BCAA Benefits for Women

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Throughout your fitness journey, you’re likely to hear about many supplements that are recommended and necessary and will one hundred percent benefit you on your way to your goals. Unfortunately, a lot of the information on the internet is just plain advertising, and a lot of the heavily marketed pills and powders aren’t things you actually need. 

 

With that said, that doesn’t mean there are no supplements that can help you on your path to getting in better shape. And in this short article, we’re going to be discussing one popular supplement in particular – BCAAs. We’re going to dive deep into the BCAA benefits for women, and we’re going to give you some recommendations on what kind of powders or pills to look for if you want to see optimal results.

 

So, if that sounds like something you’d be interested in, let’s get started. 

Why Are BCAAs Recommended for Women? 

BCAA stands for branched chained amino acids, and it’s a supplement that basically provides your body with all eight essential amino acids. Now, that sounds great, but what do these amino acids actually do, and how are they good for us? Well, taking a BCAA supplement is likely to help you recover better and quicker and will also help you maintain muscle mass, even when losing weight – an effect that many women desire. Additionally, by adding a BCAA powder to your water, you can improve your hydration as you get a tasty, healthy drink. But besides these commonly known BCAA benefits for women, there are some “hidden” ones that you should be aware of. 

 

BCAAs Help with Balancing Hormones 

One of the reasons why taking BCAAs is particularly beneficial for women is that they help with balancing hormone levels, especially during and after more intense training sessions. Typically, in our lives, outside of working out, we often feel stressed, which leads to an increase in cortisol, and that leads to a chain reaction that may cause imbalances such as elevated levels of estrogen and testosterone. The consumption of BCAAs frequently can help keep your hormones in check and assist in reducing bad moods, water retention, and junk food cravings. 

Aid with Maintaining Muscle Mass and Performance 

For most people, one of the primary goals of training is gaining or maintaining lean muscle mass while improving performance in the gym. Generally, women find it more difficult than men to gain muscle, and it’s also harder for them to retain it when they’re dropping pounds and losing body fat. That’s where a supplement like BCAAs can help, as it helps the muscles recover better and stops them from breaking down during a training session. In turn, increasing the lean muscle will help with lifting heavier weights in the gym and 

It’s also beneficial for cardiovascular health, bone strength, and improved metabolism. 

Good for Healthy Fat Loss 

BCAAs won’t help you lose weight on their own, but they’re a good supplement to get when you’re in a calorie deficit and dropping weight. The problem is that throughout that process, you’re not only losing body fat but also lean muscle mass – an effect that’s definitely not desired. But it does happen because our bodies are conditioned to hold on to fat stores as a way to keep us alive, especially since the lowering of calorie intake is a signal that food supplies are going scarce. Throughout this process, BCAAs help active women retain the already existing muscle mass, as they prevent muscles from breaking down when working out and also help you recover faster so you can train harder. 

In Conclusion 

Hopefully, this article helped you learn more about BCAAs and what they do. Unlike many of the supplements offered for women on the Internet that claim magical results and are actually a scam, BCAAs are actually something that you can take and see real benefits from. Along with protein powders, creatine, and magnesium, they form a group of must-take supplements for someone with a healthy lifestyle. With that said, it’s still a good idea to invest in a high-quality supplement that’s made with decent ingredients, and all our suggestions linked in this article are good products to choose from. 

 

References: 

 

  1. Torokhtiy Weightlifting. (2023a, September 30). 7 best BCAA supplements for women in 2023. https://torokhtiy.com/blogs/reviews/best-bcaa-for-women  
  2. Gentil P, Steele J, Pereira MC, Castanheira RP, Paoli A, Bottaro M. Comparison of upper body strength gains between men and women after 10 weeks of resistance training. PeerJ. 2016 Feb 11;4:e1627. doi: 10.7717/peerj.1627. PMID: 26893958; PMCID: PMC4756754. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4756754/ 
  3. McCarthy D, Berg A. Weight Loss Strategies and the Risk of Skeletal Muscle Mass Loss. Nutrients. 2021 Jul 20;13(7):2473. doi: 10.3390/nu13072473. PMID: 34371981; PMCID: PMC8308821. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8308821/