Benefits and effects of Beta Alanine

Beta alanine-usage,,benefits and side effects

What is Beta Alanine?

One of the amino acids found in the structure of the muscle is Beta-alanine. Beta Alanine does not generally contribute to synthesizing proteins, that means it does not get involved in the process of building muscle. However, Beta alanine is directly required in synthesizing Carnosine in the body.  Carnosine is made when beta alanine is combined with histidine.

Beta alanine is not found in large quantities in the food that we eat, but our body generates the beta alanine that it requires. There are several ways to increase the level of beta alanine in our body, but the most significant method is by taking beta alanine supplements. as mentiond earlier, once beta alanine is consumed through supplements, it interacts with L-histidine and forms carnosine via a very complicated mechanism in our body.  

The important fact that needs to be noted is that our body needs carnosine and the production of carnosine is dependent on the amount of beta alanine. Therefore, the only reason to take beta alanine is to increase the level of carnosine in our body muscle tissue.

Why Do We Need Beta Alanine?

The only advantage of beta alanine is to produce carnosine in the muscle tissue. The function of carnosine is to increase the energy and performance of the muscle by lowering the acidity of muscle when doing long workout. It should be noted that carnosine is found in abundance in fast-twitch fibers of the body muscles. When we exercise hard for a long time, certain reactions increase the concentration of acids in our muscle and decrease the muscle pH. Because of acidity in our muscle we sense the fatigue and feel tired.

How Does Beta Alanine Supplements Help?

Beta Alanine increases the level of carnosine in the muscle, and carnosine decreases the level of acids in the muscle which delays the fatigue during the exercise. However, unlike creatine, carnosine dos not result in higher strength in the muscle. It should be noted that beta alanine (carnosine) does not increase the aerobic strength, but it can improve the anaerobic power in the muscle.  

Some research have shown that if an athlete uses beta alanine supplements for 28 days, it can increase the carnosiine level by around 60%. When supplementation with beta alanine is continued, it has even been shown that carnosine level could increase evern further up to 10 weeks of beta alanine consumption.

Benefits of Beta Alanine Supplements

Taking beta alanine supplements has been shown to increase the performance and lower fatigue and tiredness in mostly anaerobic sports. It has also been shown that beta alanine supplements can result in higehr lean mass, lower body fat and higher strength. Studies have also shown that beta alanine supplements can increase the performance and energy of football players by around 34%.   

Dosage and Timing

The time of taking beta alanine supplements does not matter. It means that the athletes do not have to necessarily take it before or after the exercise.

Usually pre-workout products contain beta alanine and they are recommended to be used prior to workout. However, try to use enough beta alanine supplements in order to reach 3 to 4 grams of beta alanine in your daily diet. If you continue this diet for 28 days, you will maximize the carnosine storage in your muscle and achieve maximum performance and energy.

Potential Side Effects

Generally beta alaine is a very safe supplements with minimal side effects. However the only side effect that can be mentioned and has been reported is the tingling and pricking feeling in the face and hands which is called paresthesia. Some tingling feeling has been reported for intake dose of more than 800 mg of beta alanine. This feeling might last for about 60 to 90 minutes.  

The final words about Beta Alanine

Normally if you are looking for a great workout with excellent energy and performance, then the best supplement that can be recommended is beta alanine combined with some creatine.

One additional hint is to look for the brand name of CarnoSyn® as this is the most researched brand of beta alanine.

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Comments (1)

  1. Thanks Shark team for the very detailed one on beta alanine

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