289. The Worst Supplements People Take For Muscle Growth
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Thank you for listening to the Boost Your Biology podcast. My name is Lucas Owen. I uncover the most cutting edge health information on the planet, ranging from hormones, nutrition, supplementation, fat loss, biohacking, longevity, wellness, and a whole lot more. Welcome to the Boost Your Biology podcast.

I mean, let's just be honest, most men are currently on the hunt for supplements that can support muscle growth naturally. And so what I'm going to do in this actually outline the worst supplements that everyone takes for muscle growth. And so I'll dive deep into why these particular supplements are actually not beneficial for muscle growth.

The first one is actually BCAAs. Now, what I really wanna outline here is that popular does not equal effective. Now, the popularity of certain supplements does not necessarily correlate with their effectiveness as many ingredients in these products are not supported by scientific evidence. Now, the first...

Now, we can see first of all, this study here was titled, "The Effect of Branched Chain Amino Acid on Muscle Damage Markers and Performance Following Strenuous Exercise: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Now, in total, 25 studies were included in this meta-analysis, and we can see this consists of over 470 participants.

And BCAAs reduce the levels of creatine kinase and muscle soreness following strenuous exercise with a dose response relationship. But BCAAs does not accelerate recovery for muscle performance.

So this next study even titled the effects of branched chain amino acids on muscle protein synthesis, muscle protein breakdown and associated molecular signaling responses in humans and update.

The authors noted, overall BCAAs can activate molecular pathways that regulate translation initiation, reduces overall indices of whole body and muscle protein breakdown and transiently stimulates muscle protein synthesis rates.

However, the stimulatory effect of BCAAs on muscle protein synthesis rates is less than the response observed following ingestion of a complete protein source, providing the full complement of indispensable amino acids. So if you're sipping on BCAAs during the daytime to build muscle, I really want to encourage you to stop doing this

The other reasons for this is number one, BCAAs can actually lower dopamine and serotonin in the brain. So they can mess with mood significantly and even anxiety. And in additionally, the other side effect or the main takeaway here is that you're better off just consuming a meal that is high in protein or complete protein. So this is any sort of animal based product that,

meats, chicken, fish, dairy, yogurt, milk, like these foods contain BCAAs within them and they contain all of the other non-essential amino acids that are also important for muscle protein stimulation. So then when are BCAAs actually beneficial? Well,

The only time in which I think BCAAs can be utilized is during a severe caloric deficit, potentially to offset any catabolic effects that might occur in a severe caloric deficit.

potentially during extreme dieting or for a slight reduction in muscle soreness following extreme physical exertion or severe DOMS. That is when BCAAs might be beneficial. And so that's the first supplement that we should be avoiding if we're specifically trying to build muscle.

The next supplement that is extremely popular in various supplement stores is actually glutamine. Now glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in your body and your body can synthesize it so it's not an essential amino acid but your requirements may at time outpace your rate of synthesis making glutamine conditionally essential.

Now, historically, however, glutamine has been considered to conditionally essential only in the critically hurt or sick, burn victims and other people in whom physical stress is exceptionally high and catabolism or body tissue breakdown is rampant. Now, this is credit to examine.com. Now, looking at the research on glutamine, does it actually build muscle? Here's what scientists had to say.

The researchers tested their hypothesis through a double-blind randomized controlled trial involving six resistance-trained men who consumed glutamine or glycine, 0.3 grams per kilogram of body weight, one hour before weightlifting session.

Glutamine did not benefit performance. Another group of researchers tested glutamine at 0.9 grams per kilogram of body weight against placebo in 31 resistance trained men and women during a six week resistance training program. Even such a high daily dose of glutamine did not affect strength or lean body mass more than did placebo.

Of course, neither study exposed each participants to the high levels of stress experienced by, for instance, burn victims. Now, another randomized controlled trial involving 18 collegiate male wrestlers aimed to address this issue by comparing placebo with glutamine at 0.35 grams per kilogram during an intensive 12-day cut.

Now, both groups lost two kilograms with no significant differences between groups with regards to changes in lean body mass or fat mass. Now, a 2018 meta-analysis of five studies also found no benefit from glutamine on body composition.

Although glutamine does play a part in muscle synthesis, it is an independent activator of mTOR. What we obtain through food seems to suffice and supplementation doesn't appear to confer additional benefits. So glutamine supplementation has no effect on lean mass or fat mass even during aggressive dieting. So when is glutamine even beneficial? Well,

Glutamine is indeed an important source of energy for intestinal cells and the immune system. Now, supplementation may reduce exercise-induced dysfunctions of the intestinal tract, such as leaky gut, and might decrease the risk of falling sick from prolonged endurance exercise. So there is no evidence that supplemental glutamine helps build muscle or improve body composition.

Now, there is evidence though that glutamine may help with gut health, sealing tight junctions and reversing leaky gut. So if your goal is to build muscle, please don't waste your money on glutamine supplementation.

The next supplement is actually beta alanine. Now I'm actually a fan of beta alanine. I actually use it a lot when I was playing professional soccer. I use beta alanine to extend my sprinting capacity and improve endurance.

but beta alanine will not help build muscle. Now, beta alanine does nothing to boost muscle gain or burn fat. Rather, it actually buffers against acid buildup, which then allows the individual to work out harder and longer. Now, the net result of this is actually potentially improved performance. And in turn, that may actually translate to better fat loss or even supporting muscle gain.

but the research isn't quite promising. Now, this study here was titled, Does Better Alanine Supplementation Enhance Adaptations to Resistance Training? A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Double-Blind Study.

Now, the author said, "In conclusion, an eight-week resistance training program promoted improvements in muscle size, strength, and endurance capacity in resistance trained men, but supplementation with 6.4 grams of beta-alanine per day did not enhance these adaptations relative to placebo." So what will beta-alanine do? Well, number one, it definitely gives you the tingles and that paresthesia feeling, the tingling all over your body.

And beta alanine will enhance endurance. Now, so it doesn't make it a waste of money. It just makes it more applicable to other sports and performance metrics. So this study here was titled, "Beta alanine supplementation improved 10 kilometer running time trial in physically active adults."

Now, this next study here was titled effects of high dose short duration, beta alanine supplementation on cognitive function, mood and circulating brain derived neurotrophic factor in recreationally active males before simulated military operational stress. Now,

Beta-alanine may actually be beneficial for mood. In conclusion, the authors noted that high-dose, short-duration beta-alanine supplementation does not appear to affect cognitive function or circulating BDNF, but may mitigate the onset of negative mood states in healthy, recreationally active males prior to a stimulated military operation.

So if you've ever used any of these particular supplements, please leave a comment down below. Share your thoughts about these particular supplements. What I've presented today does not mean you should never use these particular supplements. It just means that these ones that are commonly used for muscle growth

actually don't really help with muscle growth. And there are other supplements that I actually prefer for building muscle, which you can see on my YouTube channel. Be sure to check that out. Otherwise guys, thank you very much for tuning in. I look forward to seeing you in the next podcast.

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