Benefits of Leucine

Why Leucine is a great idea.

Leucine is a potent amino acid found in protein powder. Leucine is important given its ability to boost muscle mass and improve muscle performance.

If you are male and over 50 years old, muscle maintenance should be a priority in your health regime, and a good understanding of the benefits of leucine is a key part of supporting that regime.

The key benefits of leucine include:

Supporting Leucine studies.

Below are links to supporting research and studies. Leucine is also a key ingredient in Old Bull Protein, and it has one of the highest leucine percentages in the market.

1. Leucine is a key amino acid involved in muscle synthesis. It helps build and repair muscles, directly stimulating the synthesis of new muscle proteins, which in turn helps maintain a state of nitrogen balance.
   
   Research offers varying results, but some studies have shown that leucine is most effective when combined with other amino acids rather than as a single supplement. Thus, a protein supplement is more efficient, and its efficacy is enhanced by the presence of other amino acids. You can read the findings here.
   
   
2. Leucine helps muscle recovery and protein synthesis after a workout. This great study on cyclists showed that it enhanced high-intensity endurance performance.
   
   Resistance exercise and higher protein intakes can help protect muscle and strength. (According to Donald Layman, Ph.D., a protein researcher and professor emeritus in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois).
   
   
3. Leucine helps prevent muscle loss, which is really what we are focused on. As you age, muscles decay, which can cause weakness and ultimately a decline in physical activity, which in turn reduces muscle mass, etc. Leucine can help slow this deterioration, slowing or decreasing the effects of aging.
   
   Research, which included 12 men completing 100 minutes of high-intensity cycling, ingested 23g of protein along with 5g of leucine. They achieved near-maximal protein turnover. The research can be found here.
   
   
4. Improves performance. Research using 13 canoeists over 6 weeks found that supplementation increased upper body power and maximal aerobic power. The research is here.
    
   A further study of 36 subjects aged 65 - 75 showed that daily leucine supplementation improved functional status and lean tissue mass. The research overview can be read here.
   
   
5. Supports fat loss. In a study of exercise and how muscle develops, it was found that leucine has a particular effect in that it spares muscle proteins during weight loss.
   
   As a result, you lose fat, not muscle. Leucine is a great supplement for building muscle and reducing fat.
   
   
6. Stabilizes blood sugar. High blood sugar impacts several bodily functions and, in the longer term, can result in kidney problems. You can read more about this here. 

Leucine intake.

Read our tips and information on working out the right protein intake here.

Old Bull protein is a whey protein isolate formulated with a high percentage of protein and leucine, as outlined above. Leucine, along with protein and exercise, is key to avoiding Sarcopenia and the natural onset of muscle loss as one ages.