Remember, a healthy and balanced diet is likely to be the best way to get all the nutrients you need to fuel your workouts. Your Cookie Settings This site uses cookies and similar technologies for performance, social media and advertising purposes in order to provide a customised user experience and understand how our sites are used.
What are BCAAs? Shop Sports Nutrition. What are the benefits? There are many benefits of taking BCAAs supplements if you exercise regularly. What is the correct dosage? Do amino acids help you lose weight? Most of the time, we can get all the amino acids we need from eating certain types of food.
The advice in this article is for information only and should not replace medical care. Please check with your GP or healthcare professional before trying any supplements, treatments or remedies. IV therapy can provide a complete suite of amino acids to help you maintain your muscle tone and athletic performance for optimal, long-term health. Drip Hydration makes it easy to enjoy the benefits of this treatment by bringing the appointment to you wherever you are.
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As important as amino acids are for your health, not many people know what they do. Today, we talk about their top 10 benefits. Mobile IV therapy treatments for athletes are a fast and effective addition to any training routine by quickly rehydrating and restoring your body. So, what are amino acids and why do you need them? What are Amino Acids? List of amino acids Amino acids are grouped into three categories — Essential , Nonessential , and Conditional.
Essential Amino Acids : Your body cannot produce essential amino acids. These must be obtained by an external source, usually through food or supplementation.
Most people are able to get enough essential amino acids through their diets. The essential amino acids are:. Nonessential amino acids : Nonessential amino acids are those that your body naturally produces throughout the day whether or not you eat food that contains them. The nonessential amino acids are:. Conditional amino acids : These amino acids are produced only under specific circumstances, typically when your body is fighting off an illness or dealing with stress. The conditional amino acids are:.
Read More: List of all amino acids and their role in the body Role and benefits A balanced diet can help ensure that you get a healthy intake of essential and nonessential amino acids throughout your day. Amino acids play a role in almost every system throughout your body, including: Assisting in the creation and growth of muscles, connective tissue, and skin Assisting in maintaining muscle tone and tissue strength Healing and repair Normal digestion Providing energy for your body Regulating moods by helping produce hormones Producing neurotransmitters Maintaining healthy skin, hair, and nails.
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Who Can Benefit from Amino Acids? Athletic Performance Supplements of protein and amino acids are often recommended to athletes and active individuals to help boost performance and maintain muscle and tissue strength. Amino acids may help athletic performance in a variety of ways , such as: Read More : 10 Benefits Of Amino Acid IV Therapy Increasing tolerance to pain during exercise so that athletes can push themselves further during training Modifying the way the body perceives fatigue, prolonging how long athletes can perform before fatigue sets in Decreasing the duration of recovery from overtraining Improving immune function for less frequency of illness or infection Improving performance in aerobic training Supporting blood flow for improved endurance Improving the development of lean muscle mass and overall strength Improving antioxidant production to reduce cellular damage Providing anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects to reduce damage to muscles Helping prevent muscle wasting in conjunction with resistance training Enhancing how your body metabolizes fats during exercise.
Recovery IV. Energy Boost IV. Immune Boost IV. As a result, an amino acid deficiency is often marked by many of the same symptoms of malnutrition such as: severe muscle loss, edema swollen skin , thin and brittle hair, hair loss, skin sores or lesions.
There are three main ways to ensure you get enough amino acids every day: Oral supplement, IV infusion, The food you eat. Oral Supplements Amino acids show up in a variety of oral supplements: in protein powders for sports performance, in drinks, as powders to make into drinks, and in pill form just like a multivitamin.
Pros: Readily available at your local pharmacy or supplement store Inexpensive option Several types of oral supplements for you to choose from to best fit your preferences and routine. In elderly people, protein malnutrition is one of the major causes of immune dysfunction [ 80 ].
Interestingly, dietary supplementation of BCAAs has been reported to reduce the incidence of infections acquired in geriatric long-term rehabilitation centers [ 15 ] as well as the risk of bacterial and viral infection in patients with decompensated cirrhosis [ 81 , 82 ].
Furthermore, BCAAem supplementation may correct the nephropathy-linked anemia in hemodialysis patients fed low protein diet [ 83 ], as well as BCAAs ameliorate the post-intense exercise immunosuppression [ 14 ]. In obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus T2DM , the results of diverse and opposing anabolic and catabolic signals impair amino acid catabolism leading to the BCAA accumulation.
Resistin and visfatin, adipokines highly expressed in visceral fat, induce amino acid uptake and protein synthesis. EAAs have been reported to induce mTOR activation and increase insulin receptor substrate-1 IRS-1 phosphorylation, thereby contributing to the development of impairment of insulin signaling [ 85 ]. Moreover, in TDM2 muscles, the BCAA metabolite 3-hydroxyisobutyrate increases endothelial fatty acid transportation, thus worsening the muscle insulin resistance [ 89 ].
On the other hand, in selected subsets of obese subjects, BCAA intake is associated with reduced body weight and body fat [ 90 , 91 ]. Although the BCAAs have been shown to worsen TDM2 in obese subject, in a long-term randomized study of elderly people with T2DM [ 92 ], as well as in patients with chronic viral liver disease [ 93 ], BCAA supplementation improved metabolic control and ameliorated insulin resistance. Further, BCAAem has been found to improve sarcopenia, that is the age-associated loss of muscle mass and function, in old rats [ 66 ] and to prevent muscle atrophy in mice bearing a cachexia-inducing tumor [ 94 ].
In middle-aged mice, BCAAem preserved muscle fiber size, improved physical endurance and motor coordination [ 2 ], decreased protein breakdown and protected against dexamethasone-induced soleus muscle atrophy in rats [ 8 ]. When administered orally at the beginning of rat senescence, BCAAem formula has been shown to maintain the health of kidney in aged rats [ 95 ], by inducing eNOS and vascular endothelial growth factor expression in kidney, thus increasing vascularization and reducing renal fibrosis.
The EAA supplementation can ameliorate myocardial dysfunction in diabetic rats [ 96 ]. Moreover, improved vascularization and increased collagen deposition, in addition to the fibroblast proliferation, seem also to be involved in the cutaneous wound healing obtained with topical application of BCAAs and other essential amino acids in aged rats [ 97 ].
Substantial evidence has been accumulated that gut microbial communities influence feeding, energy homeostasis, endocrine systems, and brain function. The human microbiota produces in gut lumen essential vitamins, including vitamin K, vitamin B12, biotin, folate, thiamine, riboflavin, and pyridoxine, which are absorbed by the intestine [ 98 , 99 ].
During the recent years, it has become clear that the influence of the microbiome on health may be even more profound. In particular, it was well established that gut microbiota can generate and indirectly influence the concentration of proteins, including hormones, neurotransmitters, and inflammatory molecules with systemic effects linked to the development of many diseases, such as obesity, T2DM, or atherosclerosis [ — ].
Of particular interest is the bacterial production of short chain fatty acids SCFAs , e. The abundance in the gut of organisms from Lachnospiraceae family, or the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroides are often associated with the production of SCFAs, and their signal to gut enteroendocrine cells is mediated by binding to G protein-coupled receptors, namely GPR41 and GPR43 [ , ].
Microbiota-derived butyrate has been reported to regulate levels of glucagon-like peptide 1 GLP-1 , which is produced by enterocytes [ — ]. GLP-1 enhances the glucose-dependent insulin secretion of the pancreatic beta cells [ ]. Butyrate has been reported to act as an anti-inflammatory molecule, both on circulating immune cells and enterocytes, thus regulating gut-barrier properties [ — ].
Propionate production seems to be particularly relevant in human health, because it promotes satiety, and prevents the hepatic lipogenesis lowering thus cholesterol production [ — ]. Studies on microbial community structure by 16S rRNA gene sequencing have shown that relatively better energy-harvesting bioreactors promote energy storage, increasing the predisposition to obesity [ 25 , 48 ].
The high ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroides , observed in gut microbiota from obese patients, influences degradation of polysaccharides to SCFAs, in particular increasing acetate and decreasing butyrate production [ 29 ].
Increasing blood levels of acetate correlate with insulin resistance development, and they increase production of the orexigenic peptide ghrelin in the stomach [ ]. Lower butyrate levels are linked to low level inflammation, which in turn decreases insulin resistance [ 17 , 21 , 26 ].
Studies in humans also suggest a role for the gut microbiota in T2DM. The composition of the gut microbiota is not constant during the lifetime of the host and changes with age [ ], owed to several reasons, including alterations in intestinal functions or inflammatory processes [ — ]. Importantly, aging is associated with a shift in the ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes species [ , ].
Indeed, in people over 60 years the total number of facultative anaerobic microbes i. Firmicutes increases, while the proportion of Bifidobacteria decreases in comparison to young subjects.
The age-related changes of the gut microbiota have been found especially important in pathophysiological processes of the age-related disorders, such as frailty [ ], neurodegeneration [ ], cognitive decline [ ], T2DM [ ], and cardiovascular diseases [ , ].
Different environmental factors can influence gut microbiota composition. Recent study demonstrated that exposure of mice to cold was accompanied to a change in microbiota taxa and caused browning of white adipose tissue, with increase of insulin sensitivity and heat production, in addition to weight loss when compared to control mice.
Transplantation of the cold-adapted microbiota from cold exposed mice was sufficient to promote browning of white adipose tissues and to enhance insulin sensitivity in warm recipient mice [ ]. Also the diet regimen rapidly and efficiently modifies the relative abundance of specific bacterial taxa [ 23 ] and virus [ ]. The relevance of this fast, diet-induced dynamics is demonstrated by the microbial changes that are observed over 1—2 days when subjects add dietary fibers to their diet, or consume either a high-fiber and low-fat diet or a low-fiber and high-fat diet for 10 days [ 49 ].
From an evolutionary perspective, these changes were selected to maximize energy harvested by food. Indeed, microbiota acts in the intestine as a bioreactor, which permits degradation of otherwise indigestible dietary fibers i. Interpersonal variations in the virome are high, even in co-twins and their mothers sharing similar fecal bacterial communities [ 45 ]. Dietary intervention is associated with a change in the virome community to a new state, in which individuals on the same diet converged [ ].
The functional relevance of this gut virome modification in metabolic health is, however, still unknown. Modifications of the gut microbial composition affect host metabolism. Colonization of adult germ-free mice with a distal gut microbial community harvested from conventionally raised healthy mice causes a dramatic increase in body fat within 10—14 days, despite an associated decrease in food consumption [ 25 ]. Compared with microbiota of lean persons, intestinal microbial composition of obese individuals has less diversity [ ], and it is characterized by lower prevalence of Bacteroidetes and a higher prevalence of Firmicutes [ ].
Modification of gut microbiota, by either cohousing [ , ] or antibiotic treatments [ ] or transplantation of fecal microbiota from obese versus lean subjects, can modify obesity and metabolic phenotype [ 25 , 27 , ].
These results reveal that transmissible and modifiable interactions between diet and microbiota influence host biology. Likewise, gut microbiota composition is in turn influenced by a wide range of pathologies e. In fact, recent studies suggest that the microbiome may be a reflection of obesity or leanness , as well as a cause of it. When obese people are maintained to reduced energy intake with diet and lose weight, the proportion of Bacteroidetes increases relative to Firmicutes.
Conversely, when obese people resume their previous food consumption and gain weight, the proportion of Firmicutes increases [ ]. Specific gut bacterial taxa in obese humans and animals metabolize faster phosphatidylcholine to choline, trimethylamine N-oxide TMAO , and betaine taken with diet.
TMAO has been shown to accelerate atherosclerosis by forward cholesterol transport via upregulation of macrophage scavenger receptors [ ]. Interactions between the host immune system and gut microbiota prevent the overgrowth of otherwise under-represented or potentially harmful bacteria for example, pathobionts [ 30 , 48 ]. On the other hand, gut microbiota itself shapes the development of the immune system through a vast range of signaling pathways [ 38 ]. Conventional or germ-free housing conditions impact peripheral immune system development in immunocompetent hosts [ 41 ].
Dietary fats increase the bile acid taurocholic, therefore altering gut microbiota and promoting colitis in genetically susceptible mouse model [ ]. Bacteroides , and in particular Bacteroides fragilis , have been suggested to promote many immune functions of the host.
Given the link between gut microbiome and increasing risk to develop many diseases e. Moreover, gut microbiota shows a great plasticity and it could be mostly modified by different factors, such as diets or supplements [ 53 ]. Dietary proteins and amino acids are important substrates for microbial fermentation in the colon [ ], where they also serve as important nitrogen sources for the microbiota and support the growth of microbiota and host [ 51 ]. Several research groups have shown that maternal diet affects the colonization of the gut of pups [ ], also through epigenetic mechanism [ ].
Dietary amino acid intake increases the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes [ 27 , 51 ]. Notably, this ratio was comparable to the ratio observed in the month-old mice [ 60 ]. In line with these results, BCAAem supplementation significantly changed fructose, sucrose, and oleic acid gut metabolism. Much more information is needed about how the BCAAem supplementation modulates structural and functional properties of gut microbiota, and what is the link with the healthy effects of the BCAAem supplementation as previously described [ 1 , 2 ].
Several common mechanisms are shared by healthy microbiota and dietary EAAs. Similarly, oral administration of BCAAs or the microbiota-derived butyrate induce a dose-dependent increase in GLP-1 release from enterocyte [ , , ], and decrease the expression of genes involved in the intestinal fatty acid transport and lipogenesis i. EAAs may also modify the abundance of gut metabolites by influencing cholecystokinin production and gallbladder contraction [ ]. On the other hand, the intestinal dysbiosis alters gut barrier properties and, thus, it may reduce the diet-induced healthy effect [ ].
Another point yet to be clarified is whether the supplementation of specific amino acid mixtures is able to modify metabolic diseases, including obesity and T2DM, via gut microbiota modifications, and how this effect can be permanent. Obese T2DM patients have also a peculiar gut microbiota composition [ 25 ]. In particular, the depletion of species from the Bacteroides genus in obese individuals is related to higher plasma concentration of BCAAs [ ].
Of particular interest is the possibility that a subset of gut microbial communities directly synthetized EAAs by themselves, EAAs that would be subsequently absorbed by the intestinal mucosa. Many components of the gut microbiota possess the enzyme to directly synthetize essential amino acids [ , ]. On the other hand, oral EAA administration may modify gut microbiota and, consequently, modify i.
Human body metabolism is the result of complex interactions between genetic, epigenetic, and environmental primarily dietary and lifestyle factors [ , ]. Gut microbiota controls metabolism through physiologically important biochemical circuits, which are parts of energy consumption, storage, and distribution [ ]. Gut microbiota plays key roles in controlling body metabolism, resistance to infections, and inflammation, as well as preventing autoimmunity disorders and cancer [ 18 , 20 , 38 ].
Brain-gut axis represents an important communication system that regulates whole body energy balance. Information exchange between gut and brain is essential for mammals to adapt to changing environments [ 38 , ].
EAA supplementation has been shown to improve the health span and metabolic health [ 16 ], by reducing body weight [ ], increasing immune homeostasis [ 14 , 15 ], promoting mitochondrial biogenesis [ 2 — 4 ], preventing oxidative damage [ 5 ], and enhancing muscle protein synthesis and physical endurance [ 2 , 6 — 9 ]. Many aspects of amino acid effects on gut microbiota remain to be addressed, for example, whether the different effects of EAAs, acting either in catabolic or anabolic conditions, may be partially attributed to differences of the gut microbiota composition in these metabolic conditions.
Moreover, whether EAAs through gut microbiota play some roles in human development, a number of hypotheses about microbial contributions to human development have been proposed in the past decade. One hypothesis is that maternal microbial ecology affects pregnancy, fetal development, and the future health of offspring [ ]. Maternal vaginal, gut, and oral microbiota have relevant impact on fetal nutrition and development [ ].
Alterations of maternal microbiota are thought to contribute to gestational adverse events, such as the preterm delivery. A compelling question is whether EAA supplements may favorably change the properties of the vaginal and gut microbes before, during, and after pregnancy. A recent study has shown that microbial community structure and function expand and diversify in all body sites from birth to age 4—6 weeks, and it then resembles microbiota from the corresponding maternal body site [ ].
A related question is whether microbes associated with breast milk, which are highly personalized assemblages [ ] and colonize the infant colon, such as some anaerobic species Bifidobacterium , may be modified by maternal supplementation with EAAs. For example, specific EAA formulas might support growth of bifidobacterial subspecies important for infant gut barrier development and function [ ], improved vaccine responses, such as the Bifidobacterium longum subsp.
Infantis [ ], or production of essential nutrients, including folate and riboflavin [ ]. Little is known about the influence of gender on gut microbiota composition, and how this factor can affect the efficacy of amino acid supplements [ 57 , ]. Few studies have been conducted to investigate the role that sex plays in development and age-related changes of microbiota composition, increasingly evident starting at puberty and most defined in adult and aged subjects [ ].
It seems that males and females are uniquely susceptible to factors that shape the microbiota after birth. Male microbiota, in fact, provides testosterone-dependent protection from T1DM in a model of non-obese diabetic mice [ ]. Several findings suggest bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain in behavioral, psychiatric, and neurodegenerative disorders. Thus, anxiety, hyperactivity, depression, nociception, and autism spectrum disorder are among the other psychiatric disorders to be linked to intestinal microbial communities [ — ].
Although the BCAAs do not act as direct precursors for neurotransmitters, they can affect transport of large neutral amino acids LNAAs , including the BCAAs, across the blood—brain barrier, and thereby influence CNS concentrations of diverse neurotransmitters [ ]. With the aim to reduce brain tyrosine uptake, BCAAs were given to bipolar subjects during periods of mania [ ].
Sixty grams BCAAs were administered daily for 7 days and produced a significant reduction in manic symptoms, consistent with an effect on brain catecholamine. Gut microbiota might be hypothesized to play some role in this effect. Notably, fecal microbes from PD patients impair motor function significantly more than microbiota from healthy controls when transplanted into mice [ ]. Analogously, specific microbe ensembles influence stroke recovery in mice [ , ], and amino acid supplements may potentiate this effect.
Although a body of knowledge is accumulating that suggests potential interactions between EAAs and gut microbiota and their effects on metabolic health and health span, the complex interplay between dietary amino acids and intestinal microbes remains largely unknown. In particular, it remains to be addressed whether the different effects of EAAs, acting either in catabolic or anabolic conditions, may be partially attributed also to differences in gut microbiota composition in these metabolic conditions.
Furthermore, based on the current knowledge, the effects and metabolic fate of the dietary EAAs can be largely modified by different gut microbiota ensembles. Both EAA diet supplementation and gut microbiota contribute to human health acting at a systemic level. The precise interplay and the nature of their interactions are still poorly understood and they may help to predict more accurately the therapeutic effect of nutraceutical interventions with specific amino acid formulas.
Studies of the human gut microbiota have changed how researchers view the pathophysiology of widely diffused metabolic disorders, particularly those linked to age. Humans co-evolved with a web of thousands of microbes, including not only bacteria, but also viruses, fungi and unicellular organisms called Archaea, with which strict relationship exists. Human intestine provides a comfortable environment and nutrients for microbes, and they digest food for us; in addition, they keep away pathogen microbes, synthesize vitamins, organize immune function, and transfer important messages to brain.
Thus, it is possible that metabolic problems in humans could be managed with adequate care of the gut microbiota. Since the disturbance of microbial ecology and eco-systems are crucial for physiology in different human life periods, the knowledge of diet and dietary supplement impact on the gut microbiota might be very important for health. Dietary fibers and prebiotics—i. We hypothesize that specific amino acid mixtures are likely to be of benefit to people who follow a typical Western-style diet, in addition to dietary fiber and prebiotics.
A deeper understanding of the efficacy of such dietary supplements to maintain gut microbiota has the potential to contribute important therapeutic tools in human metabolic health and weight control.
This study was supported by the Cariplo Foundation, Italy [grant no. The funding body has not had any role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data. All authors contributed to article writing and revision. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Francesco Bifari, Email: ti. Chiara Ruocco, Email: moc. Ilaria Decimo, Email: ti. Guido Fumagalli, Email: ti. Alessandra Valerio, Email: ti. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Genes Nutr v. Genes Nutr. Published online Oct 4. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer.
Corresponding author. Received Apr 13; Accepted Aug This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract Dietary supplementation of essential amino acids EAAs has been shown to promote healthspan. Open in a separate window. Gut microbiota affects metabolism and health Substantial evidence has been accumulated that gut microbial communities influence feeding, energy homeostasis, endocrine systems, and brain function.
Interaction between amino acid supplementation and gut microbiota Given the link between gut microbiome and increasing risk to develop many diseases e. Conclusions and future perspectives Studies of the human gut microbiota have changed how researchers view the pathophysiology of widely diffused metabolic disorders, particularly those linked to age. Acknowledgements Not applicable. Funding This study was supported by the Cariplo Foundation, Italy [grant no.
Availability of data and materials Not applicable. Notes Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Contributor Information Francesco Bifari, Email: ti. References 1.
Bifari F, Nisoli E. Branched-chain amino acids differently modulate catabolic and anabolic states in mammals: a pharmacological point of view. Br J Pharmacol.
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