If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the best BCAA for women is, then we recommend Performance Lab® SPORT BCAA as the best one.
Picking the right BCAA supplement can be tough for anyone, especially those new to BCAAs.
Picking the best BCAA for women adds a whole other set of considerations because although women can be just as hardcore and dedicated to fitness as men, their bodies are built differently and have different needs.
Here are the top BCAA we’ll be reviewing:
- Optimum Nutrition Instantized BCAA Capsules
- XTEND Original BCAA Powder
- MusclePharm Essentials BCAA Powder
- BPI Sports Best BCAA Shredded
- Performance Lab® SPORT BCAA
What Are BCAAs?
Short for Branched Chain Amino Acids, BCAAs – leucine, isoleucine and valine – are essential body nutrients.
They’re called “branched chains” because of their chemical structure.
In short, they stimulate protein building in muscles and can reduce the breakdown of muscles over time.
How Do They Work?
Unlike “normal” amino acids, BCAAs are broken down in muscles, not the liver.
As a result, they provide a person with more energy, alleviating fatigue.
They can provide better endurance and can even help to reduce pain and regulate sleep in some people.
What Are the Benefits to Women?
There are five main benefits usually associated with BCAAs.
They can:
- Help people with liver disease or Tardive Dyskinesia.
- Help stimulate muscle growth.
- Prevent muscle soreness.
- Lower instances of exercise fatigue.
- Cut back on the wasting away of muscle.
The benefits of the best BCAA for women, though, are a little different.
In women, BCAA’s four main benefits include:
- Aiding in weight loss and lean muscle building.
- Boosting strength.
- Increasing stamina.
- Improving the overall immune system.
Are There Any Disadvantages?
Some People Don’t Need Them
Because BCAAs can be found naturally in beef, lamb, cheese, yogurt and other protein-rich foods, the biggest disadvantage most people find when taking BCAA supplements is that nothing changes for them.
This is because people who eat high-protein diets already get enough BCAA.
Adding supplements does nothing for them because they’re already getting the amount they need through food.
Possible Diabetes Connection
Some scientists also believe that too much BCAA can be a risk factor for diabetes. BCAA can affect glucose levels, often in a positive way.
However, in certain people (particularly pregnant women, people about to undergo surgery or people who already have problems with blood sugar) the effects of BCAA supplements can have negative impacts instead.
Should You Use Them?
Whether or not you should use BCAA supplements depends largely on your diet, your physical health, and what you’re trying to accomplish by taking them.
If you already eat a diet heavy in protein-rich foods, BCAA supplements may be entirely unnecessary and useless for you.
Additionally, if you’re pregnant, pre- or post-surgery or have problems with diabetes/blood sugar, BCAA supplements may not be healthy for you.
Talk to your doctor first if you have concerns.
How Much Should You Take?
This, too, depends largely on you specifically.
However, if you don’t already eat a high-protein diet, a good rule of thumb for women is to take around nine grams a day.
If you’re extremely active, you could potentially go as high as 18 grams.
How Do You Pick the Right Product?
At the end of this article, we’ve picked out five products we consider to be the best BCAA for women, and they’re all quite good.
However, your own particular fitness goals, body type, tastes and preferences will ultimately be what determines which product is best for you.
If you’re totally new to purchasing BCAA supplements, start by thoroughly reading the products’ descriptions and the user reviews.
Spend some time investigating. Look at different online retailers, and read the reviews on each.
Try to stick to the “verified” reviews, as those are the ones most likely to be real, unbiased reviews.
Look at the highest- and lowest-rated reviews. See why some people loved the product and why others hated it.
When reading the negative reviews, determine why the users didn’t like the product.
It could be something as simple as not enjoying the taste or having received poor customer service.
Furthermore, after you’ve narrowed down your product selection, talk to other people at the gym.
See if any of them have any experience with the products you’re considering. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to try again.
The first product you try may not be right for you. That doesn’t necessarily mean BCAAs won’t work for you; it just means that particular product wasn’t the one.
The 5 Best BCAA Supplements for Women
Optimum Nutrition Instantized BCAA Capsules
Although Optimum Nutrition also sells BCAA powder, this particular product comes in capsules. Optimum Nutrition Instantized BCAA Capsules is unflavored and doesn’t need to be mixed with anything.
Getting the benefits from it is as simple as popping it in your mouth and chasing it with a glass of water.
For 400 capsules, it’s very reasonably priced, and each serving (two capsules) contains leucine, isoleucine and valine in a 2:1:1 ratio.
In terms of the “normal” benefits of BCAA supplements (muscle building, less fatigue and relieving muscle soreness) these capsules are comparable in effectiveness to other supplements.
Where these really shine, though, is in helping you maintain the muscle you build. A few of the women on our staff were really impressed with this particular benefit.
Pros
- Excellent at helping you maintain muscle.
- No bad taste.
- No wasted time mixing powders.
- Relatively inexpensive.
- Provides a little energy boost for about 30 minutes after taking them.
Cons
- Daily pill intake is high (average of six pills a day).
- Some women don’t like the initial 30-minute “boost.”
XTEND Original BCAA Powder
XTEND Original BCAA has 15 different flavors and just as many varieties of package sizes and quantities to fit every budget.
It advertises itself as “the world’s #1 BCAA brand,” and considering it’s been in business since 2004, that could be true.
The powder features a 2:1:1 ratio, and each serving includes seven grams of BCAAs.
There are no sugars, calories or carbs in the powder, and it’s been thoroughly tested by the National Sanitation Foundation for safety and quality.
This is one of the brands most used by professional athletes because it does everything BCAAs are supposed to do and does it well.
The downside is that it’s a mix that must be combined with water, and despite the wide variety of flavors, we couldn’t find one that tasted all that great.
Additionally, we were disappointed in the actual amount of product that comes in each container, which fills a little less than half.
Pros
- Wide range of package sizes/quantities to fit most budgets.
- Used by professional athletes.
- Has been in business for over 15 years.
- NSF-certified
Cons
- Doesn’t taste great.
- Disappointing content amount.
MusclePharm Essentials BCAA Powder
One of the best things about MusclePharm Essentials BCAA Powder is that its products are backed with a 30-day, 100% money-back guarantee, so you can try it risk-free.
The recipe features a unique 3:1:2 ratio of BCAAs that seems to work especially well for cultivating lean, rather than bulky, muscle mass.
There are no calories, sugar or carbs in the drink, and it’s caffeine-free and vegan-friendly.
In addition to cultivating lean muscle, its unique 3:1:2 ratio works really well to prevent exercise fatigue as well, and we noticed a big difference in our energy levels daily – not just during or after workouts – while using it.
The downside is that the size and flavor options are extremely limited, and although the price is great, the flavor isn’t. It’s strong and bitter, but we found if we added it to twice the suggested water amount, it was bearable.
Pros:
- Great price.
- Noticeable morning-to-night energy boosts.
- Great for building lean muscle.
- 30-day money-back guarantee.
Cons:
- Doesn’t taste great.
- Limited flavor/size options.
- Must be added to twice the amount of suggested water.
BPI Sports Best BCAA Shredded
BPI Sports Best BCAA Shredded is a somewhat decently priced BCAA powder that comes in five different flavors and a few different package sizes.
It, too, is backed by a 100% money-back guarantee, which makes taking a chance on it a lot easier than it otherwise might be.
While it helps build muscle and boosts your energy level during workouts, its most exciting benefit is that it’s excellent for helping with weight loss.
It contains citrulline, which helps improve oxygen delivery and blood flow and can enhance your workout, keep you feeling energized for longer, spur you to work harder and burn more calories.
We also noticed that our “bounce back” time was much improved with this product.
We didn’t often feel fatigued enough after using it to need to “bounce back,” but if any of us did overdo it, we were up and ready to go again by the next morning at the latest.
We did notice the powder was clumpier and more solidified than the others, and it didn’t always mix well.
That left us with an unappealing chalky consistency and a weird aftertaste we didn’t like. It wasn’t as fresh as some of the others either.
Pros:
- Great for weight loss.
- Contains citrulline, which adds a super workout boost.
- Inspires rapid recovery.
Cons:
- Powder is clumpy and doesn’t mix well.
- Aftertaste is unpleasant.
Performance Lab® SPORT BCAA
Although this product’s a little pricey, it lives up to the hype and is worth the extra cash.
Like the Optimum Nutrition BCAA, Performance Lab® SPORT BCAA also comes in capsules, which means no wasted time mixing drinks and no potentially bad tastes or aftertastes. It’s a 100% vegan-friendly product that’s been certified by the Good Manufacturing Practice.
The capsules contain no caffeine, no soy, no GMOs and no synthetic ingredients of any kind. The company also sells it in a one-, two- or three-month supply.
Most importantly, though, this product does everything BCAAs are supposed to do, while also doing even more.
Not only did it seem to help regulate the sleep schedules of some of our staff, but for others, there was actually a dramatic lessening of arthritis- and joint-related pain.
Muscle soreness and exercise fatigue were also nowhere in evidence while using this product.
Pros:
- Saves time; no mixing powders.
- No taste.
- Provides mental and physical benefits.
- Helps relieve joint pain and regulate sleep patterns.
- Wide variety of purchasing options (one-month, two-month, three-month).
Cons:
- Somewhat expensive.
Click here to read our full review of Performance Lab® SPORT BCAA.
Which Is Our Ultimate Pick?
Picking the best BCAA for women can be difficult because not all products work the same for all people who use them.
Just about every woman will have her own opinion about which product is best for her and why.
After talking to the women on our staff, though, we received an overwhelming number of favorable responses for the Performance Lab® SPORT BCAA capsules.
Even considering the higher price for the product, about 95% of women preferred it over the other options.
They all preferred the capsules to the powder for a number of different reasons.
Mostly this was due to simple convenience, but some chose capsules over powder because it saved time or because they didn’t enjoy the taste/texture of the powdered options.
Whatever the reason, every single female chose the two capsule options over the powdered options.
The vegans loved that the product was vegan-friendly, and the fact that it contains no caffeine, soy or GMOs was also appreciated.
We had a few who also swore they’ve never slept better than while using this product, and others noticed distinct improvements in their long-term pain levels.
For these reasons, we ultimately chose Performance Lab Sport as the best BCAA for women.
