Dear Friend,

Here at USPlabs, we LOVE BCAA's…

The problem is we take so much of them, all of the artificial flavors and colors in high amounts were giving us headaches, making us nauseous and basically leaving us feeling lethargic and, quite frankly, like a nap…

…In addition, and maybe even more importantly, we just couldn't find the BCAA ratio we wanted…

So we did what we do best - developed our own…It's called USPlabs Modern BCAA™

Rules For Modern BCAA

We made it VERY clear to our R&D team – Modern BCAA had to be developed under strict rules:

• BCAA Ratio formulation with mTOR activation in mind
• Ultra-Micronized
• Mix Clean
• No Artificial Colors
• Refreshing Taste
• No Regular L-Glutamine

mTOR- Little Known Anabolic Pathway

If you've never heard of mTOR (and even if you have), listen up, as this is one of THE most under-rated anabolic & protein synthesis pathways known to man…and, chances are, you're not even coming close to maximizing its enormous potential…

mTOR (Mammalian Target of Rapamycin) is a large proline-directed serine-threonine protein kinase that's responsible for a wide range of physiologic and metabolic functions in several cell types, including both adipocytes (fat cells) and myocytes (muscle cells)…

Among its many roles, mTOR is responsible for hypertrophic growth (an increase in muscle cell size, for example), protein synthesis and tissue morphogenesis…Compounds that target the regulatory pathways of mTOR have been highly sought out for quite some time…

A wide range of data have suggested that amino acids are capable of directly regulating mTOR signaling pathways in skeletal muscle (1, 2, 3, 4), including the possibility that they activate some of the cell signaling elements upstream from mTOR in the insulin/growth factor signaling pathway…

Unlike Your Mom, mTOR DOES Play Favorites

However, this same data suggest that the amino-acid induced activation of mTOR signaling pathways is not uniform, and there is evidence that the mechanism of mTOR activation may be both tissue and amino acid specific (5, 6).

In particular, the amino acid leucine is indicated as being primarily responsible for the branched chain amino-acid induced activation of mTOR signaling pathways, and therefore mTOR's effect on protein turnover and synthesis (1 – 6).

This hypothesis has come about as studies have shown that most of the effects of amino acids on mTOR signaling are abolished by lowering the concentration of leucine, or increased by adding leucine and, to a lesser extent, the other branched-chained amino acids.

Leucine IS the Star…BUT…

In other words, leucine is the star, but it also must be mentioned that the other two BCAA's, isoleucine & valine, need to be present in order to maximize results…

8-1-1 BCAA Ratio

With the above in mind, we've formulated USPlabs Modern BCAA with an 8-1-1 leucine-isoleucine-valine ratio…

In terms of the leucine, the reasoning here is that, from a strictly technical standpoint, the data displays that only leucine and those other amino acids structurally related to leucine are responsible for the increase in mTOR commonly associated with BCAA supplementation.

Results & Value

As you know, many people are doubling, tripling, even quadrupling their dosage of BCAAs with a 2:1:1 & 4:1:1 bias in order to achieve better results…

Given the fact that leucine is most likely the amino acid responsible for this effect, particularly in skeletal muscle, having a formula with an 8:1:1 ratio eliminates the need for such increased dosing, effectively creating an enormous value in addition to the other benefits.

3 Man Enter – 1 Man Leave

The other issue here is amino acid transport and metabolism. All three of the branched chain amino acids – leucine, isoleucine and valine – compete for the same transport systems, and as a result, the presence of high concentrations of the other two branch-chained amino acids may lower intracellular levels of leucine…

…Obviously NOT what you want…

This is further compounded by the fact that once ingested, leucine first fulfills other structural roles unrelated to protein metabolism prior to activating mTOR signaling pathways…

The result is that BCAA products with a 2:1:1 or 4:1:1 bias may actually counteract the anabolic effects from the product, as these substrates are pitted against one another to compete for metabolism.

Ultra-Micronized

Let's be honest – when your uncle was rockin' his Zubaz & fannypack, he was drinking the same bulky BCAA's that you're drinking right now…

Sure, now there's instantized BCAA's – but they are incredibly expensive & made by using soy…

And I know you're tired of BCAA "floaties" and losing valuable product stuck to the side of the bottle…

That's why the BCAAs in Modern BCAA utilize an advanced micronization process that produces an incredibly light and voluminous powder that mixes great!

Plus, Modern BCAA will keep you on your game at the gym or at work – no

BCAA moustache or stained teeth to worry about…

Are You Drinking Ammonia?

Everyone knows creatine can quickly turn to its waste byproduct creatinine when mixed in water…

So why doesn't anyone ever talk about what L-Glutamine can break down to?

Middle School Memories

Remember that nasty ammonia smell when your middle school custodian was washing the floors? You could just smell and taste the toxicity…

No way you would ever drink that stuff, right?

WRONG!

That's if you've been drinking L-Glutamine…

L-glutamine is known for its instability, in the dry state and especially in an aqueous solution (5,6). The degradation products from L-glutamine can be glutamic acid, ammonia and pyroglutamic acid, the latter two being potentially toxic (5-9).

What's worse is the longer it sits in water, the more degradation takes place!

Yuck!

Needless to say, that's why we made it a rule that L-Glutamine was not in the USPlabs Modern BCAA™ formula…Instead, to assist with blood glutamine pools, we've included a compound called Sustamine™…

Sustamine

This particular product consists of a glutamine dipeptide (L-alanyl-L-glutamine), which is more stable and far more water soluble than regular L-glutamine (1).

These physicochemical properties alone may provide greater effectiveness as compared to l-glutamine. However, the presence of a unique intestinal transporter for the dipeptide may also allow for an increased amount of glutamine to reach the bloodstream and into skeletal muscle as compared to regular free L-glutamine (2-4).

These notions are supported by the higher glutamine concentrations in plasma and skeletal muscle of animal models administered alanyl-glutamine, as compared to those observed with free L-glutamine (3,4).

This is important because up to 65% of regular L-glutamine can be destroyed before it makes its way to your muscles…

Would You Step Over a $20 Bill To Pick Up A Quarter?

As mentioned, we added Sustamine to assist with blood glutamine pools, but I want to make it abundantly clear we're not trying to win glutamine product of the year here…

USPlabs Modern BCAA is a BCAA formula first & foremost because, quite frankly, that's what delivers the goods…

If you want a bunch of ingredients that really won't have a significant impact on your physique & performance, then Modern BCAA probably isn't for you…

I mean, why run a 6 yard draw when you can hit a 60 yard bomb over the top?

If you want an awesome BCAA product designed for those who truly realize just how important BCAA's are, then USPlabs Modern BCAA was made with you in mind.

Unbelievable Taste

Yes, I know, you've heard that one before – only to be disappointed…And while taste is highly subjective, I'm incredibly confident you’ll…

Want to drink it all day long!

Modern BCAA comes in three incredibly refreshing flavors:

• Grape Bubblegum (mixes clean with slight purple tint)
• White Blue Raspberry (White because there is no coloring –natural blue coloring is unstable so we decided to leave it out - and Blue because it tastes and smells like you expect Blue Raspberry to).
• Fruit Punch

 

Best,

Team USP

---

References

1. Anthony J. C., Anthony T. G., Kimball S. R., Vary T. C., Jefferson L. S. Orally administered leucine stimulates protein synthesis in skeletal muscle of postabsorptive rats in association with increased eIF4F formation. J. Nutr. 2000;130:139-145
2. Tischler M. E., Desautels M., Goldberg A. L. Does leucine, leucyl-tRNA, or some metabolite of leucine regulate protein synthesis and degradation in skeletal and cardiac muscle?. J. Biol. Chem. 1982;257:1613-1621
3. Kimball S. R., Shantz L. M., Horetsky R. L., Jefferson L. S. Leucine regulates translation of specific mRNAs in L6 myoblasts through mTOR-mediated changes in availability fo eIF4E and phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6. J. Biol. Chem. 1999;274:11647-1
4. Buse M. G., Weigand D. A. Studies concerning the specificity of the effect of leucine on the turnover of proteins in muscles of control and diabetic rats. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1977;475:81-89
5. Patti M. E., Brambilla E., Luzi L., Landaker E. J., Kahn C. R. Bidirectional modulation of insulin action by amino acids. J. Clin. Invest. 1998;101:1519-1529
6. Shigemitsu K., Tsujishita Y., Miyake H., Hidayat S., Tanaka N., Hara K., Yonezawa K. Structural requirement of leucine for activation of p70 S6 kinase. FEBS Lett 1999;447:303-306
7. Fox H. L., Pham P. T., Kimball S. R., Jefferson L. S., Lynch C. J. Amino acid effects on translational repressor 4E-BP1 are mediated primarily by L-leucine in isolated adipocytes. Am. J. Physiol. Cell Physiol. 1998b;275:C1232-C1238
8. Furst P. New developments in glutamine delivery. J Nutr. 2001 Sep;131(9 Suppl):2562S-2568S.
9. Klassen P, et al. The pharmacokinetic responses of humans to 20 g of alanyl-glutamine dipeptide differ with the dosing protocol but not with gastric acidity or in patients with acute Dengue fever. J Nutr. 2000 Feb;130(2):177-182
10. Rogero MM, et al. Plasma and tissue glutamine response to acute and chronic supplementation with L-glutamine and L-alanyl-L-glutamine in rats. Nutr Res. 2004 Apr;24(4):261-270
11. Rogero MM, et al. Effect of alanyl-glutamine supplementation on plasma and tissue glutamine concentrations in rats submitted to exhaustive exercise. Nutrition. 2006 May;22(5):564-571
12. Shih FF. Analysis of glutamine, glutamic acid and pyroglutamic acid in protein hydrolysates by high-performance liquid chromatography. J Chromatogr. 1985 Mar 29;322(1):248-256
13. Archibald RM. Chemical characteristics and physiological roles of glutamine. Chem Rev. 1945 Oct;37(2):161-208
14. Stehle P, et al. Isotachophoretic analysis of synthetic dipeptide L-alanyl-L-glutamine: Evidence for stability during heat sterilization. J Chromatogr. 1984;294:507-512
15. Khan K, et al. The stability of L-glutamine in total parenteral nutrition solutions. Clin Nutr. 1991 Aug;10(4):193-198
16. Khan K & Elia M. Factors affecting the stability of L-glutamine in solution. Clin Nutr. 1991 Aug;10(4):186-192