Today's EEA Products lacking Critical Amino Acids

[Mike Arnold]

Can Today's EAA products Activate Muscle Growth?​

When it comes to growing muscle tissue, essential amino acids are the most effective product on the market, but how do they work? Aside from providing the building blocks for muscle growth, they are known for activating of one of the body's most powerful growth regulators, mTOR. Leucine is the major player here, and for this reason we saw BCAA products (a combination of leucine, isoleucine, and valine) dominate the market for years. But recently, research has shown that having all 9 EEAs present (which includes the BCAAs) is a much more effective option.

But what if this wasn't the most effective option? What if EAAs actually weren't able to activate mTOR by themselves? Impossible, right? Wrong. As it turns out, EAAs can NOT activate mTOR without first being exposed to "priming" amino acids. This 2-step process, known as priming & activation, is critical for mTOR-mediated muscle growth to occur.

The take home message here is simple.

If your amino acid product does not contain one or more of these "priming" amino acids, it cannot stimulate mTOR-mediated muscle growth. The body MUST have one or more of these amino acids present in order for EAA products to do their job. If you're already have adequate quantities of these aminos circulating in your bloodstream, you're covered. If not, you're screwed. What does this mean for people who use EEA products prior to training in the morning...or at any other time they haven't eaten for a while? It means they aren't able to activate mTOR, which means they can't effectively activate protein synthesis, which means they can't effectively stimulate muscle growth.

The solution? Make sure your EAA product contains these priming aminos.

Below you will find one of many studies explaining this reality.


Amino Acids Regulate mTORC1 by an Obligate Two-step Mechanism
Julia Dyachok 1 2 3, Svetlana Earnest 1, Erica N Iturraran 1 2, Melanie H Cobb 1, Elliott M Ross 4 2
Affiliations expand

• PMID: 27587390
• PMCID: PMC5077182
• DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M116.732511

Free PMC article


Erratum in

• Correction: Amino acids regulate mTORC1 by an obligate two-step mechanism.
  Dyachok J, Earnest S, Iturraran EN, Cobb MH, Ross EM.J Biol Chem. 2020 Jun 26;295(26):8868. doi: 10.1074/jbc.AAC120.014360.PMID: 32591444 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract
The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) coordinates cell growth with its nutritional, hormonal, energy, and stress status. Amino acids are critical regulators of mTORC1 that permit other inputs to mTORC1 activity. However, the roles of individual amino acids and their interactions in mTORC1 activation are not well understood. Here we demonstrate that activation of mTORC1 by amino acids includes two discrete and separable steps: priming and activation. Sensitizing mTORC1 activation by priming amino acids is a prerequisite for subsequent stimulation of mTORC1 by activating amino acids. Priming is achieved by a group of amino acids that includes l-asparagine, l-glutamine, l-threonine, l-arginine, l-glycine, l-proline, l-serine, l-alanine, and l-glutamic acid. The group of activating amino acids is dominated by l-leucine but also includes l-methionine, l-isoleucine, and l-valine. l-Cysteine predominantly inhibits priming but not the activating step. Priming and activating steps differ in their requirements for amino acid concentration and duration of treatment. Priming and activating amino acids use mechanisms that are distinct both from each other and from growth factor signaling. Neither step requires intact tuberous sclerosis complex of proteins to activate mTORC1. Concerted action of priming and activating amino acids is required to localize mTORC1 to lysosomes and achieve its activation.

 

[paulallen]

Are there any products on the market that contain all these?

 

[MyNameIsJeff]

Are there any products on the market that contain all these?

whey protein

 

[Hyper-T]

Chocolate milk.

 

[juggy38]

15g hydrowhey+5g EAAs

 

[qbkilla]

I just use whole food,350g + should be enough aminos.

 

[Elvia1023]

If you're eating throughout the day on top of taking EAA's that pretty much covers things as well. It's not like we are staying fasted all day then consume an EAA shake.

 

[Mike Arnold]

Are there any products on the market that contain all these?

There are no EAA products which do...that I'm aware of. This is about to change, though.

 

[Mike Arnold]

If you're eating throughout the day on top of taking EAA's that pretty much covers things as well. It's not like we are staying fasted all day then consume an EAA shake.

True. For most bodybuilders, the morning hours are probably the only time this will occur.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Love to see you posting on here again Mike.

 

[Bio]

Mine has everything except L-Asparagine but it does have L-Aspartic Acid which it's derived from.

 

[Knight9]

Mine has everything except L-Asparagine but it does have L-Aspartic Acid which it's derived from.

Yes that is the only amino acid that looked a bit foreign to me.

 

[Mike Arnold]

Mine has everything except L-Asparagine but it does have L-Aspartic Acid which it's derived from.

Good. We don't need all the priming aminos anyway. Actually, the body really only requires one of them in order to prime mTOR, but CEAAs provide other benefits (in regards to muscle growth) that most people don't really talk about. Most people focus only on EAAs.

 

[EnhancedFatGrappler]

Are there any products on the market that contain all these?

Good old Meat, Fish, Dairy and Fowl ;-)

 

[Mike Arnold]

Would you guys like to see a product like this (see below)? I wanted some feedback from guys who actually use EAA products.


Amino Acid Product

* 35 grams per serving (25 grams EAA's & 10 grams CEAA's + Growth factors).

* Optimal amino acid composition for protein deposition in humans (Note: The optimal ratio of amino acids required for protein synthesis and muscle tissue maintenance are not the same; a mistake almost ALL other products make).

* Each serving would provides the EAA content of roughly 60 gm whey protein, 62 gm beef protein, or 65 gm milk protein.

* Each serving would provide additional, conditionally-essential amino acids, which are responsible for: mTOR signaling, increasing BCAA bioavailability, optimizing EAA uptake and utilization, etc.


A few months ago, I thought about making a conventional EEA product, but then decided not too. Since then, I've thought a lot about it and came to a few conclusions regarding today's EEA products...and what would need to be done to dramatically improve on them (if it could be done cost-effectively). The fist conclusion I came today is that today's EEA products are nothing more than glorified BCAA products. Why do I think this? Because today's typical EAA product contains just 8-10 grams of total amino acids (or less) and most of it is BCAAs. Let's take the typical 8 gram (per serving) product. Of the 9 EAAs in the product, the first 5-6 grams are usually BCAAs, while the remaining 6 EAAs only make up about 2-3 grams of the total product. The main issue here is the 2-3 grams of the other 6 EAAs. 2-3 grams, while helpful, is not very much. It's nowhere near enough to replace a protein meal...or provide a potent anti-catabolic effect. You can build some muscle with 2-3 grams, but not much. This is why bodybuilders never use EAA products in place of a protein feeding. It's almost always supplementary.

My other main issue is that almost all of these products contain an EEA ratio which is just horrible for protein deposition. Most of the time, in addition to the entire profile being unsuitable for maximizing protein deposition, they are severely lacking in methionine. When a product is deficient in an amino acid, we call this the "rate limiting" amino acid. The rate limiting amino acid determines when growth STOPS...because a soon as the body uses up that rate limiting amino, protein synthesis comes to a grinding halt! I've seen products which contain literally 1/40th the amount of methionine required to balance the amino acid profile. What this means to us is that our bodies can't even use the entire serving to build muscle...unless we supply the rate limiting aminos through diet. Yes, we can do that, but it would be nice if a product was able to stand alone, so that the body could actually use all the aminos it contains without additional feeding. This is why efficiency is considered one of the most important metrics for determining protein/amino acid quality.

Basically, today's EEA products do a great job at stimulating protein synthesis via high leucine concentrations, but they are severely lacking in the actual building blocks necessary for building muscle tissue...and of those limited building blocks, the body can't even use them all due to severe rate limiting aminos. I have yet to see a single EAA product which provides large amounts of all EAAs, let alone in the most efficient ratio for protein deposition in humans. This is probably because of production cost.

 

[Mike Arnold]

Yes that is the only amino acid that looked a bit foreign to me.

Yeah, hardly anyone ever talks about it.

 

[Heath82]

I would definitely buy an eaa supplement from you

 

[paulallen]

Would you guys like to see a product like this (see below)? I wanted some feedback from guys who actually use EAA products.


Amino Acid Product

* 35 grams per serving (25 grams EAA's & 10 grams CEAA's + Growth factors).

* Optimal amino acid composition for protein deposition in humans (Note: The optimal ratio of amino acids required for protein synthesis and muscle tissue maintenance are not the same; a mistake almost ALL other products make).

* Each serving would provides the EAA content of roughly 60 gm whey protein, 62 gm beef protein, or 65 gm milk protein.

* Each serving would provide additional, conditionally-essential amino acids, which are responsible for: mTOR signaling, increasing BCAA bioavailability, optimizing EAA uptake and utilization, etc.


A few months ago, I thought about making a conventional EEA product, but then decided not too. Since then, I've thought a lot about it and came to a few conclusions regarding today's EEA products...and what would need to be done to dramatically improve on them (if it could be done cost-effectively). The fist conclusion I came today is that today's EEA products are nothing more than glorified BCAA products. Why do I think this? Because today's typical EAA product contains just 8-10 grams of total amino acids (or less) and most of it is BCAAs. Let's take the typical 8 gram (per serving) product. Of the 9 EAAs in the product, the first 5-6 grams are usually BCAAs, while the remaining 6 EAAs only make up about 2-3 grams of the total product. The main issue here is the 2-3 grams of the other 6 EAAs. 2-3 grams, while helpful, is not very much. It's nowhere near enough to replace a protein meal...or provide a potent anti-catabolic effect. You can build some muscle with 2-3 grams, but not much. This is why bodybuilders never use EAA products in place of a protein feeding. It's almost always supplementary.

My other main issue is that almost all of these products contain an EEA ratio which is just horrible for protein deposition. Most of the time, in addition to the entire profile being unsuitable for maximizing protein deposition, they are severely lacking in methionine. When a product is deficient in an amino acid, we call this the "rate limiting" amino acid. The rate limiting amino acid determines when growth STOPS...because a soon as the body uses up that rate limiting amino, protein synthesis comes to a grinding halt! I've seen products which contain literally 1/40th the amount of methionine required to balance the amino acid profile. What this means to us is that our bodies can't even use the entire serving to build muscle...unless we supply the rate limiting aminos through diet. Yes, we can do that, but it would be nice if a product was able to stand alone, so that the body could actually use all the aminos it contains without additional feeding. This is why efficiency is considered one of the most important metrics for determining protein/amino acid quality.

Basically, today's EEA products do a great job at stimulating protein synthesis via high leucine concentrations, but they are severely lacking in the actual building blocks necessary for building muscle tissue...and of those limited building blocks, the body can't even use them all due to severe rate limiting aminos. I have yet to see a single EAA product which provides large amounts of all EAAs, let alone in the most efficient ratio for protein deposition in humans. This is probably because of production cost.

Was going to say.... "and they're all so damn expensive" until I read the last sentence.

I'd imagine the product you're imagining would be priced outrageous given that the sub quality ones currently on the market that you mention are already expensive.

 

[Dens228]

I'd give it a go for sure.

 

[Mike Arnold]

Was going to say.... "and they're all so damn expensive" until I read the last sentence.

I'd imagine the product you're imagining would be priced outrageous given that the sub quality ones currently on the market that you mention are already expensive.

Let me rephrase. It's not that the production cost is outrageous. It's more so that most companies simply don't want accept a suboptimal profit margin. I've priced out the above product...which contains 3X as many aminos as the typical EEA product...and it can be made without having to charge an excessive retail price...as long as I'm willing to accept a suboptimal profit margin. In other words, I would make less money per bottle, but the customer would get more for their money.