The gains came from a pooled group that was not just BCAAs
Thirty-five trials in older adults found small gains in strength and muscle mass. The pooled category included whey protein, amino acid blends and leucine-enriched products.
What the study found
Whey protein is inside the category called BCAA-rich
Thirty-five trials in older adults, small gains in strength and muscle mass, and one word doing the work: rich. The pooled category was supplements rich in branched-chain amino acids, defined to include whey protein, essential amino acid blends and leucine-enriched products.
The caveat · Underfed older adults, not lifters
Fourteen of the 35 trials carried some risk of bias, and the authors report high heterogeneity. Older adults, many of them at risk of undernutrition, so the baseline protein intake is not a well-fed lifter's. Physical performance sat exactly on the significance line, an interval starting at zero.
What we don't know
Fourteen of the 35 trials carried some risk of bias, and the authors report high heterogeneity. Older adults, many of them at risk of undernutrition, so the baseline protein intake is not a well-fed lifter's. Physical performance sat exactly on the significance line, an interval starting at zero.