Beta Alanine

Beta alanine is one of the amino acids found naturally in the muscles and brain. This amino acid is available in nutritional supplements in powder or capsule form.

Beta-alanine is an amino acid and nutritional supplement well-known and popular in the sports community, especially among athletes and bodybuilders, although it is not comparable to well-known nutritional supplements such as whey protein and others.

Beta-alanine is used to improve and enhance athletic performance and physical fitness in general, in addition to reducing fatigue and muscle stress as well, and to other other details that we will address in this article.

 

What Is The Beta Now?

Beta-alanine is an amino acid that is found naturally in brain and muscle cells. The presence of this acid along with histidine forms carnosyn.

Carnosine or carnosine helps reduce one of the acids that impede the continuation of some types of sports activities, and this acid is called lactic acid.

When we do anaerobic exercises like sprinting. The body is not able to provide enough oxygen from breathing, because of the speed of the activity and because of the high intensity as well. Here the body does not depend on air to produce energy, so it is called anaerobic exercise.

This type of activity or exercise causes lactic acid to build up in the muscles. Beta-alanine supplements containing caronesin help reduce the spread of lactic acid in the muscles. Thus, we can say that supplementing with beta-alanine helps enhance the performance of athletes who do these types of exercise.

Studies and research have shown that beta alanine can help reduce fatigue in athletes who do intense and intermittent exercises such as sprinting, ie, as we said earlier, anaerobic exercise (source).

 

How Does Beta Alanine Work?

Beta-alanine is produced in both the liver and intestines by bacteria. When beta-alanine binds to histidine in the brain and muscles, carnosine is formed. Which in turn resists the accumulation and spread of lactic acid (source).

Beta-alanine also acts as a neuromodulator and inhibitor. It prevents the absorption of certain acids that cause respiratory problems, or cause oxidative stress and cell damage (source).

 

Benefits Of Beta-alanine

Enhance athletic performance

In two reviews of a study of 18,000 people, beta-alanine improved exercise capacity, strength, and endurance. This acid was effective in exercises that lasted from 30 seconds to 10 minutes (Resources 1 2).

Because the study was conducted on a large number of people, the results were mixed, in addition to the reason for the difference in their physical condition. But in general, beta-alanine helped improve exercise that is characterized by high intensity and short time (anaerobic exercise that lasts from 1 minute to 4 minutes) (source).

There are many similar studies that have been conducted to find out how effective beta-alanine is in enhancing athletic performance. A large number of these studies found positive results on high-intensity activities that are practiced in a short period of time.

 

Reduce Lactic Acid

One review showed that supplementing beta-alanine, or beta-alanine in general, reduces lactic acid build-up in muscles, delaying fatigue, during high-intensity anaerobic exercise (source).

In fact, though, a large number of studies support the claim that beta-alanine supplements have benefits in reducing lactic acid. However, some studies indicate that beta alanine did not improve performance. For example, in a study of 11 men sprinting, results after 5 weeks showed that the supplement did not support increased performance and reduced fatigue (source).

This does not mean that supplementing with beta-alanine does not support performance enhancement and lactic acid reduction, but science needs more studies to confirm this information only. Because a large number of studies have found positive results and benefits regarding the effect of beta-alanine on performance.

 

Unproven Benefits Of Beta-alanine

Apart from the benefits we mentioned earlier, some studies have found benefits for beta-alanine, but the number of these studies was small and insufficient. These unproven benefits are:

Increased muscle mass as a result of increased endurance in one study

Anti-aging, because improvement in exercise capacity in older adults has been observed in some studies.

Improving cognitive function under stress, because some studies showed positive results in improving cognitive function in a group of soldiers, and to other similar studies.

Reducing body fat and increasing lean muscle mass in one study.

 

Beta Alanine Side Effects

High levels of beta-alanine have been associated with some health risks. However, it should be noted that studies have not clearly demonstrated that beta-alanine is the cause. Because studies are only on animals. So there is no evidence that this amino acid will have the same effect on humans regarding the following effects.

 

Oxidative Stress

A study conducted in high beta-alanine levels showed that beta-alanine increased free radicals, decreased oxygen consumption, and led to the death of mitochondrial cells in mice. This reduces energy production and causes oxidative stress that can lead to heart failure (source).

In mice, long-term application of beta-alanine increased reactive oxygen species in the brain and decreased antioxidant activity (source).

However, the by-product ofMolecular beta-alanine, carnosine or carnosine, actually acts as an antioxidant that protects against Parkinson's disease in mice and reduces reactive oxygen species (Sources 3–4).

 

Hyper Beta-alanemia

Hyper-beta-alanemia, or hyper-beta-alaninemia, is a rare disease that increases levels of beta-alanine in the blood. It causes brain damage, decreased muscle tone and breathing problems. People with these should stay away from beta alanine (source).

 

GABA-Transaminase deficiency

GABA transaminase deficiency causes seizure disorders, in addition to causing accelerated growth in children. This deficiency is associated with an excess of beta-alanine in the spine (source).

 

Beta-alanine Side Effects

Keep in mind that the safety profile and potential side effects of beta alanine supplement have not been adequately researched. Therefore, the side effects that we will talk about below are not specific. You should consult your doctor in case you want more information or suffer from any health problems. This is in order to avoid problems with possible interactions between drugs and beta alanine supplement.

Doses greater than 800 mg (0.8 grams) of alanine beta-alanine can cause tingling, numbness, or itching. The reason for these effects is the activation of MRGPRD, a G protein-coupled receptor found in the skin's sensory neurons (source).

This tingling is a natural reaction of the body, and it can be reduced by dividing the dose into several times a day instead of taking it all at once.

Other side effects have not been well researched. However, some users have reported skin flushing or flushing (source).

 

Using Beta-alanine With Other Supplements

Beta-alanine is often used in combination with other supplements to improve overall performance. Although, research has found positive results for some of these supplements when used alongside beta-alanine. However, the evidence is insufficient in all of these groups.

 

Beta Alanine With Creatine

In fact, the use of beta-alanine with creatine is common, especially since creatine is a nutritional supplement that has been extensively studied and proven to enhance athletic performance, increase muscle mass, and other benefits.

In a 10-week study of 33 college football players, supplementation (beta-alanine with creatine) increased lean muscle mass and significantly decreased body fat compared to using a creatine supplement alone (source).

 

Beta Alanine With Sodium Bicarbonate

In a 4-week study in 37 athletes, combining a beta-alanine supplement with sodium bicarbonate reduced fatigue and improved performance and the amount of exercise done (source).

 

Beta Alanine with Taurine

In one study in mice, high concentrations of beta-alanine reduced taurine levels. However, the recommended dose for beta-alanine supplementation is very low compared to doses that may cause a low level of taurine (source).

For example, a study in 13 men found that taking a beta-alanine supplement for 10 weeks did not reduce taurine levels (source).

In another context, the combined use of beta-alanine supplementation with taurine supplementation helped mice combat muscle fatigue, not to mention that supplementing with taurine can replace the amount of taurine if it is reduced, of course (source).

 

Sources Of Beta-alanine

Sources of beta-alanine include protein-rich animal foods, especially meat and fish. Plus, of course, nutritional supplements.

 

Beta Alanine Dose

Because beta-alanine supplements are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration like most other supplements, there is no official dosage for use of this supplement. Users and supplement manufacturers have selected unofficial doses based on their experience.

Dosage and timing affect the results of beta-alanine supplementation. In fact, the benefits caused by beta alanine are mostly high doses ranging between 3.2 and 6.4 grams per day, and taken in this way for at least a month (source).

The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) recommends eating 4 to 6 grams per day for at least 4 weeks. And the dose can be divided to take it several times instead of taking it once directly. In order to reduce the side effects of tingling (source).

 

How To Use Beta-alanine

Eat 4 To 6 Grams Of Beta-alanine Daily

Try to divide the dose into 3 or 4 doses and keep the time between dose and the next dose at least two hours

In the case of a powder or powder, mix the dose with water or your favorite beverage, approximately 225ml with every 2g (2000mg) of beta-alanine, or as advised by the manufacturer of your chosen supplement.

In the case of capsules or pills, do not mix the capsule with water of course, but rather consume the dose with an amount of water or any healthy drink you prefer

It is recommended to take a dose before training and a dose after it, for example if you divide the dose into three times, take one dose of them before training and another dose after it

Repeat the steps daily for about 12 weeks to see the best results

The Difference Between Beta Alanine And L-alanine

L-alanine is the most common form of alpha-alanine, a non-essential amino acid found in the body. Beta alanine and L-alanine have the same molecular formula (C3H7NO2). L-alanine aids in protein metabolism and synthesis, plus it increases immunity and provides energy for muscle tissue, brain and central nervous system (Resources 5-6).

While beta-alanine increases muscle and brain carnosine, L-alanine increases blood sugar. This becomes clear whenUse of l-alanine to prevent low blood sugar in patients with type 1 diabetes (source).

From the above, you can know that the type that athletes generally need is beta-alanine because it forms carnosine. Which in turn helps us boost performance, reduce lactic acid and delay fatigue.

 

Best Beta Alanine Supplement

If you are looking for the best beta-alanine supplement, it is important that you look for the supplement that says carnosyn on the package. As supplements without this symbol, will not help us in the way we want to increase performance, reduce fatigue, and other ends.

In an article I wrote earlier and after comparing a group of popular nutritional supplements, three nutritional supplements with suitable specifications were found:

 

• Now Foods Beta Alanine Capsules

• Now Foods Beta Alanine Powder

• Mrm Nutrition Beta Alanine

You can, of course, go to the Best Beta Alanine Supplement article if you want to know the details about how to choose and what else. You can also visit the selected products page.