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My background, when pertaining to nutrition, has always been based around weight training...consuming amounts of protein that would give a T-Rex G.I. discomfort.  Low carb, low fat, high protein.  When I started looking into gels and noticed  that the thought of protein seemed to faintly exists in the endurance world it was hard to swallow.  The only gel I have found with protein in it is Accel gel made by Pacific Health Labs.  It has a 4:1 carb to protein ratio and has a moderate amount of sugar.  Most gels use maltodextrin, a complex carb, to make up around 70% of the carbohydrates.  The other 30% or so are usually fructose and/or sucrose.  There are also a few out there that use honey, which has it's benefits.

Amino Acids - The Building Block

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, which makes up muscles.  There are more than 500 amino acids but humans only use 20.  Their function of protein synthesis usually being the top rave for athletes, these badass molecules have numerous functions in the human body: formation of hemoglobin, formation and use of hormones, balancing mood and sleep, metabolism, immune functions, etc.  The human body can synthesis 11 of the 20, leaving the nine "essential amino acids" that must be ingested.

Essential Amino's:

• Histidine
• Isoleucine
• Leucine
• Lysine
• Methionine
• Phenylalanine
• Threonine
• Tryptophan
• Valine

Of those nine, there are three branch chain amino acids (BCAA) which have been believed consuming higher amounts can help with building muscle.  Isoleucine, Leucine, and Valine combinations can be found at every nutrition store you walk into.  Glutamine, a non-essential, also has a spotlight, and rightfully so.  Glutamine has a huge role in healing, which makes a great supplement in weight and endurance training.  It also has been proven to increase plasma HGH (Human Growth Hormone) levels when ingesting orally by stimulating the anterior pituitary gland...now I have the attention of the bodybuilders!  Arginine, being a precursor for synthesis of nitric oxide, reduces healing time, helps decrease blood pressure, and necessary for creatine synthesis, is another one.  So you will most often see BCAA supplements with the additional Glutamine and Arginine.  

With all this being said, in my journey to iron I will be supplementing with BCAA's and Glutamine.  I have purchased a few mixes that I will be using in my training, Amino Vital's 7500ER and BSN's Volumaize®.  The Volumaize lacks Glutamine, so I purchased that as well to add to the mixture.  Both have maltodextrin to make up the carbohydrates, which I'm cool with.  The Volumaize is crazy sweet so I have to use more water, but the flavor's not bad..  I guess we'll see what happens.  

Oh, and I got 99% of this info from Wiki...I'm not that damn smart.