One of my LEAST purchased powders is my citrulline peptides, so I figured I would write a blog post explaining why you might want to add this to your bodybuilding arsenal.
Believe it or not but the amino acid citrulline is not considered a protein amino acid. In addition, it is the ONLY amino acid not taken up by the liver.
To increase muscle mass, one must increase muscle protein synthesis. The most common way is lifting weights and improving one’s dietary protein intake. This is easily done by using high-quality protein powders such as native whey protein and hydrolyzed proteins. In addition, the use of leucine can support this process as well.
But another amino acid has been proven to increase muscle protein synthesis, and that amino acid is citrulline.
Many of you might associate citrulline with “pump supplements” and pre-workout supplements, which is fine. Hell, I marketed my citrulline peptides as a pump product, but it was very recently that I surprisingly learned the citrulline has dual benefits.
The consumption of 3.5 g of L-citrulline makes it possible to achieve a citrullinemia of between 650 and 900 µmol / L. in the blood. This citrullinemia has been associated with a 25% increase in the speed of muscle protein synthesis in humans (Jourdan et al 2015, ). This powerful effect on muscle protein synthesis takes place via the mTORC1 pathway (Moinard et al 2008).
The remarkable studies above prove that citrulline is a legitimate bodybuilding powder to help increase muscle mass and not just a pump product.
You may have noticed that the citrulline powder that I sell is citrulline peptides. In my opinion, I feel that peptides are better utilized by the human body than free-form amino acids. Therefore citrulline in peptide form may have a significant effect over L-citrulline.
How To Use Citrulline Peptides
Use 1 serving a day with a protein powder pre or post-workout.
Therefore it would look something like this…..
1/4 of Rilose
2 tsp of citrulline peptides
2 tbs of hydrolyzed 520
Liquid suggestions: pomegranate juice, lemonade, cranberry juice, or any bitter type flavor of Gatorade or Powerade.
The carb amount depends on your goals.
Alex Rogers is a supplement manufacturing expert. He has been formulating, consulting, & manufacturing dietary supplements since 1998. Alex invented protein customization in 1998 & was the first company to allow consumers to create their own protein blends. He helped create the first supplement to contain natural follistatin, invented whey protein with egg lecithin, & recently imported the world’s first 100% hydrolyzed whey.