Are you taking EAAs (essential amino acids) to boost your workouts?
If you’re taking them on an empty stomach you might be getting unwanted side effects such as queasiness and dizziness. Here’s why, and how to fix it.
Why are EAAs Making Me Dizzy?
If you’re taking pure EAA powder– no additives or sweeteners, and having an undesired reaction, there are a few scenarios that could be at play.
- Essential amino acids hit your gut and disperse into your bloodstream quickly. This can shock your system into an insulin response. If you’re working out fasted and low on glucose, then it can mirror hypoglycemia.
- EAAs can irritate the gut lining, causing nausea.
- Concentrated powder pulls water and blood flow into the GI tract and can lead to mild hypotension, queasiness and lightheadedness.
The fixes
Take EAAs with food– this will buffer the effects, give the gut something along with the powder to avoid irritation, and provide glucose to mitigate the insulin response.
If you insist on taking them on an empty stomach, then here are a couple of options: Try cutting the dose in half, or sipping over a 10-15 minute timespan to disperse the effect.
Add sodium– this helps stabilize blood pressure.
Consider skipping them altogether. If you’re getting enough dietary protein, EAAs are not necessary. They can be beneficial during a heavy workout because they hit the gut and become available quickly. If you’re getting through your workouts just fine without them, then you could eliminate them altogether.
The latter is the choice I’ve made. I hit my daily protein targets consistently. I have no problem working out fasted in the early morning. EAAs were giving me gut upset and dizziness. So I eliminated them. I’ll still keep the option open to take them with food if I need a protein boost on a given day, but I don’t need them in general.
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