L-leucine is an essential amino acid, meaning you must
obtain it through diet because your body can't produce it. You can acquire
L-leucine by eating meat, dairy products, eggs, soy and other beans, or by
taking it as a supplement. Leucine has potential benefits for weight, lean
muscle mass and cholesterol levels. A
number of our products at Shop Soma Life contain healthy
amounts of L-Leucine.
Muscle Maintenance
L-leucine, like other essential amino acids, helps maintain
muscle mass. For this reason, many bodybuilders and athletes take leucine
supplements. One study with animals published in the December 1, 2005 issue of
the "Journal of Physiology" found that feeding aged rats leucine
inhibited muscle protein breakdown. Another article in the journal discusses
this research, explaining that although decreasing dietary fat is advisable for
older people, continuing to eat high-quality protein is important.
Weight Loss Benefits
Another animal study, this one appearing in the May 2009
issue of "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise," evaluated
the effect of L-leucine along with exercise on weight loss in rats who
previously ate a high-fat diet for 15 weeks. Researchers divided these rats
into two exercise groups, with one group receiving leucine supplementation.
Exercise combined with leucine had stronger effects on weight loss than
exercise alone.
Cholesterol Levels
During the May 2009 "Medicine & Science in Sports
& Exercise" study, supplementing the rats with leucine also increased
blood levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, the so-called
"good" cholesterol. Research published in the June 2007 issue of
"Diabetes" investigated the effects on cholesterol levels in mice
supplemented with leucine in drinking water. Leucine had no noteworthy
metabolic effects on rats eating regular chow. It did produce significant
effects on the group eating a high-fat diet compared with other mice eating the
same diet without leucine supplementation. Consuming leucine resulted in up to
a 32 percent decrease in weight gain and a 25 percent decrease in body fat in
these mice, along with improving insulin sensitivity and preventing high blood
sugar. The mice receiving leucine also experienced decreased levels of
low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, the "bad" cholesterol, of 53
percent and decreased total cholesterol levels of 27 percent.