Here’s a Quick Guide to Know What Is Phosphatidic Acid & How Its Beneficial to Increase Lean Body Mass
Time has evolved, and the fitness & nutrition industry is not behind. From broscience and pseudoscience, you’ll find all types of knowledge readily available. However, one thing that didn’t change and will never change is to build muscle; you’ll be required to train hard. Similarly, the dietary supplement has progressed and made its mark. Whey Protein is still an ideal supplement that all use, but there are still many other types of supplements that help build muscle, and one such supplement that claims to increase lean body mass is phosphatidic acid. Nonetheless, if you’re unaware and want to find out what is phosphatidic acid and whether it is real or just hype, don’t worry. We’re going to discuss it in detail about it.
But before diving into details, let’s first know what brought Phosphatidic Acid as a supplement (also abbreviated as PA) into the market.
How Phosphatidic Acid Made Its Mark in the Market as a Supplement?
Everyone knows that hitting the gym helps to increase your muscle growth. However, it’s appreciated that the intramuscular signaling pathway, called as mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin complex, which is a natural substance that regulates muscle growth), is needed to promote muscle growth. Hence, every time you go to the gym, you’re triggering the signaling pathway mTOR that allows you to increase muscle protein synthesis.
Further, even after decades of research, the exact mechanism of muscle growth wasn’t understood. However, PA (Phosphatidic Acid) has been playing a remarkable role in the process of muscle building. And once it became clear, Phosphatidic Acid as a supplementation started growing in the market.
What Is Phosphatidic Acid?
Phosphatidic Acid (PA) is a molecule that directs the mTOR signaling regulator. Put simply, Phosphatidic Acid turns on your muscle protein synthesis in response to the workout you do in the gym. PA (Phosphatidic Acid) plays an essential role in activating mTOR. Hence, researchers have questioned whether increasing the Phosphatidic Acid in the diet will impact muscle and strength building.
Further, Phosphatidic Acid is usually found in our diet, but the quantity is extremely small. The largest PA quantity found is in vegetables like cabbage, containing 0.5 MG per gram. Similarly, it won’t make any significant difference compared to 250 – 750 MG doses of PA, which is needed to see the difference in muscle mass.
Benefits
Here below are some potential benefits of using phosphatidic acid:
- Increased Muscle Mass: Phosphatidic acid helps increase muscle growth and strength. Supplementing with PA helps increase your muscle mass while improving your athletic performance.
- Improves Recover Time: It helps reduce muscle soreness while improving your recovery time after an intensive workout.
- Reduced Inflammation: Phosphatidic acid has an anti-inflammatory property. Hence, it helps reduce inflammation in your body while improving overall health. It can benefit individuals with autoimmune disorders or chronic inflammation.
- Improved Bone Health: Helps improve your bone health by increasing bone mineral density.
- Helps With Disorders of Gastrointestinal: Helps optimize hormonal levels for preventing or restoring disorders related to gastrointestinal such as stomach ulcers and diarrhoea.
- It’s Not A Banned Substance: Another significant benefit is its natural and safe use. Therefore, if you’re an athlete who must undergo a drug test, phosphatidic acid will not be an issue. Similarly, it doesn’t raise any major side effects that cause any major health issues.
Side Effects & Precautions
If you’re questioning whether phosphatidic acid affects testosterone, then don’t worry. It’s a safe supplement and doesn’t alter your endocrine response towards resistance training.
However, like any other dietary supplement, it can cause specific side effects in some people. For instance, you may experience stomach upset or nausea. Also, if you’re taking certain medications such as diabetes or blood thinner, then it’s recommended that you consult your doctor before going with this supplement.
Phosphatidic Acid – What Research Says?
By reading till here, we hope you have got an idea and are clear about what is phosphatidic acid. Now, to the research part, let’s know whether it is effective to increase your muscle protein synthesis by supplementing Phosphatidic Acid or not.
Research hasn’t been in-depth where they can provide information that it does increase your mTOR activation or muscle protein synthesis. But, for Phosphatidic Acid (PA) to show anabolic results on muscles, the oral dose of PA supplements must be absorbed by the bloodstream and taken up to the muscle.
Nonetheless, a small study was conducted on a well-trained man where a group of people took 750 mg of PA consecutively for 8 weeks and saw a 3.4% increase in their strength in exercises such as back squats and a 2.5% increase in their lean body mass.
Though 3% may not look a lot, but if you’re among someone who squats 300 pounds, it’s at least 9 pounds of increase, which is more than the placebo. Further, around 2.5% of lean body mass means you will have 2 to 3 pounds of extra lean muscle mass.
Dose & Cycle of Phosphatidic Acid
Following the guidelines given with the PA supplement you purchase is recommended. Nonetheless, it’s advisable to use for 8 to 12 weeks at 750 mg a day without post-cycle therapy (PCT). Similarly, it’s recommended to use it with food as it’s a lipid molecule.
Wrapping Up
Phosphatidic acid is one of those supplements that offers commitment and stays true it for potential muscle building. It helps activate mTOR and promote muscle protein synthesis that helps those who are looking to enhance their muscle growth efforts, especially those who do heavy, intense workouts.
Nonetheless, if you’ve read till here, we hope you’ve got an answer about what is phosphatidic acid. In addition, it’s a type of dietary supplement that has gained immense popularity due to its potential benefits on athletic performance, strength, and muscle growth. It’s found that it helps increase your muscle mass while improving your bone’s recovery time and density.
