Elemetx EliteAmine: The Post-Workout BCAAs of Canada

EliteAmine is Elemetx’s intra / post workout BCAA supplement that’s free of artificial colors and flavors.

Recently, we introduced you to Elemetx, a new Canadian supplement company who’s doing some pretty interesting stuff in the land of sports nutrition. We’ve already covered their incredibly well-dosed pre workout, Payload-ATP, and today we’re back to cover the brand’s intra/post workout BCAA product EliteAmine.

They normally like to market this one as a post-workout supplement, but given the aminos, so far we’ve actually preferred using this one during our workouts. The candy bubblegum flavor is fresh and enjoyable too!

Below you can see a bunch of links where EliteAmine is available:

EliteAmine Ingredients

Just like we encountered with Payload-ATP, EliteAmine has everything spelled out completely with a 100% transparent label. And, just like with saw with the brand’s pre workout, there’s no nasty artificial colors or flavors used here.

This is a 25 serving tub:

• BCAAs 2:1:1 (4g)

  

  EliteAmine is transparently dosed so you know exactly what you’re getting in each scoop.

  Starting things off for EliteAmine, is a decent 4g dose of the three BCAAs: Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine. In the 2:1:1 ratio, each scoop will contain 2g of Leucine, and 1g each of Isoleucine and Valine.

  Most of the workout community are aware of the benefits of BCAA supplementation surrounding the workout window, but just as a refresher, BCAAs are a unique type of amino that stimulate muscle protein synthesis.^[1,2] Furthermore, the three aminos also speed recovery and help offset muscle soreness, a condition know in the fitness world as the dreaded DOMS.^[3,4]

  4g is fairly decent dose for a product, but generally we’d like to see at least 5g total of BCAAs with at 2.5-3g consisting of Leucine.

• L-Glutamine (700mg)

  Right after BCAAs, glutamine is probably the single most well-known amino acid around. This isn’t just because it’s the most plentiful amino in the human body either, but more based on the fact that traditionally, glutamine has been synonymous with recovery.^[5]

  Most people tend to think this amino simply isn’t necessary to supplement given its plentifulness in the body, but they fail to remember that during intense physical activity (such as weightlifting), glutamine stores will be depleted and thereby necessitate supplementation.

  Basically, if you’re pushing your limits each and every time you’re in the gym, you’ll want to add some extra glutamine at some point to help cover your bases and enhance recovery.

• HICA (500mg)

  

  The Bubble Gum Punch flavor of EliteAmine tastes pretty good, but is a little too pricey for our standards.

  Hydroxy-Isocaproic Acid (HICA), a.k.a. Leucic Acid, is a metabolite of the most well studied branched chain Leucine. Why is leucine so heavily studied you may ask?

  Because Leucine provides the “kickstart” for the mTOR pathway in the body, which is critical for muscle growth as the mTOR pathway drives muscle protein synthesis. HICA is viewed as “more effective” form of leucine that is absorbed faster and therefore utilized more rapidly by the body.

  There are several other reasons why you’d want to make this leucine derivative part of your stack. To point out a few, HICA:

  • Reduces soreness^[6]
  • Increases lean body mass^[6]
  • Decreases fat mass^[6]

  We’ve really come to embrace this ingredient, and most companies don’t include it enough. We like the idea of Elemetx incorporating it into EliteAmine, yet we’d always take more if they’d provide it!!

  With HICA, glutamine, and the next ingredient in EliteAmine, hopefully you can say goodbye to soreness.

• Sustamine® (250mg)

  Sustamine® is a combination of the two amino acids L-Glutamine and L-Alanine, and is often displayed as L-Alanyl L-Glutamine. Even though we already have some glutamine in EliteAmine, the reason this is included is that most of the time regular old Glutamine is broken down in the stomach before it can make its way to your intestines and onto your muscles.

  However, pairing Glutamine with Alanine improves its bioavailability and absorption^[7,8], thereby insuring glutamine won’t be gobbled up by the stomach before it could do some real good for muscle recovery.

  The biggest question comes to dosage – is this enough to make a difference? Granted, we already have some glutamine, but will this provide enough L-Alanine alongside to contribute to gains?

• Coconut Water (300mg)

  

  You’ll find some interesting new ingredients like ActiGin in EliteAmine, but we had to swing you a 30% coupon to get really interested!

  Whenever you workout at a high intensity, you lose valuable water and electrolytes via sweating. As time goes on, and you continue to workout and sweat, it becomes crucial to replenish the depleted stores both during and after your workout to avoid nasty things like dehydration and muscle cramping.

  Coconut water is naturally rich in potassium and has become a trendy addition to many intra / post workout products lately. Most likely, this is because coconut water has been shown to improve hydration levels and restore electrolyte balance^[9], but it could also have been added to give the flavor system a bit of a kick – no doubt, it’s unique, as we’ll get into lower down.

• ActiGin™ (10mg)

  

  An interesting combination of Panax Notoginseng and Rosa Roxburghii developed by NuLivScience

  ActiGin™ is a patented specialized complex of panax notoginseng and rosa roxburghii developed by NuLivScience. ActiGin was developed as stimulant free endurance and recovery ingredient promised to improve overall athletic performance and recovery. Limited research has been conducted on the novel compound, but early trials show that it can increase time to exhaustion and decrease muscle damage as well as autophagy (process of cell destruction) damage.^[10,11]

  This is the most unique ingredient included in EliteAmine and something we’ll definitely have to keep our eyes out for.

• Added electrolytes

  We’re used to seeing sodium in BCAA supplements, since it’s often used as part of the flavoring profile. What we love is that the other two electrolytes are potassium and especially magnesium — the latter of which most people don’t get enough of. Electrolyte imbalances (such as too much sodium but not enough potassium or magnesium) can be bad for your blood pressure,^[12] which is never good when working out… especially since many of us also like to work out with stimulant-based pre workouts like Payload-ATP!

  If your diet isn’t in check, supplemental magnesium is always a great idea, and a dose of this will get you started on the path.

Flavors Available

As of this writing, EliteAmine only comes in one flavor: Bubble Gum Punch. This unique flavor tastes literally how you’d expect it – pretty light, and definitely covers up the bitter amino tastes and smells.

Hopefully, as the brand continues to grow, its line of flavors will expand in due course and other flavors will be added to the line up.

No artificial colors or flavors

Elemetx’s EliteAmine Benefits

EliteAmine also has no artificial colors or flavors. There is, of course, sucralose (an artificial sweetener), which we nearly always see with BCAA supplements like this. BCAAs are simply too bitter to successfully cover up with stevia, and sucralose sweetens it to perfection!

To handle the pink coloring, natural beet root is used.

Takeaway

Overall, EliteAmine is a solid amino acid supplement, but it ultimately comes down to a matter of price for us. This is why we’ve asked Elemetx for a 30% off coupon when we saw this formula and the original price.

We like the compilation of ingredients they’ve accumulated, but some of the doses could be a bit heftier. Ultimately, a couple of the ingredients’ doses could be higher, hence us needing 30% off the original price to get more interested. (Note: We are not getting sales commissions or anything – just asked for a coupon and got it!)

With that coupon, and the very unique bubble gum candy taste this product provides, it stands a good shot of getting onto our Best BCAA Supplement list, especially for our friends up north.

Below you can see a bunch of links where EliteAmine is available:

References

1. Norton LE, Layman DK. Leucine regulates translation initiation of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle after exercise. J Nutr. 2006 Feb;136(2):533S-537S.
2. Blomstrand E, Eliasson J, Karlsson HK, Köhnke R; Branched-chain amino acids activate key enzymes in protein synthesis after physical exercise. J Nutr. 2006 Jan;136(1 Suppl):269S-73S
3. Howatson G, Hoad M, Goodall S, Tallent J, Bell PG, French DN. Exercise-induced muscle damage is reduced in resistance-trained males by branched chain amino acids: a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012 Jul 12;9:20.
4. Sharp CP, Pearson DR. Amino acid supplements and recovery from high-intensity resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Apr;24(4):1125-30.
5. Bowtell JL, et al. Effect of oral glutamine on whole body carbohydrate storage during recovery from exhaustive exercise. J Appl Physiol. (1999)
6. Mero, Antti A., et al. Effects of Alfa-hydroxy-isocaproic Acid on Body Composition, DOMS and Performance in Athletes. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 7.1 (2010)
7. Hoffman, J; L-alanyl-L-glutamine Ingestion Maintains Performance during a Competitive Basketball Game. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 9.1 (2012)
8. Bowtell JL, et al. Effect of oral glutamine on whole body carbohydrate storage during recovery from exhaustive exercise. J Appl Physiol. (1999)
9. M. Saat, R. Singh, R. Sirisinghe, and M. Nawawi, Rehydration After Exercise With Fresh Coconut Water, Carbohydrate-Electrolyte Beverage and Plain Water, Journal of Physiological Anthropology and Applied Human Science, 21 no. 2 (2002).
10. Hou C, Lee S, Kao C et al. Improved Inflammatory Balance of Human Skeletal Muscle during Exercise after Supplementations of the Ginseng-Based Steroid Rg1. PLOS ONE. 2015;10(1):e0116387. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116387.
11. Yu S-H, Huang C-Y, Lee S-D, Hsu M-F, Wang R-Y, Kao C-L, et al. (2014) Decreased Eccentric Exercise-Induced Macrophage Infiltration in Skeletal Muscle after Supplementation with a Class of Ginseng-Derived Steroids. PLoS ONE 9(12): e114649. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0114649
12. Weglicki, W; “Potassium, magnesium, and electrolyte imbalance and complications in disease management.”; Clinical and experimental hypertension; January 2005; 27(1):95-112; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15773233