Does Beta-Alanine Work? (Benefits, Side Effects, and Everything Between)
Beta-alanine: with a name like that ("beta" sounds like "better", no?), you'd expect it to have loads of strength training benefits. But does it?
![Does Beta-Alanine Work? (Benefits, Side Effects, and Everything Between)](/content/images/size/w1200/2024/03/does-beta-alanine-work.jpg)
You know how in TV shows, there are always “filler” episodes that don’t contribute to the show’s plot but are just … there? To take up space?
The whole filler-episode-in-a-TV show is a great analogy for beta-alanine’s role in pre-workouts.
At least when you strength train with optimal muscle growth in mind.
Continue reading to learn why we have such a negative (but entirely justified!) outlook on beta-alanine.
What does beta-alanine do?
Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid.
Your body binds it with L-histidine, an essential amino acid, to form carnosine.
Which is … what, exactly? And why is it important? To answer those questions, we’ll first need to understand how your body produces ATP or energy during high-intensity exercise* lasting roughly 10 to 90 seconds.
*The keywords here are “high-intensity exercise”.
Keep this in mind.
So. During high-intensity exercise, your body must rely on the anaerobic lactic energy system for ATP replenishment.
This process converts muscle glycogen (i.e., stored glucose) into energy — but also generates 2 “problematic” by-products:
- Lactate
- Hydrogen ions
As both lactate and hydrogen ions have low pH values, their accumulation in the muscles over time creates an “acidic” environment that results in:
… which makes it difficult for you to keep exercising at this intensity.
Unless! There’s a way to neutralize all that acidity in your muscles? *lifts eyebrow* OK, OK, there is indeed a way, and you probably saw this coming a mile away, but it starts with “C”.
Carnosine.
As it turns out, this one-part-beta-alanine, one-part-L-histidine compound can directly react with protons (such as hydrogen ions) to lessen reductions in pH during high-intensity exercise, delaying fatigue.
Uh. Wait. So, let’s get this right:
- Beta-alanine increases intramuscular carnosine levels, which
- Delays the creation of acidic conditions that compromise the muscle contraction process
The result is improved endurance: so, why did we pooh-pooh beta-alanine’s usefulness in the introduction?