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The nine essential amino acids, which are the amino acids the body cannot make on its own and needs to get via diet or supplementation, are the key to stimulating muscle protein synthesis. In fact, essential amino acids are the only dietary macronutrients required for survival.
Muscle protein is in a constant state of turnover, meaning protein is being broken down and built back up continuously. When the balance between muscle protein synthesis and breakdown tips in favor of breakdown, you are losing muscle protein. When muscle protein synthesis is stimulated to a greater degree than breakdown, you are gaining muscle protein.
It just so happens that when you exercise, you increase the rate of muscle protein breakdown. Some of the amino acids released in the process of protein breakdown are oxidized to produce the energy needed for your muscles to contract. Amino acids that are oxidized are not available to help build new muscle protein.
The oxidation of amino acids is particularly problematic for the essential amino acids because they cannot be produced in the body. This is where amino acid supplements formulated with the appropriate blend of essential amino acids come in handy. When you take amino acid supplements before, during, and after exercise, you minimize the accelerated protein breakdown that would otherwise occur while you work out. Amino acid supplements help support a positive balance between muscle protein synthesis and breakdown during exercise so that you can gain and maintain more muscle than you lose.
The synthesis of new muscle proteins replaces those damaged or metabolically degraded. Stimulating muscle protein synthesis is central to recovery from a workout and is the metabolic basis for improvements in muscle mass and functional capacity. Amino acid supplements improve the functional capacity of muscle by increasing muscle strength and mass and bettering muscle’s ability to metabolize glucose and fatty acids for energy in mitochondria.
