Micronutrients & recovery
Daily beta-alanine supplementation of 4-6 grams for 2-4 weeks significantly increases muscle carnosine concentrations, acting as an intracellular pH buffer to attenuate exercise-induced acidosis.
Take 4-6 grams of beta-alanine daily, split into doses of 2 grams or less, for at least 4 weeks to maximize muscle carnosine stores. Expect harmless tingling (paraesthesia), which can be reduced by using sustained-release versions or smaller individual doses. This loading phase is necessary to gain the buffering benefits.
Four weeks of beta-alanine supplementation (4–6 g daily) significantly augments muscle carnosine concentrations, thereby acting as an intracellular pH buffer
Why this rating
This is a position stand from the International Society of Sports Nutrition based on a critical review of multiple studies.
Source
International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine
Eric T. Trexler et al. · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2015
DOI 10.1186/s12970-015-0090-y
More from this paper
- Beta-alanine supplementation improves exercise performance in high-intensity tasks lasting between 60 seconds and 4 minutes, with the most pronounced effects on open-endpoint tasks (time to exhaustion) and fixed-endpoint time trials.Strong
- Beta-alanine supplementation attenuates neuromuscular fatigue, particularly in older subjects, and may improve tactical performance in military personnel.Good
- Combining beta-alanine with sodium bicarbonate or creatine may provide a modest additive ergogenic effect, but evidence for a synergistic effect is mixed and not consistently statistically significant.Moderate
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