People sell BCAA supplements saying they help you build muscle and get stronger, but scientists aren’t sure if they really work because some studies say yes and others say no.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

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Community contributions welcome

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Isolated Leucine and Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation for Enhancing Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy: A Narrative Review.

Narrative Review

2021 May 1

This study looked at whether BCAA supplements help people build muscle and get stronger, and found that while lots of people use them, the science doesn’t clearly prove they work — just like the claim says.

Contradicting (0)

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Isolated Leucine and Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation for Enhancing Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy: A Narrative Review.

Score: 1

DOI: 10.1123/ijsnem.2020-0356

Similar Assertions

People thought taking BCAA supplements would help build muscle because lab tests showed they might affect muscle proteins, but real-life, long-term studies in people haven’t consistently shown that it actually works.

1

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80%

Even if you have more branched-chain amino acids in your blood, insulin still works the same way to stop your muscles from breaking down — adding these amino acids doesn’t make insulin any better at protecting your muscles.

33

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71%