Benefits of Leucine

Benefits of Leucine

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 are below, followed by information and links to supporting studies, trials, and research:

Supporting Leucine Studies

Links to supporting research and studies are included below. Leucine is also a key ingredient in Old Bull Protein and one of the highest in leucine in the market.

1. Leucine helps build and repair muscles as a key amino acid involved in muscle synthesis. Leucine can directly stimulate 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 making a protein supplement more efficient and the efficacy enhanced by the presence of other amino acids. You can read the findings here.
   
   
2. Having leucine after a workout helps muscle recovery and protein synthesis. Read this great study on cyclists, which showed enhancements in 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, to slow or decrease 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 resulted in increased upper body power and maximal aerobic power as a result of their supplementation. The research is here.
    
   A further study of 36 subjects aged 65 - 75 years old showed daily leucine supplementation improved functional status and lean tissue mass. You can read the research overview 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. If you want to build muscle and reduce fat, leucine is a great supplement.
   
   
6. Stabilises blood sugar. High blood sugar impacts a number of bodily functions and in the longer term can result in kidney problems. You can read more on 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 % of protein and leucine for the reasons outlined above. Leucine alongside protein and exercise are key elements in avoiding Sarcopenia and the natural onset of muscle loss as you age.