Beta-Alanine and Sports Performance - A Comprehensive Guide
Beta-Alanine, is another supplement listed as a Category A Supplement with the AIS, and is particularly well researched as performance enhancing with an ability to enhance high-intensity exercise. But what exactly is Beta-Alanine, and how does it work? Let’s dive into the science behind this performance booster.
How Beta-Alanine Works
Beta-Alanine is a non-essential amino acid predominantly found in animal products. It plays a crucial role in the production of carnosine, a dipeptide abundantly present in skeletal muscle. Carnosine serves as an intracellular pH regulator, crucial during high-intensity, short-duration exercise. During such exercise, hydrogen ions are rapidly released into muscles, causing a drop in muscle pH. This drop impacts muscle function, affecting phosphocreatine resynthesis, muscular contraction, and glycolysis, ultimately leading to muscle fatigue (1,2).
The production of carnosine is limited by the availability of Beta-Alanine, which bonds with L-histidine to form carnosine. While supplementing with carnosine and L-histidine has not shown significant increases in muscle carnosine, Beta-Alanine supplementation consistently boosts muscle carnosine levels. Studies indicate long-term Beta-Alanine supplementation can elevate intra-muscular carnosine by 40-80%, which enhances hydrogen buffering by 8-15%, delaying fatigue onset (1, 2).
Supplementation Protocols
To meaningfully increase muscle carnosine, Beta-Alanine supplementation should span at least four weeks. Typical protocols recommend 3.2g to 6.4g daily for 4-10 weeks. Beta-Alanine has shown improvements in exercises lasting from 30 seconds to 10 minutes, with shorter exercises than 30s resulting in no significant performance boost (2).
Research highlights muscle carnosine concentration increases of 42.1%, 64.2%, and even 80% after 4, 6, and 10 weeks of Beta-Alanine supplementation, respectively (3, 4). Performance enhancements have been observed in various sports, including cycling, running, rowing, and swimming, with improvements to performance cited as much as 16% (4-7). In elite-level sports, such improvements can be the difference between winning and losing.
The commonly studied maximal effective dose is 6.4g/day for a minimum of four weeks. However, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) suggests an alternative dosing period of eight weeks at the lower dose of 3.2g/day, followed by a maintenance dose of 1.2g/day (8). Consuming Beta-Alanine with food may further enhance muscle carnosine loading, possibly due to insulin’s role in this process (9).
Potential Side Effects and Considerations
A common side effect of acute Beta-Alanine dosing above 1000mg is paraesthesia, a tingling sensation on the skin. Slow-release formulations can help mitigate this discomfort and lessen the likelihood for symptoms (10). Given the long-term nature of Beta-Alanine supplementation, cost-effectiveness is also a consideration, though a month’s supply can be found for as little as $20-$30.
There is also evidence suggesting that combining Beta-Alanine with sodium bicarbonate, another pH-buffering supplement, can amplify its ergogenic effects and boost performance.
Conclusion
Beta-Alanine stands out as a powerful supplement for athletes looking to enhance their performance in high-intensity, short-duration activities, or when intermittent high intensity is needed. With a well-structured supplementation plan and consideration of potential side effects, this could be a supplement that could be used to get a slight performance edge for athletes.
References