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Leucine is the most important amino acid for your muscles
Table of Contents
1. What is leucine?
It belongs to the family of essential amino acids which means that our body cannot produce it itself, but at the same time it is required for life. It can also be classified as a group of branched amino acid, which also includes isoleucine and valine. These triamino acids have this name because they have a characteristic branching structure.2. MTOR anabolic kinase
Leucine is sensed by muscle cells through mTOR (mammalian Target of Rapamycin) kinase. The mTor is a protein activated by leucine, but also by other anabolic signals such as HMB insulin or IGF-1. However, this mTOr pathway is the main mechanism responsible for muscle anabolic efficiency. Its activation is observed, among other things, during the production of synthetic products and after the manufacture of the body's own body. It continues to be observed by other body building proteins. However, what is the most important result of this research is that it will increase the amount of protein in the body, which is a significantly different proportion of the protein in each muscle.3. There's a leucine threshold
Following the discovery of a link between leucine mTOR kinase muscle protein synthesis, another breakthrough occurred: low-dose leucines do not meet this requirement. There is a certain threshold to be crossed in order to obtain an optimal anabolic response. Dr. Layne Norton suggests that this amount is between 3.2 and 4.4 g of leucins, although other authors suggest other approximate values. This information is important because consuming a lower dose, e.g. 1.9 g of Leucine, instead of providing half the effect, will most likely result in a complete lack of stimulation.4. Practical recommendations
From the information presented above, we can draw some conclusions that are worth putting into practice: First of all, it is worth dividing your protein intake evenly throughout the day, with each meal providing about 40 g of full-value protein to ensure that you exceed the leucine threshold. Smaller amounts risk not having any anabolic reactions. As the main source of protein in your diet, it's best to choose protein-rich products such as protein nutrients, eggs, meat and meat.5. BCAA
An alternative for people who consume only plant-based protein would be to supplement their meals with leucine. The simplest thing that's going to work really well here is a leucin-rich diet. Research shows that this kind of dietary supplementation with less protein normally helps normalize muscle protein synthesis.
