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Was wondering if you knew if EAAS would work since they’re absorbed quickly. Would that mean something with slower absorption like chicken, would keep amino acid levels elevated longer be better?
Pre PS - I know you know all this shit forgive the long ramble it took me to get to the point, don't bust on my sloppy terminology fellas if I nit picked I'd never get finished
This is something I have been pondering forever, I'm sure that at some point I must have come across a study of some sort that that answered it but for my interests I wonder if that is even the right question to be asking. I think what I am most interested in at the end of the day is "what is the best strategy for keeping AA levels at a level that will maximize their use in building muscle?"
EAA's supplied in powdered form the way we buy them (I use Canpro's) must be right near the top of the list when considering speed of absorption right? We know whey is a little slower and casein a little slower still. I can't say exactly where meat and stuff would rank but let's assume the more "whole" a food is the slower it is to digest and absorb the AA's.
So, easy peazy right? Want some AA's right quick - Powdered EAA's. Want some that will last a long time - Casein or whole foods. Problem solved, tons of guys use this strategy.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
And this is the part where I lose confidence in my knowledge/thought process.
At some point I learned about "residence time". Here's an example that's simple and most of us will be familiar with - Your estro gets "too high" and you start to get gyno. Basically you have E receptors in your chest and the Estro in your system fills them which sets of a chain of events that cause gyno. One strategy to combat this is to use a SERM like Nolva or Ralox, those SERMs fill the receptor but don't activate it. Now the Estro cant get in to activate the receptor and perpetuate the gyno.
Often of course it will take more than one dose to set you straight, first question will be how much and second will be how often. The way we meatheads figure out how often is usually by asking "what's the half life" and making decisions based on that. Yeah that generally will work out but strictly speaking it might not be the right question.
Half life is a measure of how much is floating around inside you but residence time is very different. Residence time (in this example) would be a measure of how much time the SERM is occupying the receptor. I don't care what the half life is in plasma, what I really care about is how long my tits are protected. IF I could take a SERM that had a 24hr half life but a 7 day residence time I'd take that option.
I said all that just so i could say this - Their must be some similar type of actions going on with protein, AA's, MPS, mTOR etc.
So "what is the best strategy for keeping AA levels at a level that will maximize their use in building muscle?"
Which choice is better from that perspective, which one "works" effectively for the longest? Honestly a very interesting subject but we all seem to get by well enough by just eating big and often. I like getting into the science of it too though, if I can find 10 things that make my mission more succesfull by 0.1% each that's 1 whole percent, do that 10 times and I'll be noticeably better than without them.
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I found actually using protein supplements, whether whey or amino acids, ended up being cheaper than food
I used to use whey protein to save money, chicken, meats are a lot more expensive to get the same amount of protein and whey has more leucine.
Egg whites and tuna was cheaper but whey protein on clearance was still 1/2 to 1/3rd the price (per save serving/protein content)
Very Good point, It's very easy to jump to "get your nutrition from whole foods bro" but finances are a very real consideration