Beta-Alanine

Beta-Alanine is a non-essential amino acid and is the only naturally occurring beta-amino acid. Not to be confused with regular alanine, beta- alanine is classified as a non-proteinogenic amino acid, as it is not believed to be used in the building of proteins. Beta-Alanine is a precursor to carnosine - which means the amount of carnosine in your muscles is limited by the amount of beta-alanine. This is important because if you have more carnosine in your muscles they can work harder and longer - the effects are similar to creatine in this respect. Beta-Alanine is found in your diet in the usual protein rich foods - chicken, beef, fish etc. however it is difficult to eat large enough quantities of these foods to get the effective amount of beta-alanine.

Beta-Alanine in itself actually doesnt have any performance enhancing properties - it just boosts carnosine production which in turn has the beneficial effects. When supplementing with beta-alanine you can increase carnosine levels by up to 80% (over a 2-3month period) - this increases the amount of work you can put your muscles through during a workout a huge amount. If you are wondering why we dont just supplement carnosine itself this is because the body breaks it down and it actually turns out to be much less efficient to do it this way. So in summary the effects of beta alanine are increased strength and mass, and higher fatigue threshold, allowing you to train harder and longer.

You should be aiming to take between 3-5grams of beta-alanine per day to really boost your carnosine levels - to speed up the muscle absorption you may wish to "load" with 6-7grams for the first 1-2weeks in a similar way to creatine loading. If you are looking for something to stack your beta-alanine with, it has been shown to work exceptionally well with creatine.

Beta-alanine appears to be a completely safe supplement - studies have shown that there are no changes in hormonal markers and other indicators over a 12 week period, and whilst there arent any longer term studies to check it does appear to have no side effects. You may notice a tingling of the skin at first when using beta alanine - this usually goes within 2 weeks and is not harmful (indeed it shows you have a good beta alanine supplement).