 30g serving - this is over 3 teaspoons of sugar, not a great way to start the day as your blood sugar will peak causing an insulin rush and you then crave sugar again.

 

 

 

Starting your day on a sugary cereal  literally sets you up for failure.  

The process of Extrusion

If the sugar content alone wasn't enough to put you off for good - the manufacturing process will.

 

Breakfast cereals are produced by a process called extrusion. This is where the grains are mixed with water, processed into a slurry and placed in a machine called an extruder. The grains are forced out of a tiny hole at high temperature and pressure, which shapes them into little o’s, flakes or shreds. Individual grains passed through the extruder expand to produce puffed wheat, oats and rice. These products are then subjected to sprays that give a coating of oil and sugar to seal off the cereal (this gives it a crunch so when you have milk on it so it doesn't get soggy!).

Biochemist Paul Sitt in his book "Fighting the Food Giants" details the extrusion process - the grains are treated with very high heat and pressure and he notes that this process actually destroys the majority of their nutrients. This process denatures the fatty acids and destroys the synthetic vitamins that are added at the end of the process. The amino acid lysine, a crucial nutrient, is especially damaged by the extrusion process.

If you are brave, read this article about experiments on rats, the research from this study suggests that the puffing of wheat (a process that most cereal manufacturers use) is actually a toxin. This is scary stuff.

Its time we take notice of what we are eating!

Some reading:

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/nutrition/nutrition+tips/is+cereal+worse+than+junk+foodr,7171
http://www.elitefitnessandperformance.com/-blog/healthy-cereal
http://www.westonaprice.org
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuWPnIW5qq4
http://www.kelloggs.co.uk/en_GB/frosties.html