Do carbs or extra amino acids make protein work better for muscles?
Addition of carbohydrate or alanine to an essential amino acid mixture does not enhance human skeletal muscle protein anabolism.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Eating 10 grams of essential amino acids (the good ones for muscles) makes muscles grow. Adding sugar or another amino acid didn’t help more.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 546 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Eating 10 grams of essential amino acids (the good ones for muscles) makes muscles grow. Adding sugar or another amino acid didn’t help more.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 546 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Glynn EL, Fry CS, Timmerman KL, Drummond MJ, Volpi E, Rasmussen BB
Related Content
Claims (6)
Even though sugar and alanine make insulin go up, that doesn’t stop your muscles from breaking down any more than protein alone does.
Adding sugar or alanine to a protein drink doesn't make your muscles grow more than the protein drink alone in healthy young people.
A small protein shake makes your muscles start growing, but adding sugar or alanine doesn’t make it grow any faster or stronger.
The protein signal that tells your muscles to grow (mTOR) turns on just as well with plain protein as it does with protein plus sugar or alanine.
Protein plus alanine keeps your muscles in 'build mode' a little longer than protein alone, but the total amount built is the same.