Jessicacs said
I know this may seem a silly question but I am unsure by what is different with BCAA's and Protein Powders?
Wouldn't they do the same job?
That sort of depends what you're asking. Protein powders (and other protein sources) all contain varying proportions of the three Branched Chain Amino Acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine). If you drink a BCAA drink or eat a slab of tuna, the BCAA function exactly the same. The difference is that the BCAA drink will be available to body almost immediately, whereas our slab of tuna needs to be digested and then protein broken down into the BCAA (and other amino acids). Does the immediacy of a BCAA drink have any benefit? Well, many (myself included) would argue that it does.
If on the other hand you're comparing a BCAA drink to a protein powder, well then then answer would be no because they are totally different products. BCAA can stimulate protein synthesis but not achieve it alone, for that you need the full nine Essential Amino Acids (EAA) - at least in dietary terms as the body can produce the remainder itself. If protein synthesis is a wall then BCAA is the cement (but you still need the building blocks - the remaining EAA - to milk an already lame analogy) 