Is HMB Making a Comeback? (NEW RESEARCH)

[00:00] Trendy fitness supplements come and go, but sometimes they try to sneak back in and make a comeback, and thanks to new research showing some decent muscle gains, we might see this happen with HMB. Well before we get bombarded with a bunch of ads on our phones, let's get ahead

[00:16] of the curve a bit. Let's poke around with these new findings and see what it really has to share. There was a time that HMB, short for beta, hydroxy, methylbutyrate was indeed all the hype,

[00:28] but that's also all it was. It was claimed though to have anabolic and anti-catebolic effects, meaning it cannot only help us build muscle, but also prevent us from losing it. But after getting some early traction, we started seeing studies investigating HMB's supposed effects,

[00:44] and much like my deadlift PR, the results were not impressive whatsoever, but maybe a little bit of a comeback is in store for HMB if the positive findings in a new meta analysis is anything to go by.

[00:57] Let's break it down real quick. This meta analysis collectively analyzed the findings of 21 randomized control trials, RCTs, in pre-existing scientific studies. The goal was to analyze HMB's impact on multiple effects, some of which are muscle related.

[01:12] And after analyzing the 21 RCTs, the researchers did find that taking HMB had a positive moderate effect on muscle growth measurements. The researchers ultimately concluded that HMB

[01:24] can improve muscle mass and recommend it a dose of three or more grams a day for at least 12 weeks to see benefits. Sounds pretty darn great, doesn't it? Well, unfortunately, it's time to go lost our wars episode nine and become galactically disappointed.

[01:39] There is one big caveat to this study, and it's the group of subjects they targeted. Since HMB is supposedly anti-catebolic, the researchers wanted to specifically pay attention to people that would most likely benefit from muscle loss prevention. And that is older adults.

[01:54] Usually this is something we can at least work with to make some educated predictions to apply for other age groups, especially younger adults. Unfortunately, in this case, things are a bit different since H plays a pretty significant role. You see, HMB is a

[02:09] lucine metabolite, and lucine is a very anabolic branch chain amino acid with many proven effects. Lucine is also found in protein, and what past research has shown is that if we were to eat

[02:22] sufficient protein, we will essentially negate any benefits HMB has to offer. Thing is, protein intake levels vary significantly across different age groups. Older adults on average tend to eat less protein. Unfortunately, not all 21 of these RCTs reported

[02:39] protein intake levels so we can't say for sure, but one of them that reported particularly great results with HMB was actually conducted with malnourished hospital patients that I would presume ate extremely little protein. I'd wager that protein intake was also quite low for most of the

[02:56] other RCTs, which would then exaggerate the benefits of HMB. Of course, that means HMB might at least be great for people that do eat little protein, which is very common. Unfortunately for HMB, that problem is also answered much more effectively with, you know, actual protein or even BCAA supplements.

[03:14] But another caveat is that the researchers of this new analysis also found some serious inconsistencies and quality issues with a lot of these RCTs. So things for HMB are once again pointing towards nothing but hype, which then leads me to rating HMB as a general fitness supplement with a solid

[03:31] 1.5 out of 5 pick fit points. It's still clearly several steps, big steps below the top supplements. It's interest entirely hinges on a lack of protein intake, which, sure, might bump it up

[03:44] to two pick fit points for people in that situation. But again, why not take protein supplements at that point? So final verdict, HMB would HMB a pretty poor supplement choice. If you enjoyed this video,

[03:56] then please give it a supplemental thumbs up and share it with your HMB loving friends. Subscribe for more, let me know what you think in the comments, as always. Thank you for watching, and don't forget to get your protein.