In the modern world where fitness is a priority, most of the fitness industries have convinced the consumers about their available products, which are sold expensively.
With many products emerging on the market, Beta Alanine stands out to be the one of the best products in terms of a general body enhancer. This makes it widely used as a body builder, as well as a workout supplement.
When it comes to general knowledge about the importance of Beta Alanine, few websites will give you accurate information about the supplement, while others have the sole purpose to sell.
With the best convincing ability, one falls a victim of buying a product with a hyped review and without information to make an informed decision.
Notable Demand Of Beta Alanine
Beta Alanine has proved to be effective in many ways and it is currently being used for building muscle, as an athletic power enhancer, and as a booster for the elderly in terms of body physique and general functioning.
Since the first study was published on the effectiveness of beta alanine two decades ago, its use has reached so many places, making it a favorite product in the sports market and a sure formula to guarantee results.
Within the last decade, the popularity of this supplement has seen the sports market scramble for it and according to the current research by Wise Guy, figures show that this product was estimated to have sold 58 million dollars in 2015 and the demand is scheduled to grow as more users adapt and switch to this product from 2016 to 2020.
Just like other supplements on the market, a lot of research has been conducted to find out the effects of Beta Alanine and the focus of this write-up will unearth the claims, effects, uses, and critical information about Beta Alanine.
What Is Beta Alanine?
Beta Alanine is an amino acid made by the liver, and the body functions well under a good supply of amino acids. These are termed as non-essential amino acids and these aren’t supposed to come from food that is consumed.
On the other side, the body requires supplements to boost the existing amino acids in the body, and this allows an individual to consume foods rich in protein. Since these are the amino acids that our bodies cannot create, then they are referred to as essential amino acids.
What Role Does Beta Alanine Play?
Beta alanine is a very important requirement when it comes to building blocks for molecules. The role of beta alanine is to act as a substrate for carnosine molecules, which regulate and maintain the acidity in the muscles during intense workouts.
Note that, when the body experiences intense exercise, the muscles are triggered to produce hydrogen ions. This is as a result of breaking down lactic acid, resulting into acidic muscles.
The presence of this acid inhibits proper muscle functioning by introducing fatigue. This automatically lowers one's performance. The molecule carnosine comes in to neutralize the intense effect of this acid, hence lengthening the time frame for the muscle to resist fatigue. The body cells combine Beta Alanine with L-histidine, which is an essential amino acid, and this results in a carnosine molecule.
During workouts, the body's muscle are prone to many ways of getting fatigue, but with the presence of Beta Alanine combining with L-histidine to form a compound that eliminates the acidity in the muscles, your performance improves automatically.
With proper Beta Alanine supplementation, positive results have been observed with more carnosine concentrations being produced. However, the amount of carnosine concentration in the muscles hasn’t been established to have a limit.
This supplement has been effective in improving the muscle carnosine content in both trained and untrained athletes. The notable increase boosts the training exercise. With more research underway, the supplement has been effective in males as a muscle booster and more findings are listing it of equal importance in women and elderly individuals as a supplement.
Why Can’t It Be Supplemented With Carnosine Directly?
This is a common question that comes to mind. Note that carnosine is a compound made with a combination of Beta Alanine and L-histidine. It therefore needs to break down in the muscles and later recombine to make the compound carnosine. Carnosine itself cannot reach the muscles without the breakdown.
With over ten years of use and research, conclusions have been drawn on the effectiveness of carnosine as a molecule that promotes excellent functioning of neurotransmitters, anti-aging, and immunity to the body.
However, most of these outcomes have been observed in animals and this cannot allow a final conclusion on the effectiveness when it comes to human cells.
The Extensive Research On Beta Alanine
Beta Alanine products are gaining worldwide use and the first research done two decades ago shows the expansive nature in which the Beta Alanine supplement has been used. This has made it a good choice in every workout and a top muscle builder.
When compared to other supplements on the market, Beta Alanine shows positive results over its counterparts, making it a topic to pay attention to when studies are published.
Trexer and others made an extensive analysis of Beta Alanine and in his research dated in 2012, 15 studies were conducted with 23 exercises taking place with the use of 18 different supplements.
The total participants stood at 360 people. With this research, 57 measures were reported.
Outcome Of The Research
In the research, several exercises were done with placebo effects, blind folding, and random exercises being used. The outcome showed that with tasks that lasted for 60 to 240 seconds, the effectiveness of Beta Alanine supplement was seen to improve the rate of the exercise done.
With the research statistically showing positive results, minor improvements were noticed in the manner that endurance was handled within the span of one minute to four minutes.
In other research, it was observed that the majority of the participants experienced delayed exhaustion when using a Beta Alanine supplement. This made the participants perform excellently in trials and races with improved time noted.
With high intensity exercises and enhancement of quality training as far as athletes are concerned, the use of Beta Alanine supplements has been noted as an enhancer when the concentration of carnosine in the muscle is needed.
This has seen improved performance in different populations worldwide. Most of the areas where this supplement has been used include weight lifting, short duration sports, power sports, and high intensity exercises.
With most research done on the effectiveness of Beta Alanine supplement on exercises lasting below four minutes, positive results have been observed. However, long distance running and cycling are part of the exercises that are slated to receive minimal results as far as effectiveness of this supplement is concerned.
With the current combination of research done, it’s observed that four to six grams of the Beta Alanine supplement when taken within a span of two to four weeks improves the muscle strength, hence promoting exercise and reducing instances of fatigue.
Further research shows that for every 4g taken a day, it increases the muscle carnosine up to 64% in 28 days and 80% in ten weeks.
When research is done, different methodologies are adopted causing different results to be displayed when its effectiveness is assessed. Note that the measures employed when conducting the research brings out the reliable nature of the research.
This therefore shows varying effects on the performance of beta alanine supplement as far as physical performance is considered. The varying outcomes might be as a result of the population used in conducting the experiment, measures put in place, and different doses administered per each participant.
To get more value from the Beta Alanine supplement, further research should be done to determine the importance of this supplement beyond 20 minutes of exercise and its effectiveness on health and endurance performances. With the best doses administered, Beta Alanine is equally important to the population receiving the supplement.
The Importance Of Beta Alanine Supplement
This supplement has received a recommendation from the International Society of Sports Nutrition. With numerous research showing its effectiveness within weeks, this supplement qualifies to be effective in energy enhancing.
The International Society of Sports Nutrition asserts that, when using Beta Alanine:
- The use of beta alanine supplement improves the concentrations of carnosine and this works on intracellular PH. With the correct dosage of 4 grams per day within four weeks, the best results are observed.
- With daily administration of this supplement in the measures of 4 grams per day, notable improvements in exercises and trials in athletes with a slated duration of one to four minutes.
- When the focus is on tactical performance and aging in older people, this supplement works on muscles that link the brain with targeted body parts, hence lowering fatigue.
- When Beta Alanine is combined with other ingredients, the performance becomes better within a span of four weeks.
The above facts provide why this supplement is effective for personal use. Furthermore, more research should be done to outline further importance of this supplement for health and muscle performance.
Is Beta Alanine Effective For Workout Recovery?
It’s doubtful. Most of the research done has looked at Beta Alanine during exercise in fatigue reduction. It doesn’t specify whether this supplement is effective after any workout.
Is Beta Alanine A Muscle Grower?
Studies have shown that with ingestion of multiple pre-workout supplements, notable results can be observed in the way the body improves its performance.
This makes it hard to include Beta Alanine, as it features its own mechanism when it comes to energy supplementation. With the timelines of two weeks set for the effectiveness of the muscle growth to be observed when one uses Beta Alanine, it is difficult to center on its immediate role in muscle growth.
It is also hard to know whether it’s the main ingredient responsible when it comes to performance improvements.
With direct effects of Beta Alanine, it’s a bit tricky to attribute the muscle growth to harder training by an individual. The supplement might provide added strength and the person's muscles grow as they train harder, hence making it hard to determine the cause of the actual muscle growth.
Is Beta Alanine Effective For Endurance?
When it comes to improvement in tactical performance, especially with older people, this supplement has been proved to be efficient. Therefore, as a supplement for endurance, it gets a yes.
Is Beta Alanine Effective On Fatigue?
Since this supplement has proved to be effective in neuromuscular fatigue, adults and the aging community are hopeful about it. The benefits are targeted to lower the fall risk, but knowing this for sure calls for more research to find out the expected outcomes.
Can Beta Alanine Control Diabetes?
This has yet to be determined. So far, the studies that have been carried out indirectly show aspects of diabetes curing, prevention of obesity, as well as curing obesity. However, most of the confirmed tests have been carried out on animals, leaving research to be done on humans to ascertain its effectiveness in diabetes control.
Therefore, carnosine supplement supplementation in humans need more advanced research to give accurate data on how the supplement Beta Alanine can be effective in diabetes and obesity control.
Can Beta Alanine Work On Erectile Dysfunction?
When it comes to bedroom matters, no research has ever been done to show the effectiveness of Beta Alanine supplements. However, this supplement has been recommended for general performance. This calls for more research to determine on effectiveness during sexual intercourse.
Can Beta Alanine Work On Hot Flushes In Menopausal Women?
Research done in 1981 showed that this supplement was less effective when compared to the commonly used Veralipride and with the outcome, the effectiveness of Beta Alanine when it comes to hot flushes was ruled out.
Beta Alanine Dosage & Precautions
If you are considering using this supplement to improve your health, then the recommended dosage of 4 to 6 grams per day for four weeks should be adhered to strictly. With the daily doses administered correctly, results of muscle carnosine increase of between 20 to 30 percent can be expected.
Further muscle carnosine increase is seen in dosages of 6 grams per day, divided equally across the day to improve performance. It becomes more advantageous when the supplement is used alongside meals, as it leads to further carnosine increase.
When you consider the amount of carnosine levels used in the body and the one that is retained, it’s very hard to get an accurate measure, hence the difficulty in providing maintenance dosage amounts.
To What Extent Is Beta Alanine Safe?
When you are considering using any supplement you need to consider first its safety for your body. Does the supplement in question have any side effects? Reading the label can help ensure that you make an informed purchase. With the majority of individuals buying Beta Alanine supplements for athletic power, you should not let it’s popularity sacrifice safety for your body.
When Beta Alanine is administered correctly with the right doses in 12 weeks, then it’s considered safe for your body. No studies have been done to find out its effectiveness beyond twelve weeks, which minimizes the downsides of this supplement.
No tests have been done on the safety of Beta Alanine when pregnant or breastfeeding and therefore, when you are in either of the stated conditions, it’s advisable you stick on your doctor’s advice and not take any supplements unless advised by your doctor.
When it comes to aging and athletes on benefits of this supplement, then more data should be researched to bring out the long-term use and the effectiveness as far as the two groups are concerned.
Beta Alanine Side Effects
Paresthesia has been the only side effect associate with the intake of this supplement, which shows up as a result of heavy consumption of Beta Alanine. Note that those who take 800g and more are vulnerable to this side effect.
Common effects of paresthesia are normally felt in the neck, hands, legs, and the face. These effects occur in some individuals and cannot be ruled as a concern for everybody who consumes this product. Since paresthesia comes as a result of increased dosages, one can reduce the risk by dividing the dosage in smaller quantities and delivering it over time and not at once.
Beta Alanine Conclusion
The Beta Alanine supplement is an effective deal for any athlete. With its ability to enhance endurance, it has outsmarted other supplements. This still doesn’t give us the authority to label it as a miracle supplement.
Beta Alanine use has shown increase in the concentration of carnosine. With its ability to work perfectly within 12 weeks at an intake of 2 to 4 grams per day, it has a lot of effectiveness.
With the benefits showing a slight margin of improvement on average, you will have to decide for yourself whether beta alanine is right for you.
