For decades, Animal Pak has been supporting athletes worldwide, with a massive “pak” of vitamins, minerals, and more meant for serious training. Over time, Universal Nutrition has expanded their Animal lineup, disclosing more and more of their formulas.
Everyone knows about Animal Pak and their straightforward, hard-hitting pre workouts. But what about intra workout? Going beyond BCAA, Animal Juiced Aminos are now more fully disclosed to PricePlow Nation!
On the training side, some of our recent favorites include Animal Pump Pro, Animal Fury, and Animal Cuts Powder, all great products to take pre workout (just don’t stack Cuts Powder and Fury!)
Animal Juiced Aminos: More formula disclosure!
But what about during your workout? When the wheels start coming off and the muscles start breaking down, what does Team Animal have to keep the aminos flowing?
Their answer is Animal Juiced Aminos, an enhanced amino acid supplement that goes beyond your standard BCAA formula… but with a unique twist in the EAA department.
We’re proud to say that in this article, Universal Nutrition is allowing us to disclose more of the Animal Juiced Aminos formula than ever before, an important moment for label disclosure and transparency. It’s all covered below, and available at a very affordable price, as shown on PricePlow below:
Universal Animal Juiced Aminos – Deals and Price Drop Alerts
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Animal Juiced Aminos Ingredients
Below is the label pulled off of AnimalPak.com:
The official Animal Juiced Aminos Ingredient label… but keep reading, we have more disclosure below!
There are two proprietary blends, a 6 gram BCAA & EAA matrix, with a 4 gram Juiced AA Performance blend. Thankfully, we can now disclose even more of this formula, so that you know you’re getting a solid hit of EAAs on top of the BCAAs:
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Anabolic BCAA & EAA Matrix – 6000mg
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Instant BCAA Blend (Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine) – 5000mg
To kick the Juiced Aminos label off, we have the tried-and-true 5 gram dose of the three BCAAs, leucine, isoleucine, and valine. The label doesn’t specifically state the dosages, but Animal’s website claims the standard 2:1:1 ratio, meaning we have 2.5g leucine, 1.25g isoleucine, and 1.25g valine.
Supplementing the three BCAAs bring anti-catabolic properties (they prevent muscle breakdown, especially when your brain and body need amino acids) that also help fight fatigue.[1-6] Leucine is well-known as the main BCAA, as it initiates mTOR signaling to promote muscle protein synthesis (MPS).[7-9] This is why leucine is almost universally the highest-dosed amino.
We love the BCAAs, but we love them even more when they’re combined with other essential amino acids – and that’s what we have with Juiced Aminos. Let’s dig deeper:
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Other EAAs – 1000mg
Added essential amino acids help take BCAAs from being anti-catabolic to pro-anabolic.[10,11] However, it’s worth noting that Animal has taken a unique stance in avoiding tryptophan and instead using arginine.
Amongst these primary amino acids, the essential amino acids are in red. Leucine, Valine, and Isoleucine are the three Branched-Chain Amino Acids.
Although we’re unafraid of taking tryptophan around a workout, many athletes simply do not like seeing it on the label, since it’s a precursor for melatonin production and has connotations with sleep (as we hear on news segments every Thanksgiving). Arginine, however, makes a suitable replacement, as it’s a nitric oxide precursor, something most Animal athletes prefer more!
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Lysine
Lysine supports protein synthesis but is also pivotal for collagen production, healthy immune function, red blood cell formation, and even wound healing.[12-14] It’s notably the other ketogenic amino acid next to leucine, which means it won’t get turned into glucose.
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Arginine
The big change-up from your standard amino acid supplement, arginine is a precursor for nitric oxide production,[15] and replaces melatonin precursor tryptophan in Juiced Aminos.
At this point, it’s well-known that citrulline works better in the role of nitric oxide production, but most don’t know that there are several studies demonstrating the combination of arginine and citrulline rapidly enhance NO levels better than either on their own![16-18] Lo and behold, we have a bit of citrulline malate to synergize with the arginine. Not huge doses, and you’ll still want more with your pre workout, but it’s a nice addition for those who don’t want to deal with tryptophan.
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Methionine
Feeling the need for even more pumps? Check out our article on Animal Pump Pro
Methionine is critically important in genetic instructions, and is the first amino acid of several peptide chains. It’s also a methyl donor and can convert to cysteine, hugely important for the immune system.[19] While critically important, it’s also the worst-tasting EAA, and we’re always impressed when brands don’t bury it at the end with scant doses.
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Phenylalanine
Phenylalanine is critical for our feel-good neurotransmitter and catecholamine production — especially dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Having this around is always a great idea, especially since these downstream neurotransmitters can boost fat oxidation.[20,21]
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Threonine
Threonine serves as a precursor for two other important amino acids, glycine and serine. It’s also used by the immune system and collagen synthesis.
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Histidine
Histidine is an important precursor for anabolic pathways, and helps combine with the beta alanine in your pre workout for the production of endurance-boosting carnosine.[22]
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Juiced AA Performance Blend – 4g
Now that we know the doses of the Juiced Performance Blend, we can see that we have a beyond clinical dose of taurine, which is worth a bit of a deeper dive:
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Taurine – 2g
Taurine is an ingredient known as an osmolyte – it helps the body maintain appropriate water balance across and between cells. It’s a conditional amino acid: while the body can make it, we almost universally do well with more.[23]
In terms of mechanism, all pathways aren’t fully understood, but taurine reduces oxidative stress, improves muscle contractions through better calcium signaling, boosts endurance (discussed below), and helps the body produce bile for better fat digestion.[23-25]
Taurine and endurance
A recent systematic review looked at studies where taurine supplementation was tested on endurance, and noted fantastic improvements when using anywhere from 1-6 grams[25] — and we’re well into that range here. Even more interesting, the effect was shown on the first use!
Focus and nitric oxide
Taurine can also improve cognitive performance and focus. A recent study showed that it restored function of GABA receptors, decreased neuroinflammation, stimulated synaptic function, and more.[24]
Finally, we’ve even seen improvements with nitric oxide levels and bioavailability, especially when paired with citrulline, another ingredient here.[26]
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Citrulline Malate – 1g
For years, we’ve trusted Animal Cuts as one of the most intensely formulated fat burners on the market. And now it comes in powder form, bringing tons of the “daily essentials” and more!
Citrulline’s already been discussed with regards to arginine and taurine, but it bears repeating that this is a key nitric oxide booster, synergizing with arginine yet working better than arginine alone.[27] With a gram of citrulline malate, we don’t have a clinical dose here, so you’ll definitely want to find more, which you can get in numerous Animal Supplements including Animal Pump Pro and Animal Fury.
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Glutamine, Carnitine, and Betaine – 1g
Finally, we have a small hit of glutamine, which may improve endurance in some athletes,[28] can reduce soreness and help recovery,[29] and provide some gut health.[30] There are also immune system benefits to be had.[31]
Carnitine is used as a fatty acid transporter to get lipids to the mitochondria,[32] and we’ll never say not to having some, but 2 grams is generally the clinical dose. For more pronounced effects, you may want to look at stacking with Animal Cuts Powder or just eat a ton of red meat (which will provide more EAAs as well, of course).
Betaine pairs well with taurine, as it is also an osmolyte and improves water transfer and “cell volumization”.
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Flavors Available
Universal Animal Juiced Aminos – Deals and Price Drop Alerts
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Disclosure: PricePlow relies on pricing from stores with which we have a business relationship. We work hard to keep pricing current, but you may find a better offer.
Posts are sponsored in part by the retailers and/or brands listed on this page.
Remember, as the creators of the Animal brand, Universal Nutrition manufactures their own supplements in a cGMP facility in New Jersey, and has long earned the trust of athletes worldwide.
Juiced Aminos Opens Up for PP Nation
We love getting the opportunity to look deeper into formulas. Animal’s Juiced Aminos provides an interesting take on an amino acid supplement. We can’t absolutely call it a “full essential amino acid blend” because it doesn’t have tryptophan, but most Animals out there don’t care, and will gladly take arginine as a replacement.
With the prices and flavor profile that Animal offers, there’s really no reason to take a straight BCAA supplement anymore. They’re no less expensive than this, and don’t provide as much anabolic or endurance support. At that price, you’re simply better off getting the added benefits of a big dose of taurine and some extra citrulline and betaine to top off your pre workout.
Look to stack this with Animal Pump Pro (stimulant-free) and Animal Fury (stimulant-based) or Animal Cuts Powder (for the dieters) and sip on it to keep the EAAs flowing. This way, your muscles don’t have to part with their precious aminos when things start breaking down and you’re not ready to stop yet… because you’re too busy training like an Animal.
Universal Animal Juiced Aminos – Deals and Price Drop Alerts
Get Price Alerts
No spam, no scams.
Disclosure: PricePlow relies on pricing from stores with which we have a business relationship. We work hard to keep pricing current, but you may find a better offer.
Posts are sponsored in part by the retailers and/or brands listed on this page.
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