Do you want to know more about the natural food sources of Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)? Find out how you can significantly elevate your gym and athletic performance with BCAA-enriched foods.
Whether you want to lift heavy weights with ease or sail through your sets, reps, and HIIT sessions, BCAAs are all that you need to achieve all your health and fitness goals.
Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) include three essential amino acids: valine, isoleucine, and leucine which comprise approximately 35 percent of muscle protein in your body. Since they are essential amino acids, your body is unable to produce them on its own.
However, you can compensate for it by buying BCAA supplements or consuming natural food sources of BCAAs. This will help you gain solid muscle mass, prevent muscle breakdown, lose stubborn abdominal and visceral fat, and stay in the top shape of your life with ease.
Let us read about some of the best natural food sources of BCAAs.
- Dairy Products: Cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, and milk are rich in BCAA content.
- Lentils: Lentils include some key essential amino acids and a cup of lentils can provide you with approximately 2-3 grams of BCAA.
- Brown rice: It includes 37 percent of the protein as amino acids and 18 percent as BCAA. Ideally, you should consume brown rice with green leafy vegetables such as spinach.
- Chickpeas: A cup of chickpeas can help you satisfy your daily protein requirements. They are enriched with fiber and protein and are a great source of BCAAs.
- Chicken & Turkey: Chicken is one of the best sources of lean protein. One chicken breast has approximately 55 grams of protein. On the other hand, turkey includes tryptophan which is the chemical responsible for easing pain.
- Tuna: Known as the ‘chicken of the sea’, Tuna is a rich source of vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, and protein.
- Eggs: They include a good quantity of BCAAs and have all the essential amino acids that are required by our body.
- Soy: Soy products such as soybeans, tofu, and soymilk are rich in BCAA content. Soy protein includes around 18 percent of BCAAs and is a great choice for vegetarians.
- Greek yogurt & curd: Greek yogurt and curd are great choices to get BCAAs. Being a rich source of calcium, curd helps in keeping your muscles and bones strong. Curd is a probiotic and includes gut-friendly healthy bacteria that facilitate digestion. Moreover, dairy products such as curd and Greek yogurt contain a rich quantity of proteins and carbohydrates that make them excellent post-workout snacks.
Some of the other natural food sources of BCAA include fish, soy proteins, eggs, baked beans, milk proteins, beef, chicken, whole wheat, brown rice, almonds, and Brazil nuts. You can even try out peanuts, cashews, almonds, pistachios, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, squash seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, tempeh, and Quinoa.
By embracing these natural food sources of BCAAs, you can provide additional fuel sources to your muscles during intense workouts. Consuming rich sources of BCAAs will also help you prevent and/or reduce muscle damage, soreness, and fatigue while building solid muscle and gaining muscle size & definition.