This review examines Nutricost’s BCAA Powder. This product contains 6 grams of BCAAs – L-leucine, L-isoleucine and L-valine – in a 2:1:1 ratio. There are different sized bottles available and each comes with its own scoop. This powder comes in a variety of flavors which are grape, green apple, pineapple, raspberry lemonade, strawberry kiwi, unflavored and watermelon. This can be taken both before and after workouts. This product contains non-GMO and gluten free ingredients. It is made in a GMP compliant, FDA registered facility and is third party tested.
Nutricost is a reputable supplement brand, known for producing many types of supplements. We like that they have a money-back guarantee and even accept returns of up to one unopened bottle. While Nutricost’s BCAA formula does cover many of the criteria for a good quality BCAA powder, there are several places where they are lacking.
To begin with, the amount of BCAAs, Branched Chain Amino Acids, contained in this powder is 6 grams. While it is not the lowest we’ve found, it is certainly not the highest. In order to deliver the maximum impact to muscle fibers, we would have expected a higher dose.
This powder is very bare-bones in that it does not have any additional ingredients besides the BCAAs, namely L-leucine, L-isoleucine and L-valine. We respect this purity, however, research has shown that the addition of certain amino acids, like L-glutamine or L-citrulline, will actually boost nitric oxide production in the muscles.
We also would have liked to see the addition of a blend of electrolytes. As people sweat from intense exercise, they lose water and electrolytes. Electrolytes are crucial for many bodily functions and are oftentimes replaced with sugary drinks. Instead, adding them to a BCAA powder seems like a more logical step.
With regards to sugar, many BCAA powders do add sugar to mask the extremely bitter and acidic taste of BCAAs. Unfortunately, this powder is no exception. It also contains artificial flavors. This is disappointing. Adding sugar or artificial flavoring when you are trying to take care of your body, is absolutely not ideal.
This product is relatively cheap and may appeal to people because of its price but many times with supplement companies, you get what you pay for. In this case, each consumer must weigh heavily what this price will actually deliver.
The last point we want to mention is the source of the BCAAs in this powder. Most BCAA powders will mention that they are vegan or vegetarian. This is because BCAAs are often sourced from animal fur, human hair, pigskin and duck feathers. The keratin from these sources are treated with harsh chemicals in order to extract BCAAs. Both for humane and safety reasons, we would have liked to see a source listed for this product. We are left feeling slightly disappointed in this powder, to say the least.
Is Nutricost BCAA Powder Effective?
We find that reading customer reviews sheds a lot of light as to the efficacy of any product. We could not find any reviews on the official Nutricost website for this powder, so we looked at third-party sites, such as Amazon. There was a good amount of reviews to sift through.
People who wanted to avoid artificial flavorings and sweeteners were pleased to try the unflavored version of this powder. However, even the positive reviews warned that the taste is horrific. Someone compared it to smelling like ‘wet dog’. A large number of reviews complained that this powder did not easily dissolve into their drinks. Instead, the mixture clumped and was difficult to consume.
Is Nutricost BCAA Powder Safe?
As with any new supplement or health product introduced into your daily life, we always advise talking to your healthcare professional about possible contraindications of any pre-existing medical conditions or medications that you are taking. Nutritional health products work differently for everyone and the effects vary between individuals so it is always a good idea to run any health changes with a professional.
Summary
At first, Nutricost BCAA Powder appeared to have most of the qualities we look for in a BCAA powder. It has a 2:1:1 ratio of L-leucine to L-isoleucine and L-valine. It contains non-GMO and gluten free ingredients. It is also a reputable company that manufactures its health products in a CMP compliant, FDA registered facility and uses third party testing. In addition, there is a money-back guarantee that they stand behind. However, there are some parts of this formula that are lacking when compared to other high-quality BCAA powders.
First of all, the total dose of BCAAs is only 6 grams. This is lower than we would have liked to see in order to deliver the maximum amount of energy to the muscle tissue.
Second of all, there are ingredients missing from this formula such as additional amino acids to provide a boost of nitric oxide. We would have also liked to see an electrolyte blend to replenish electrolytes lost during intense exercise.
Third of all, this is not a vegan-friendly product. BCAAs are often sourced from human hair, animal fur, pigskin and duck feathers. In order to ensure this is not the case, it is of utmost importance to look for vegan powders.
Finally, we were disappointed to see the addition of sucrose, which is sugar, as well as artificial flavorings. We have seen other products that use stevia, which is a natural herb, and do not have to rely on any artificial ingredients. Ultimately, it is the consumer’s decision how to spend their money. For those people who are working so hard on sculpting their muscles, it seems silly to fill their bodies with junk.
Visit site
