What is Beta Alanine

Beta-Alanine at a glance:

∞ INFINIT offers 725mg per serving as an optional “Extra” for Custom Formulas.
∞ Recommended initial dose of 6g/day for two weeks, then 4g daily as a “maintenance” dose.
∞ Oral ingestion of 4–6 g beta-alanine/day during 4–10 weeks increases carnosine concentrations by 40–80%.
∞ Doses larger than 800 mg (10 mg/kg body weight) can provoke moderate-to-severe paresthesia symptoms.

Beta-alanine is a hot topic in nutrition for exercise performance. Beta-alanine acts as a “muscle buffering agent” within the cells of muscle tissue. It is a naturally occurring amino acid that many athletes take in order to increase their muscles ability to delay fatigue and recover quicker from exercise. But how does it work?

Beta Alanine works by playing a huge part in creating a product called carnosine, this is a dipeptide that functions as an acid buffer as well as a calcium regulator in muscle tissue. This is particularly important in exercise as when the intensity increases, your body moves from an aerobic (using oxygen) to anaerobic (without oxygen) process. Anaerobic processes produce a large amount of hydrogen, creating what's called an acidic environment. This buffering function of carnosine in muscle tissue helps alleviate the acidosis within the muscle, thus combatting fatigue during exercise and enhancing your ability to recover.

Carnosine is also thought to play a role in calcium availability. Calcium is an electrolyte found in our mixes that is crucial to muscle contraction. A recent study supports that there is an increase in calcium sensitivity when more carnosine is present, meaning that the muscle is able to contract more readily. Not only this but, carnosine has been shown to have antioxidant properties. These functions all contributing to carnosine’s ability to maintain and improve homeostasis within the muscle which is vital to your performance.

So why is beta-alanine ingestion so important in the production of carnosine? Well, it’s because beta-alanine is the “rate-limiting” factor in carnosine production. What this means is that the amount of carnosine available to the muscle tissue is dependent on how much beta-alanine is present and available to be used. 

While there are some mixed reviews on the effectiveness of B-alanine supplementation, it’s important to understand the types of exercise it has been shown to be of the most benefit. The best results are noticed in high-intensity activities and sports, including endurance events that involve a sprint to the finish such as cycling.

The most common side effect of B-alanine supplementation includes paresthesia, aka 'the tingles'. The cause of this is attributed to pressure on peripheral nerves. To avoid these sensory side effects, divide the daily dose into multiple ingestion times during the day or use specific time-release capsules. 

More research is needed to establish clear guidelines about the optimal supplementation dose, but current findings support that benefits of beta-alanine on exercise performance do exist. Future research should also focus on improving our understanding on the vast differences in storage capacity among individual athletes, as well as the effects of co-ingesting beta-alanine with creatine and sodium bicarbonate to examine how these ergogenic aids may alter exercise performance and recovery.

Sources
Blancquaert, L., Everaert, I., & Derave, W. (2014, December 18). Beta-alanine supplementation, muscle carnosine and exercise performance. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 18(1).
De Salles Painelli V, Saunders B, Sale C, et al. Influence of training status on high intensity intermittent performance in response to b-alanine supplementation. Amino Acids 2014; 46:1207–1215.
Dunford, M., & Doyle, J. A. (2008). Nutrition for Sport and Exercise (Second ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Kendall, K., PhD, & Hyde, P., BS. (2015). Beta-Alanine Supplementation and Exercise Performance. Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition: Pulse, 34(1), winter 2015, 1-5.
Seher, C., MS, RD (2012, July) Beta-Alanine Supplements — Evidence Shows This Amino Acid Boosts Athletic Performance. Today’s Dietitian, 14 (7), July 2012.