Are you searching for a supplement that can take your workouts to the next level? Beta alanine may just be what's necessary; as it provides non-essential amino acid benefits that include increasing muscle endurance and delaying fatigue.
But what exactly is beta alanine supplement and how does it work? In this article we'll dive deep into its science; its potential advantages and drawbacks as well as ways beta alanine could fit into your fitness regime.
What Is Beta Alanine?
Beta alanine is a non-essential amino acid produced naturally in your body as well as found in foods like poultry, beef and fish. While essential amino acids must come through diet in order to be consumed directly by our bodies, non-essential ones can actually be synthesized within our cells by our cells themselves!
Beta alanine when taken orally can be converted to carnosine and stored in our muscles as an energy reserve, acting as a buffer between exercise and muscle pH levels regulating. Carnosine acts like an energy store for our workouts by helping delay fatigue while increasing endurance allowing you to push through more reps or workout longer during cardio workouts.
Benefits of Beta Alanine
Beta alanine provides numerous potential health advantages beyond increasing endurance and delaying fatigue; among them are:
One study conducted using beta alanine supplementation combined with resistance training led to an increase in lean body mass among men.
Improved anaerobic Capacity: Anaerobic exercises such as sprinting or weightlifting rely on short bursts of energy produced without oxygen from within your body, so beta alanine has been found to increase anaerobic capacity allowing longer performance at higher intensities for extended durations of time.
Reduces Muscle Soreness: Beta alanine has been demonstrated to effectively decrease muscle soreness after exercise and speed recovery time.
Improved Cognitive Function: Recent research indicates that beta alanine may enhance cognitive functioning, including memory recall and reaction time.
Beta Alanine Can Present Both Potential Risks and Advantages
Although beta alanine is generally considered safe for most individuals, there may be certain potential risks worth noting, including:
Skin Tingling: Beta alanine supplementation may cause a harmless skin tingle known as paresthesia that typically lasts a few minutes when taken at higher dosage levels, although higher dosage may increase its likelihood.
Digestive Issues: In rare instances, taking beta alanine supplements may result in adverse digestive side effects like nausea or diarrhea.
Interference with Taurine Absorption: Beta alanine and taurine share the same transporter in your body, so taking high doses of beta alanine could impede taurine absorption - this should be remembered if both supplements are being taken together to support cardiovascular health.
Integrate Beta Alanine Supplements Into Your Fitness Routine
If you are curious to add beta alanine into your workout regime, here are a few things you need to keep in mind:
Ideal dosage: To maximize effectiveness, the ideal daily dose of beta alanine should be between 4-6 grams taken in divided doses over time. It is wise to begin at a lower dosage level before increasing it gradually in order to prevent potential side effects like paresthesia from occurring.
Timing: For maximum effectiveness, take beta alanine on an ongoing basis - make it part of your daily regiment and follow its recommended dosage schedule.
Combinations with Other Supplements: Beta alanine can safely be combined with other supplements like creatine and caffeine in order to maximize its effects and experience more benefits from taking multiple doses at the same time.
Dietary sources of beta alanine: While beta alanine can be obtained through diet, consuming enough can sometimes prove challenging.