We know that amino acids are essentially decided into two categories as essential and non essential. It is the essential amino acids that we intake through protein sources like natural food and supplements. Beta Alanine falls under the non essential amino acids and therefore is naturally synthesized in our body. However most athletes engaged in intensive sports demanding muscle strength tend to supplement beta alanine. Why is that? and more importantly Is Beta Alanine Safe? Lets go through everything concerning this amino acid and draw a conclusion as whether you ought to be supplementing it too.
What is Beta-Alanine?
We already mentioned that beta alanine is a non-essential amino acid and yet is popularly supplemented and widely recognized in the fitness world. How so?
Beta alanine combines itself with histidine which is an essential amino acid to produce Carnosine. This component is stored in your skeletal muscles. Which in turn enhances your performance in high intensity tasks. Because carnosine reduces the lactic acid accumulation in your muscles during training.
Its structure is a hybrid of L-glycine and GABA. Our body produces beta alanine in several ways. During digestion because of the action of intestinal microbes. Reactions when substances such as histidine dipeptides are broken down.
Working Mechanism
Lets see how beta alanine allows us to perform longer in the gym on any sport without making us feel worn out. Why is it so important to eat big to get big? and why do we have to consume a good amount of whole food before and after the gym? The food we intake is then converted to energy and used as fuel to power our workouts.
We know that beta alanine is the major component in carnosine. This is the exact process of this mechanism. First and foremost Glucose breaks down into simpler substances as it is the main source of fuel. Then while we exercise this glucose is converted into lactic acid and it produces hydrogen ions thereby initiating the feeling of fatigue in our body.
And this is when carnosine comes into the rescue by acting as a barrier against the build of hydrogen ions in the muscle tissues. Because the accumulation of hydrogen ions increases the acidity in the muscles and that in turn makes muscle contraction harder and harder. Carnosine is the substance that reverses this effect prolonging our workout sessions.
Beta-Alanine Foods
Just like the majority of amino acids even beta-alanine is mainly obtained from animal protein.
- Poultry
- Pork
- Beef
- Tuna
Are some such popular examples. These sources don’t posses readily available beta-alanine. Instead what they do have are peptides like carnosine, anserine which are broken down during digestion.
Best recommended supplements
Beta-Alanine Bodybuilding
This apart from caffeine is a major ingredient of pre workout supplements. As we know pre workouts assist in blood pressure regulation, reducing fatigue, boosting performance during high intensity workouts. Beta- Alanine boosts performance for exercises lasting more than a minute where the energy demand is at its peak. We talked about this on our post about creatine.
The proof of this phenomena showed in a study done among cyclists. There were four main groups. Athletes supplemented with 800mg of beta-alanine 4 times per day, 20g of creatine per day and 20g of creatine+ same amount of beta-alanine and finally a group where placebo was the only nutrient. In a 4 minute cycling test both the groups who consumed beta-alanine outperformed the rest.
Analytically speaking the power output of the beta-alanine groups were better throughout the session in relation to the other two groups. Therefore forming the conclusion that beta-alanine reduces muscle fatigue deemed appropriate. This supplement can generally be of assistance for those who use progressive overload as a bulking strategy.
The catch with beta-alanine is that it is only beneficial for short term performance requirements. A study in the U.K proved this effect using boxing players. They supplemented beta-alanine for a month at a rate of 6g per day. The outcome being increased punch force and frequency when compared to boxers only in a placebo diet.
Also in another study, a group of rowers were given beta-alanine for 7 weeks later were much faster than the placebo group in a race that lasted for 6 minutes. Therefore all these research proves a single fact. beta-alanine is best utilized with progressive overload bodybuilding, Crossfit, HIIT workouts with short rest times.
Beta-alanine maintenance dose-How safe is it?
Now lets dive in to the actual topic of the day. Is beta-alanine really safe? To begin with, the expert recommendation of the beta-alanine dosage is 2-5g per day. Since this is a profound ingredient found in pre workouts, it is best utilized when consumed before the gym. But what if you are already using creatine or any other pre workouts? we will get into that in a second.
The vital point to realize here is that ultimate muscle carnosine concentration results when the regular dosage is taken over a period of time. Therefore you might not start feeling the effects right after you start supplementing. Which is precisely why those researches gave ample time for the participants to store the carnosine in muscles.
Side effects and risks
There aren’t any serious side effects of beta-alanine per say. However too much of anything isn’t going to be too pleasant. Therefore over-consumption will result in what’s commonly known as “tingling effect”. Common places are the neck, face and back of hands. This condition is avoided if you only consume 800mg per day.
Over-supplementation can also result in degradation of taurine levels. It is an issue related to the absorption of these substances by the muscles. However there is a remedy here. Therefore the thing to keep in mind is not consume more than 3g per dose. Because research proves that the parasthesia condition grew severe with that amount of beta-alanine in one sitting.
Also it is advised to not supplement on an empty stomach. Although blood concentration of beta-alanine increases faster the tingling effect is parallel as well. The flip side is that for some consumers the effects were consistent and better when used in an empty stomach. Therefore the only solution is to try it out yourself and see what fits you best.
Beta-Alanine and Taurine
Taurine itself is an important nutrient that has an overall effect in performance and health. It serves as an antioxidant, blood glucose regulator, optimum lung function etc. Because both beta-alanine and taurine compete to be absorbed by the muscle, it only makes sense to supplement both. So that you aren’t deprived of one.
If not over time there is a chance you might experience neuromuscular decrease in performance tests. Additionally research also proves that supplementing beta-alanine in the absence of taurine showed less nitric oxide production and thus hindering your workouts.
Beta-Alanine and Creatine
Because Beta-alanine is primarily oriented for high intensity short duration workouts you should aim to stack other supplements to enhance the effects. Such as creatine monohydrate. Also if you are a long term endurance athlete engaged in sports such as boxing, running etc. consider using BCAA, Glutamine.
Conclusion
Now that we are completely aware what beta-alanine is and how it functions the answer to Is Beta Alanine Safe is obvious. It is perfectly safe if you utilize it the right way under careful supervision. Reducing muscle fatigue and allowing you to perform longer is the aim here.
As usual please consult a trained professional prior to using any of the above mentioned supplements. Make sure to regulate your workouts and never to skip one. For none of these supplements work unless the rest is balanced.
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