Beta-alanine: what does it actually do?

Beta-alanine is an amino acid whose popularity among athletes is growing fast — and for good reason. Studies show that beta-alanine significantly increases muscle carnosine content, delaying the onset of fatigue and improving physical performance. Here you’ll find an explanation of how it works, what the research shows and how to use it effectively.

Why beta-alanine matters so much in muscle tissue

Beta-alanine is the main precursor for carnosine synthesis in muscle tissue. Carnosine (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) is a dipeptide found in animal tissues that acts as an antioxidant — it inhibits oxidation and glycation processes. In muscle tissue, however, its main role is a different one: buffering the hydrogen ions produced during intense training load.

A drop in muscle pH is what forces you to give up at the end of heavy sets. Carnosine slows that drop, delaying the onset of fatigue. Taking carnosine itself isn’t very effective, though — most of it is broken down in the blood into beta-alanine and histidine before it reaches the muscles. Only then is carnosine synthesized again, from the beta-alanine and histidine the muscles take up. Because the availability of beta-alanine alone limits synthesis capacity, it makes more sense to supplement beta-alanine directly.

Beta-alanine study results

With oral intake of 4–6 grams per day, split into up to eight doses, carnosine content in all muscle fibers rose by 58.8% (Hill, 2007) and 64% (Harris, 2006) within 4 weeks. By the end of a 10-week cycle, the increase reached as much as 80% (Hill, 2007 and Harris, 2006).

When it comes to work capacity at the fatigue limit, creatine was no match for beta-alanine: creatine improved the result by 11.3%, while beta-alanine improved it by as much as 28.8%. Interestingly, combining the two produced an improvement of only 11.0% — the study was done on untrained men (Stout, 2006). In trained athletes, combining them over 10 weeks improved maximal strength more than creatine alone. As an added bonus, the creatine/beta-alanine group saw a 1.2% reduction in body fat percentage (Hoffmann, 2006).

Both highly trained athletes — whose muscle carnosine content can no longer be raised through training — and beginners benefit. The effect applies to all muscle fiber types: athletes in strength, speed and endurance sports alike all benefit.

In summary, using beta-alanine leads to:

• a higher aerobic threshold
• a higher anaerobic threshold
• improved physical work capacity
• a better training effect
• increased muscle strength
• increased muscular endurance
• increased muscle mass
• a lower body fat percentage

How to use beta-alanine

Beta-alanine reaches the blood quickly — you can recognize it by a tingling sensation on the skin and mild flushing. This rapid absorption is exactly why results are better when the daily dose is split into 4–8 servings rather than 1–3. Studies used 3–6.4 grams per day, and some varied the dose from 3.2 grams to 6.4 grams.

With frequent dosing, the substance is constantly present in muscle tissue, so more carnosine is synthesized than with less frequent intake. The effect can be felt within the first few days of the cycle. With less frequent dosing — a few times a day — the improvement in physical work capacity becomes noticeable only after a week or two. After the cycle ends, muscle carnosine content generally returns to its pre-cycle level within 6 weeks.

The ACC experiment: beta-alanine in practice

Since no product containing pure beta-alanine was being sold here at the time, I experimented with ACC. I dosed according to the requirements for effective carnosine synthesis: 1.2 grams of beta-alanine, i.e. 20 grams of ACC, 5 times a day — 100 grams of ACC in total, of which 6 grams was beta-alanine. Cycle length: 2 weeks.

The result confirmed that with frequent dosing the substance works at higher rep counts right away, on the same day. Exercises that I performed with exactly the same weights and rest breaks as in the previous workout yielded 20% more over three workouts — with 10% of that added already in the first workout. The total reps across seven sets rose first from 63 to 69 and finally to 76. After the cycle ended, the gains continued for two more workouts and then stopped.

At low rep counts I noticed no progress — as the studies conducted also show, a longer cycle is needed for that. Why do I credit the results to beta-alanine? My muscle creatine content can’t be low, thanks to systematic post-workout creatine intake, and creatine loading has never given me more than one or two extra reps.

The biggest downside of the experiment was the large daily creatine dose (10 grams), which left me very waterlogged by evening.

ACC pros:

• beta-alanine, as well as casein, L-leucine and vitamin C, plus the other compounds that may have a positive effect
• suitable for creatine loading
• excellent taste

ACC cons:

• too much creatine for frequent, longer-term beta-alanine use
• whey rather than casein as the main ingredient of the powder — if the product name includes the word anti-catabolic, the main component should have exactly those properties

In summary: until pure beta-alanine became available, taking ACC 2–3 times a day, at 30 or 20 grams per serving respectively, gave better results than a single daily dose. More frequent use (100 grams split into 4–6 servings a day) can be recommended to those who are in good health and want to combine beta-alanine supplementation with creatine loading.

FAQ: frequently asked questions

What is the most common side effect of beta-alanine?

A tingling sensation and mild flushing of the skin — known as paresthesia — are normal and short-lived. They pass quickly and are not harmful.

Is it worth combining beta-alanine with creatine?

In trained athletes, combining the two over 10 weeks has produced better strength results than either supplement on its own. In untrained men (Stout, 2006), however, the effect of the combination was surprisingly smaller — 11.0%, whereas beta-alanine alone gave 28.8%. Both supplements work well on their own; combine them if you want to do a creatine loading phase and a beta-alanine course at the same time.

When should you expect results?

With frequent dosing (4–8 times a day) you will notice a change within the first few days. With less frequent intake, it takes one to two weeks. The maximum effect is reached after a 10-week course, when carnosine levels rise by up to 80%.

If you would like to dig deeper, you can look up the original sources: http://www.pubmed.gov/.

Studies

Harris et al. Carnosine and taurine contents in individual fibers in human vastus lateralis muscle. J. Sports Science. 16:639-643, 1998.

Harris et al. Muscle buffering capacity and dipeptide content in the thoroughbred horse, greyhound dog and man. Comparative Biochem physiol. 97A:249-251, 1990.

Harris et al. The absorption of orally supplied beta-alanine and its effect on muscle carnosine synthesis in human vastus lateralis. Amino Acids. 2006 May;30(3):279-89. Epub 2006 Mar 24.

Hill et al. Influence of beta-alanine supplementation on skeletal muscle carnosine concentrations and high intensity cycling capacity. Amino Acids. 2007 Feb;32(2):225-33. Epub 2006 Jul 28.

Hipkiss et al. Non-enzymatic glycosylation of the dipeptide L-carnosine, a potential anti-protein-cross-linking agent. FEBS Lett 371: 81-85, 1995.

Hoffman et al. Effect of creatine and beta-alanine supplementation on performance and endocrine responses in strength/power athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2006 Aug;16(4):430-46.

Stout et al. The effects of creatine and beta-alanine on physical working capacity at neuromuscular fatigue threshold. J. Strength and Cond. Res. 20(4):928-931, 2006.

Stout et al. Effects of beta-alanine supplementation on the onset of neuromuscular fatigue and ventilatory threshold in women. Amino Acids. 2006 Nov 30.

Suzuki et al. The effect of sprint training on skeletal muscle carnosine in humans. Intl. J. Sport Health Sci 2:105-110, 2005.

Suzuki et al. The effect of sprint training on skeletal muscle carnosine in humans. Intl J Sport Health Sci 2: 105-110, 2004.

Suzuki et al. High level of skeletal muscle carnosine contributes to the latter half of exercise performance during 30-s maximal cycle ergometer sprinting. Jpn. J. Physiol. 52:199-205, 2002.

Tallon et al. The carnosine content of vastus lateralis is elevated in resistance trained bodybuilders. J. Strength and Cond. Res. 19:725-729, 2005.

Zoeller et al. Effects of creatine and beta-alanine on ventilatory and lactate thresholds in men. Amino Acids. 2006 Sep 5.

Author: Fred Antson

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