amino acids

beta alanine

What is beta-alanine?

Beta-alanine is an amino acid produced in the liver. Beta-alanine has seen a surge in popularity over the last few years. Of all the products contained in the Supplement Database, 36% of them contain beta-alanine, making it the second most popular ingredient behind caffeine.

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casein protein and sleep

Casein Protein and Sleep

Casein protein has long been known as the "slow" or"nighttime" protein because of its relatively slower travel time compared to other options. While whey protein is digested very quickly and typically used after a workout, casein takes longer to digest. This makes it, at least hypothetically, a great option as...

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casein protein post workout

Is casein a good post-workout protein supplement?

Casein is known as the slow protein, and for good reason. In the introductory article to the casein protein series, we discussed how casein protein consumption causes amino acid levels in the blood to increase for seven hours; more than double the time of whey protein. This would make casein...

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whey protein

What is whey protein?

Over the years, whey has become the goto protein for athletes, dieters, and fitness enthusiasts. This series will focus on whey and its ability to deliver on a assortment of claims. We'll discuss whether whey helps with performance, weight loss, muscle building, recovery, and more!

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soy protein

What is soy protein?

Few foods evoke greater emotion than soy. It elicits fears of decreased testosterone, less optimal strength, and feminization of masculine features. There's plenty of misinformation about soy. The truth is there are plenty of health and performance benefits to consuming soy protein with plenty of research to back it up.

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glutamine

Is glutamine effective in improving performance or enhancing recovery?

Glutamine

Glutamine is one of the conditionally essential amino acids1. Under normal circumstances, the body makes enough. In certain instances, such as a critical illness, the body's requirement exceeds its production capability. In these times, the body needs an external (dietary/supplement) source, to meet its needs2.

Amino Acids 101: Essential vs Non-Essential...

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BCAAs and recovery

Do BCAAs speed up recovery?

BCAAs and Recovery

A popular claim of BCAAs is improving post exercise recovery. Workouts cause damage to muscle tissue which the body repairs during rest. During rest, the body needs sufficient amounts of nutrients, including protein and essential amino acids to adequately recover. Because BCAAs are thought to increase protein synthesis,...

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