What Are benefits of Beta Alanine in Muscle Growth
Supplementation with β-alanine can increase carnosine concentrations
β-alanine has been identified as The rate-limiting precursor of carnosine synthesis and has been shown to increase human skeletal muscle carnosine levels. Taking 4-6 g/day of beta-alanine has been shown to increase carnosine concentrations by up to 64% after 4 weeks and by up to 80% after 10 weeks.
Although there is evidence that athletes who engage in resistance training and high-intensity exercise have higher concentrations of carnosine. However, longitudinal training studies have shown that changes in intramuscular carnosine are not clear. The variability in carnosine increase appeared to reflect baseline levels, with vegetarians having greater increases in carnosine concentrations compared with meat eaters. Men tend to have higher carnosine concentrations than women, and higher concentrations in fast-twitch muscle fibers than slow-twitch muscle fibers. Carnosine concentrations also decline with age and are likely influenced by habitual diet of carnosine-containing foods.
Nonetheless, supplementation with β-alanine will still increase carnosine concentrations, regardless of whether baseline levels are low or high, and no upper limit for carnosine concentrations has been established. Many of the studies evaluating increases in muscle carnosine have been done in young men, but evidence also suggests that beta-alanine supplementation is also effective in women and older adults.
Main Benefits of Beta Alanine in Muscle Growth
The main effect of taking beta alanine supplements is to increase carnosine levels in the muscles by about 80%. In sports and physical activity, the effect on the athlete’s body is to reduce fatigue and increase endurance levels, thereby improving overall performance. Long-term beta-alanine supplementation may improve high-intensity exercise performance by increasing muscle carnosine content.
Other research suggests that beta-alanine supplementation may be critical for prolonging fatigue duration during high-intensity physical activity. Studies have shown that taking beta-alanine supplements for four weeks increased their total training volume (TWD) by 13%. After ten weeks there was an increase of 3.2%. Of note is the effect of beta-alanine on carnosine levels and endurance levels in both trained and untrained individuals.
Additionally, beta-alanine supplementation has been shown to improve muscular endurance in older adults. Using beta-alanine supplements for 90 days can improve physical endurance by delaying the onset of neuromuscular fatigue in older men and women, research shows.
Beta-alanine is responsible for increasing carnosine levels, which appears to have certain health benefits. These health benefits include boosting immunity, anti-aging and antioxidant capacity. These make beta alanine beneficial for physical health by increasing carnosine.
Tips you need to know when using
- Four weeks of daily beta alanine powder of 4-6g can significantly increase intramuscular carnosine concentrations, which act as PH buffers within muscle cells.
- Beta alanine supplements are safe for healthy people to take at recommended doses.
- The only side effects of beta-alanine are tingling and numbness. But research suggests this can be mitigated by using split lower does or using an extended-release formulation.
- Beta-alanine supplementation with other single or multi-ingredient sports nutrition supplements is beneficial for athletic performance. But beta-alanine should be sufficient for at least 4 weeks.
- Beta-alanine can be taken with meals and may even enhance the effect.
- For exercise of less than 60 seconds, the benefit of β alanineis slight.
- β alanine may be more beneficial for 60-240 seconds of exercise.
- Effects depend on a variety of factors.
- Better results may be obtained when taken 30–45 minutes before exercise. But it’s not the only way to get beta alanine.