Answer: If in a dry, powder form (tablets, capsules and powders for scooping), supplements containing whey protein, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), creatine, and/or digestive enzymes are quite stable and should not degrade unless temperatures exceed 115° F (46° Celsius). However, once they are opened, they can be affected by humidity. Moisture levels above 10% can cause protein, amino acids and creatine to begin to degrade. To reduce exposure to moisture, especially in humid climates, it’s best to store powdered products in several small containers rather than one large container. Do not store these supplements in the refrigerator, because if you remove them and leave them open, moisture may accumulate due to condensation. On the other hand, liquid supplements containing these ingredients, such as ready-to-drink sports drinks, are generally more sensitive to heat and can become unstable and degrade quickly. found a liquid creatine product to contain little creatine and a large amount of a degradation form of creatine.
If you live a hot climate, it may be preferable to refrigerate these, particularly after opening. For more information about using supplements containing protein, BCAAs and creatine, plus our tests of these products, see the Review of Protein Powders and Drinks and the Review of Muscle Enhancers (Creatine and BCAA). Information about the effects of heat on other types of supplements, and how to store them, can be found here.Now, let me note, gelatin is great for some things (click here to read), but I’ve noticed a disturbing trend lately: bloggers recommending gelatin as the sole source of post-workout protein. This is not only misguided, it’s just straight up wrong. Yes, gelatin has amino acids, but when you look closely, there are some reasons it can’t substitute as a proper protein source for post-workout recovery. Gelatin is a type of protein obtained from animal connective tissue and is rich in collagen. You know how when you cook a chicken and refrigerate it in the pan and there are jiggly meat juices at the bottom?
That’s because of gelatin. It’s got lots of two amino acids—protein building blocks—called proline and glycine. Keep those two names in mind for a moment. These amino acids are considered non-essential which means our bodies can manufacture their own supply. Adding gelatin to your diet—be it through bone broth or gelatin supplements—can certainly have benefit to the digestive system and to your joints (click here to read more), but it’s relatively useless at building muscle tissue because it’s so low in branched chain amino acids. When you train, you incur microscopic damage to muscle tissue, and the goal of protein intake in your post-workout nutrition (and frankly, the rest of your diet) is to provide substrate to begin the rebuilding it. If you want to be fancy, this process is called muscle protein synthesis (MPS). Here’s the rub: The high proline and glycine content found in gelatin are not helpful for MPS. Rather, a special subcategory of amino acids called branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are the ones most important to MPS.
Leucine, valine and isoleucine are the three BCAAs—so termed because of their non-linear structure, and they’re found in most abundance in animal protein sources. One other key: The BCAAs are essential which means they can’t be directly manufactured by the body, unlike proline and glycine. To maximize muscle repair and growth—important processes for all athletes regardless of sport—adequate intake of nutrient-dense dietary protein from animal sources provides the best bank of the amino acids needed for these mechanisms. Yes, you can get protein from plants but it’s far less dense and you’d have to eat far more food volume to get enough. Not to mention, plant sources of protein lack B vitamins and other critical nutrients that are readily available in animal sources. Gelatin, while it is rich in amino acids, does not contain the ones needed to build and repair muscle, and athletes need to make wise choices in the post-workout window; eating gelatin instead of meat, eggs, seafood or even a supplement such as whey protein is not one of them.
Get my free PDF of source of dense protein sources for athletes. To read more about the importance of protein for athletic performance and how much to eat, check out my ebook, The Paleo Athlete and for recipes, check out my print book, The Performance Paleo Cookbook! BPI Sports Best BCAA Reviews Product Page: BPI Sports Best BCAA BPI Sports Best BCAA is unlike any other BCAA supplement ever created, designed to take your gains from minimal to maximal. Best BCAA utilizes quality ingredients that will provide amino acids, fat loss and pumps! Package Quantity: 300 Grams > Write a Review 5 out of 5 Best tasting sup out thereReviewer: Date: 5 out of 5Whey protein, BCAA’s, glutamine and creatine are all completely different things. There is no one that is better they all do different things. Here’s a system you can follow for each of themGet Hydrolized whey protein. It’s much faster absorbing. Consume after an hour of intense exercise. See: 3 Studies Debunking The 1 Hour Anabolic WindowBCAA’s are great to drink mid way through your workout and post.
You only need 0 grams a day. 10 grams intra workout, 10 grams after.You an mix 5 grams of creatine with your BCAA’s intra workout.Glutamine can be taken post workout with your protein shake.A combination of everything. Every supplement has it’s uses.Supplementation nowadays is a necessity for serious bodybuilders. Your workouts will become more intense, longer and extremely more effective with the right supplements.Creatine, L-Glutamine a whey Protein can only be obtained (in sufficient amounts) through supplements.With correct supplementation the process of building muscle and increasing your performance will become significantly better.The preservation of muscle tissue is by far the best benefit of glutamine, and why you should consider including it in your program.BCAAs will increase your recovery rate exponentially and your muscles will be fueled for prolonged workouts. Helping with your consistency in which you go to the gym, and not feeling destroyed after workouts.Whey protein supplies the body with high amounts of protein, jump-starting the growth process.
Protein can be absorbed from food sources; however whey protein is more rapidly absorbed by our body. It is the basic building block of muscle mass.Creatine increases muscle energy allowing you to train harder. Also, it hydrates the muscle tissue, causing an increase in volume. You look bigger and you can train harder when you take this supplement.Source: 7 Bodybuilding supplements that work wondersKind of depends what you’re looking for. Overall I would say BCAA+glutamine+ creatine because you get the most benefits from that combo.BCAA are are leucine, isoleucine and valine. They are essential amino acids. BCAA’s will help fatigue and increases the resistance to fatigue while working out, whether it’s aerobic or anaerobic and also increases muscle protein synthesis. Supplementation with BCAA decreases muscle inflammation thus promoting recovery after a workout.Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid found in our skeletal tissue and accounts for about sixty one percent of its composition.
When glutamine is depleted from our body after a workout your body is forced into a catabolic state which promotes muscle wasting. Taking glutamine will help preserve your muscles and help with muscle recovery.Creatine is very helpful with building muscle. Creatine boosts ATP by recycling ADP back into ATP, giving the muscle more available energy. More energy means a possible few extra reps which lead to gains over time. Creatine does cause water retention. So be sure you are drinking plenty of water while supplementing with it. You can expect to see increases in strength over the course of supplementation. Creatine brings water into the muscle cell which is already 70 percent water to begin with but it makes sure its fully hydrated.On the other hand ..We need proteins to boost muscle protein synthesis which helps the recovery process. Generally as a rule of thumb, bodybuilders aim to consume 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. If you are getting enough protein from your diet you may not need to supplement with whey protein.