Ridecamp: Re: [RC] B.C.A.A. Complex

Scott--I think the difference is that e'lytes are to restore critical levels
of nutrients whose deficiencies can lead to very serious health problems
very rapidly, due to their major roles in the nervous system.   If I'm
understanding the idea behind BCAA's, they are meant to be performance
enhancers, or at least are being interpreted as performance enhancers.  From
a scientist's viewpoint, I'm not entirely sure how they can be incorporated
into muscle tissue rapidly enough (at least during the ride or by preloading
the day of the ride) to make any appreciable difference.

Keep in mind that all the proteins in the body are in a constant state of
flux.  This means that proteins are continually being broken down and
resynthesized.   I have no argument that any BCAA which is a dietary
essential would beneficial to the animal overall, and you cannot
specifically design a BCAA product that will target muscle tissue.  However,
that's not to say skeletal muscle wouldn't get preference over the large
majority of the supplemented BCAA's simply because skeletal muscle makes up
such a large part of the body.  However, they could easily end up in enzymes
and other proteins that are simply involved in body maintenance, and might
possibly have no effect on competition performance at all.

WARNING: BIOCHEMISTRY ARGUMENT AHEAD--READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Where I think the controversy ultimately lies is that they are deliberately
using L forms of the amino acids...this is the form which is used and
created in the body.  If you were to test the blood for their presence, you
wouldn't be able to chemically distinguish the BCAA that come from the tube
of paste from the ones released from the breakdown of muscle tissue that
occurs during the competition.  While the intent might not be to
deliberately get around testing, nevertheless that's the result...and they
ARE being marketed as being designed to improve performance.  From a
nutritionist's viewpoint, I think that is why it would fall under the rules
of prohibited substances and e'lytes do not.

Another way you can look at it is this:  E'lytes are supplemented because
they are critical micronutrients that are NOT recoverable by the body as
they are lost in sweat and urine in tremendously large quantities over the
course of the competition.  BCAA's, on the other hand, are not.  There is a
supply of them still available in the body for protein resynthesis from the
muscle tissue that is breaking down. Even simpler:  E'lyte loss combined
with dehydration can in extreme cases kill a horse. Not supplementing BCAA's
isn't going to have any sort of drastic effect on the health of the
horse--they are meant to enhance performance.  To me, that's the ultimate
distinction.



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
 Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
 Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=