Beta-Alanine

Question 1

How does Beta Alanine improve performance/ Explain biological mechanism

Answer 1

• Beta alanine is used in carnosine production
• Carnosine is an intracellular H+ buffer and intracellular calcium ion shuttle
• Increased carnosine can improve pH buffering of muscle and improve calcium availability for cross bridge formation

Question 2

What are the performance benefits of beta-alanine?

Answer 2

• Delay in fatigue/Increased time to exhaustion
• Improved anaerobic exercise (but maybe not? Acidosis is not really an accepted mechanism)
• Increased resistance training volume tolerance (Hoffman et al 2008)

Question 3

What are the risks of beta alanine?

Answer 3

• Tingling/itchy sensation 60-90 minutes
• Decreased Taurine
• Paraesthesia at >800mg or 10mg/kg

Question 4

What is the recommended dosing strategy for beta alanine?

Answer 4

• Daily doses of 2-6g over 4-10 weeks
• Multiple small doses over the day may be more practical
• Eating with meal improves carnosine production (according to ISSN)

Question 5

What is the risk of contamination for beta-alanine?

Answer 5

14.8% chance according to Geyer et al 2004

Question 6

What is the strength of evidence for beta alanine?

Answer 6

• Individual differences in effect based on baseline carnosine levels
• Effect on carnosine (regardless of magnitude) is well accepted