Beta-alanine is one of the popular supplements among fitness enthusiasts and athletes. This is because it improves exercise performance as well as boosts general health.
Unlike many amino acids, your body doesn’t use beta-alanine to produce proteins. Instead, it binds with histidine to produce carnosine. This is then stored in the skeletal muscles to reduce the accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles.
Is It Safer to Take the Supplement?
Anytime you want to take supplements, you need to look at their safety and research the possible contraindications or side effects.
It is no different with beta-alanine. Although beta-alanine occurs naturally and is found in some foodstuffs, it can still be risky when taken in high doses.
But since it is synthesized in the body and found in certain food sources, there are a few side effects of using it as a supplement.
What It Does
The benefit of taking beta-alanine supplements lies in their ability to increase the carnosine level in the muscles. As a matter of fact, supplements limit the synthesis of carnosine. That means the presence of this amino acid in the bloodstream is tied to the levels of carnosine.
To date, all the studies in which the beta-alanine is supplemented to the human subject lead to an increase in carnosine levels in the muscles.
When and How Should You Take It?
Every amino acid is present in most natural foods, particularly meats. While meat is packed with amino acids, such as carnosine, you still want your intake to reap its benefits. Though, as always, you can follow natural protein-rich diets and use a supplement as it is.
That said, the dosage for beta-alanine can be between 2.5 to 4.8 grams per day. Consuming it in excess may result in unpleasant side effects, like a tingling sensation.
Possible Benefits
You may have questions about beta-alanine and how it may help you as a fitness enthusiast. Ideally, beta-alanine has a lot of benefits, including the following:
1. Improve Performance and Strength
Since beta-alanine increases the level of carnosine, its supplementation can improve your performance by boosting endurance and decreasing fatigue as you exercise.
Beta-alanine benefits linked to performance and strength may include increased muscle mass and improvement in high-intensity workouts.
2. Faster Recovery
A high level of carnosine in the muscles may speed up your recovery. The amino acid increases the level of carnosine, preventing the buildup of lactic acid, which may contribute to fatigue and soreness. Quicker recovery may mean that you may spend less time resting and more time training.
3. Boost Endurance
According to a certain study involving fitness enthusiasts, seven weeks of beta-alanine supplementation resulted in great improvements in body composition. The research also showed that there was an improvement in upper-body endurance and lower-body power compared to taking placebos over the same period.
In a Nutshell!
Like most people, you have goals when exercising. You would want to push past thresholds, looks great when doing it, and hit new records.
Beta-alanine remains among the most studied and well-researched performance supplements out there, of course, with many evidence-based benefits. If you stack it and use it daily, you will improve your training.
