When is the Best Time to Take Beta Alanine? With or Without Food?
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When is the Best Time to Take Beta Alanine? With or Without Food?
By: Robbie Durand
Beta-alanine is a popular ergogenic supplement because it can induce muscle carnosine loading. An increase in muscle carnosine is related to an increase in performance for high- intensity exercise. Beta-Alanine is a non-essential amino acid that in combination with the essential amino acid, histidine, results in the formation of carnosine within the muscle cell. Carnosine is recognized as a pH buffer, because of its H+ buffering capability, increased carnosine concentration in skeletal muscle has been associated with enhancing muscle buffering capacity and reducing muscle fatigue.
Being able to crank out a few more reps and do a few more sets is what muscle growth is all about! If you are not the high-intensity type, then beta-alanine may not work well for you as previous research reported that beta-alanine supplementation may not affect performance unless exercise intensity and duration induced high levels of blood lactate. Researchers found that increases in training volume and significantly lower subjective feelings of fatigue during 60-second maximal exercise, thus supporting the notion that beta-alanine supplementation may be most effective under high lactate producing, high intensity exercise conditions.
Beta-Alanine Gets You Bigger
The increased repetitions to fatigue can translate into increased muscle mass. A new study from the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition shows that Beta-Alanine could also improve isometric contractions. When subjects were administered 6.4 grams of Beta-Alanine for four weeks, their maximal voluntary isometric contraction strength improved.
So taking beta- alanine will likely help with local muscle endurance and improved time under tension when in the gym, which can lead to greater muscle growth. Researchers examined the effectiveness of beta-alanine as an ergogenic aid in tests of anaerobic power output after eight weeks of a high-intensity interval, repeated sprint, and resistance training in previously trained collegiate wrestlers and football players. Each subject ingested either 4 grams per day of beta-alanine or placebo in powdered capsule form. Both football player groups, supplement, and placebo gained nearly identical amounts of body weight (about 2.5 lbs.), but the group taking beta-alanine gained 1 lb. more lean mass.
The football-consuming group taking beta-alanine doubled their muscle mass compared to the control group. So beta-alanine can be used while dieting for a show to increase muscle mass as demonstrated by the wrestling group whom were on a calorie restricted diet or you can take beta-alanine in the off-season to pack on additional lean muscle mass as evidenced by the football group.
What’s the Best Way to Take Beta Alanine for Maximal Muscle?
Beta-alanine enhances the concentrations of carnosine in the muscle. Elevated levels of muscle carnosine content lead to an improvement in muscle force during repeated bouts of intense dynamic contractions. So when is the best time to take beta alanine? Should you take it with or without food? Researchers set out to determine what’s the best way to consume beta alanine.
In Study A, the effect of a 5-week slow-release beta-alanine supplementation (4.8 grams per day) on whole body beta alanine retention was determined in seven men. They further determined whether the co-ingestion of carbohydrates and proteins with beta alanine would improve muscle retention of carnitine. They ingested the beta alanine with a Powerbar (61 grams of carbs + 22 grams of protein) to elevate insulin levels.
In Study B (34 subjects), the researchers explored the effect of meal timing on muscle carnosine loading (3.2 grams per day during 6–7 weeks). One group received pure beta alanine in between the meals; the other received pure beta-alanine at the start of the meals, to explore the effect of meal-induced insulin release. The subject’s consumed a high carbohydrate diet to spike insulin levels to increased beta alanine concentrations in muscle. Further, they compared with a third group receiving slow release beta alanine at the start of the meals.
The researchers found that taking the beta-alanine during mealtimes led to a greater increase in the carnosine concentrations in the muscle. When the subjects took their beta-alanine between meals, the amount of carnosine in their muscles rose by 40 percent. When they took the amino acid during meals, the amount of carnosine increased by 57 percent. After taking beta-alanine, the concentration of beta-alanine in the blood rises. If the peak coincides with a higher insulin level, then muscle cells seem to absorb the amino acid better.
More BA=More Carnosine=Longer to fatigue!
The recommended daily dose of beta-alanine is 2-5 grams (29 Trusted Source).
Carnosine levels can be increased further by taking beta-alanine with a meal (30Trusted Source).
Beta-alanine supplements appear to be more effective at replenishing muscle carnosine levels than taking carnosine alone.
Beta-alanine improves performance by boosting exercise capacity while reducing muscle exhaustion.
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Stellingwerff T, Decombaz J, Harris RC, Boesch C. Optimizing human in vivo dosing and delivery of β-alanine supplements for muscle carnosine synthesis. Amino Acids. 2012 Jul;43(1):57-65.
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