What is it beta alanine?
Beta alanine is a non essential beta amino acid which increases muscle carnosine levels and increases the amount of work you can perform at high intensities. Beta alanine is also known for causing the “tingle” you might have felt when you drink a pre workout supplement containing beta alanine.
How does beta alanine work?
A byproduct of weight training is hydrogen ions which decreases the pH in the muscle tissue and inhibits exergy production, when beta alanine is consumed it enters the body and binds with the amino acid L-histidine to form carnosine. Carnosine is responsible for buffering hydrogen ions during exercise which allows you to weight train harder and longer before fatigue.
Who should take beta alanine? 
Anyone who is looking to increase high intensity exercise performance or endurance could benefit from beta alanine. Specifically, those who are following a bodybuilding style training program or those who are looking to increase HIIT performance or endurance can benefit from beta alanine. Increasing your capacity to perform exercise can help to increase lean body mass and reduce body fat.
When to take beta alanine and how much?
Beta alanine is usually consumed pre workout, but the timing is not very important because the benefits of consuming beta alanine are based on increased muscle carnosine concentrations that can take several days to increase significantly. 3-6g/day is the ideal dosage to increase muscle carnosine concentrations and performance. The dosage may be divided into smaller doses throughout the day to minimize paresthesia (the tingles). Many pre workout supplements are underdosed and may not deliver the full benefits of beta alanine make sure to read the label and check the dosage.
Are there any side effects?
Beta alanine can cause a “tingle”, “pins and needles”, itching, or flushed feeling throughout the body. This is called paresthesia. The feeling usually last 5 to 15 minutes, but the intensity depends on the dosage and current stomach contents. Beta alanine consumption on an empty stomach will increase blood concentrations faster and increase paresthesia.
In conclusion
Beta alanine is one of the most highly effective supplements in sports nutrition since creatine. We highly recommend beta alanine for anyone who is looking to build muscle, perform better at higher intensities, and increase endurance.
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