Friday Favorites: Are BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids) Healthy?

Why we may want to strive not to exceed the recommended intake of protein.

So rather than Do Vegetarians Get Enough Protein?, the question shifts to how do omnivores not get too much?
This may help explain some of the benefits of plant-based proteins:
• What Diet Should Physicians Recommend? ( )
• The Okinawa Diet: Living to 100 ( )
• Do Flexitarians Live Longer? ( )
• Caloric Restriction vs. Plant-Based Diets ( )
• Plant-Based Diets and Diabetes ( )
• Plant-Based Diets Recognized by Diabetes Associations ( )
• Animal Protein vs. Plant-Based Protein ( )
• The Environmental Impacts of Plant-Based Meat Substitutes ( )
• Are Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger Healthful? ( )
• Are Pea and Soy Protein Isolates Harmful? ( )
• Plant-Based Meat Substitutes Put to the Test ( )
• The Health Effects of Mycoprotein (Quorn) Products vs BCAAs in Meat ( )
• What About the Heme in Impossible Burgers? ( )
• Does Heme Iron Cause Cancer? ( )
• Heme-Induced N-Nitroso Compounds and Fat Oxidation ( )
• Is Heme the Reason Meat Is Carcinogenic? ( )

Of course the best way to treat type 2 diabetes is to get rid of it by treating the underlying cause: How Not to Die from Diabetes ( ).

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-Michael Greger, MD FACLM

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Leroy Johnson
 

  • 26max says:

    First!! Awesome video

  • Román Ramos Báez says:

    Super interesting

  • Goodbye Crohn says:

    👍👍

  • andrew pawley says:

    I love this channel!

  • Daniel Meyers says:

    I want to see plant based diets plus added BCAAs vs. plant based diets without added BCAAs

    • Kent Purdy says:

      I used to augment my vegan diet with fermented BCAA supplements, but stopped because they were expanding my waistline, even when limited intake to only after workouts. I’m 63 so perhaps it’s my age, but isoleucine supercharges the body’s ability to make fat.

    • Dekyor says:

      Need more evidence for that

  • CamTheVegan says:

    i love it so much it just always goes through one ear and out the other i think its cos he talks fast lol

  • StrongSpiritWoman says:

    Absolutely loved this. Explains a lot of my own personal experiences. Will be sharing on a recent post I wrote about weight loss tips after finally losing my own ‘stubborn’ last 10 – 15 pounds (and I’m under 5 feet and 60.)

    I’ve been low-carb, keto, and vegan. First went vegan/ vegetarian decades back but had been convinced by various practitioners to ‘eat more protein.’You can lose some weight easily enough when first following low-carb, however as you’ve shown over the years, it’s not sustainable.

    While I tried those diets for help with other issues, I thankfully restored a vegan, whole foods, plant-based Macrobiotic diet which emphasizes more whole grains + vegetables, supplementing with pulses, seeds, fruit.

    The ‘magic’ for my recent weight loss ~ now as light as I’ve ever been ~ was stopping being so protein focused. I found it actually improved my energy too.

    High-carb for the win!

  • PM Researcher says:

    Okay, so I’ve been reading and seeing videos promoting an increase in protein as women age is good for maintaining muscle mass. For these women, what do you suggest?

    • Western Gardenia says:

      The extra protein does no good if there is not also increased exercise. Excess unneeded protein is urinated out if not accompanied by exercise. It is likely that women who have a diverse WFPB diet are already getting all the protein they need, plant protein is in almost everything they eat. They just need to increase their exercise to maintain muscle mass.

    • MindVersusMisery says:

      I agree 100 % with gb7168, but want to add that I recently watched/listened to a podcast with a researcher in the field of protein. He himself stated that for a healthy amount of muscle there is a hiearchy of habits to look out for:
      1) Strength training frequently.
      2) Eat enough calories
      3) Eat enough protein.

      Without the first two, number three is absolutely meaningless.
      Most people go directly for number three and eat copious amounts of protein without putting in the effort of working out and eating healthily/adequately.

  • Marius says:

    I’m obese and trying to lose fat (pretty good so far) but I sometimes hit like 80 or even 100g of proteins a day. I’m vegan, does this help?

    • MindVersusMisery says:

      In general, yes!
      Vegan foods are generally lower in BCAA:s. The exception is soy protein, which can be good to not overdo with regard to BCAA:s. Just monitor your weight loss, and if you hit a plateau, experiment with a little less soy and/or decrease your overall calory intake.

  • Krayl Thunderhorn says:

    As a strength-focused athlete, it’s very confusing for me to hear this. We’re recommended to intake over 100g of protein a day and supplement with BCAA’s. Is that ruining my metabolic health? I’m in the gym 4 days a week for 2-3 hours a day and I also do 6 hours a week of mountain hiking so maybe that’s offestting the metabolic harm of BCAA’s? lol help?

    • Daniel Meyers says:

      Resistance training has consistently been shown to significantly improve insulin sensitivity

    • MindVersusMisery says:

      Does you protein come from animal or plant sources? That is the most important question here. If your overall protein intake is from plants, then you don’t have as much to worry about, since plant proteins are lower in BCAA:s.

    • Sami Ryan says:

      Don’t take BCAA’s supplements. wtf r u asking for troubles

  • Dekyor says:

    Since frailty is closely associated with death, don’t you think we may be missing a piece of the puzzle here? Intakes of upwards of 2.2g/kg of bodyweight per day have been shown to be beneficial for muscle development compared to the 0.5g/kg.

  • Phainou says:

    Thank you!

  • Alison says:

    This channel saves lives

  • Sami Ryan says:

    Keep calm & eat your beans.

  • Scott Jones says:

    This guy is wacko 😂

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