The Infonian

Beta Alanine (BA) is a popular supplement widely used by athletes and bodybuilders to improve performance. BA is a non-essential amino acid and is the only naturally occurring beta amino acid. It is “non-essential” because it is produced in our bodies. Some bodybuilders are touting BA as the “new creatine” because of its purported ability to enhance performance-let’s see what the facts say and find out if it’s really true. Amino acids of course are organic compounds that are the building blocks of protein, which in turn is the primary fuel for muscle growth. And though BA-also known as-3-aminopropanoic acid-is an amino acid, it is in fact a non-proteinogenic amino acid, which means that it cannot be synthesized into a protein. Since it can’t be synthesized into a protein, how does BA improve performance?

The efficacy of BA appears to stem from the fact that it’s a pre-cursor to converting to carnosine in muscles. That’s important to know because in our bodies, muscle carnosine synthesis is limited by the availability of beta-alanine. And you may already know that carnosine is important to performance because it acts as a buffering agent, helping to delay the onset of muscular failure. So the theory goes that an increase in the availability of BA should result in a higher degree of muscle carnosine synthesis, which should result in enhanced performance.

In talking about alanine, you’ve probably also heard about a-alanine. Though they sound similar, BA and a-alanine are really very different from one another-and the difference is important to know. For example, whereas a-alanine is involved in enzyme function and protein synthesis, beta-alanine is not. Unlike a-alanine, BA’s role appears to be solely limited to fostering higher levels of muscle carnosine.

Over the past several years, a number of researchers have decided to put this theory to the test. For instance, one group of researchers studied a group of 33 college football players over a period of ten weeks. They found a clear connection between BA supplementation and enhanced performance.

Another study, conducted at the University of Oklahoma, showed that supplementing with BA measurably improved athletes’ endurance. Other studies have shown similar results.

Like I mentioned earlier, the theory is that BA results in an increase of muscle carnosine concentrations and test results appear to confirm that. In another trial, among a group of 13 athletes supplementing with BA, their muscle carnosine levels were measured at 4 weeks and at 10 weeks. After 4 weeks, the carnosine level had jumped by nearly 59% and had skyrocketed more than 80% after 10 weeks.

Interestingly, when BA is taken along with creatine, the outcome is even better. In another study, participants took not only BA, but creatine as well. These tests showed that the performance of the creatine plus BA group was significantly higher than both the creatine-alone and the placebo groups.

The trials that included both supplements showed a synergism between the two that considerably improved the results over the control group and those that supplemented just with BA. In these tests-in comparison to the other two groups-the duo supplement athletes showed a greater increase in their training volume, their strength was greater, their endurance was improved, they added lean mass and dropped body fat.

In fact, in the studies this group showed a more than 1% drop in overall body fat percentage despite the fact that they were not on a calorie-restricted diet. Again, the synergism between the creatine and BA appears to kick the body’s metabolism into high gear, resulting in significantly increased fat burning capacity. That may not seem like a big difference but if you’re competing, it can make a world of difference. It’s especially interesting because neither supplement-when taken alone-has been identified with a decrease in body fat percentage.

Because BA is a non-essential nutrient, there is no established recommended daily allowance for human consumption. In the research studies I mentioned, the daily BA dosage ranged from 3.2 grams to 6 grams. As you can see, in the studies the impact of BA hit its max at about 10 weeks.

So based on both a battery of scientific studies, along with plenty of anecdotal evidence, there seems to be little doubt that beta-alanine can certainly be a worthwhile and effective supplement-especially if it is taken along with creatine. Not only could it result in improved performance and endurance but the combination could also help you to add lean mass and drop your body fat percentage by a point or two-definitely things we like to see.

Author: Mike Westerdal

Nitric Oxide (NO) is a gas that that is important to a broad range of bodily functions including controlling blood circulation and helping to regulate activities of the brain, lungs, kidneys, stomach and plenty more. For the most part it facilitates communications among cells. For bodybuilders, the most interesting process in which NO is involved is the dilation of blood vessels. This is known as vasodilation and that is exactly why you should be interested in NO and what it can do to improve your performance. Vasodilation refers to an increase in the flow of blood through the body, which means faster and more efficient delivery of nutrients like amino acids, creatine, glucose, and oxygen to the muscle fibers. This helps your muscles to grow bigger and recover faster while facilitating the removal of waste products like lactic acid and CO2 that can decrease performance. Greater blood flow also enhances the delivery of anabolic hormones like testosterone, growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I, all of which are important for muscle growth. Other benefits of increased blood flow include reduced inflammation and a bigger and longer-lasting “pump,” too.

In our bodies NO is synthesized by L-arginine by an enzyme called nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). This catalyzes the conversion of L-arginine to nitric oxide and citrulline. Under normal conditions our bodies produce it only in very small amounts-enough to do what needs to be done and that’s it. Production of NO is increased during exercise but not necessarily to the degree that we’d like to see. Some of the numerous benefits of boosting our bodies’ output of nitric oxide include:

Increased vasodilation, which increases blood flow to the skeletal muscles, which improves the transportation of oxygen and the delivery of nutrients to the cells;

Increased strength and improved stamina;

Gains in lean mass;

Enhanced, more rapid muscle recovery;

Improved endurance; and

Extended muscle pump.

Numerous studies such as one conducted at the University of Texas, have shown that supplements can boost the body’s production of nitric oxide more than just exercise alone. Another study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology showed that a pre-workout stack of L-arginine combined with citrulline can boost measurably boost nitric oxide levels. Their research showed that the combination of the two supplements increased nitric oxide levels more than either supplement taken alone.

There are a lot of different NO-boosting supplements on the market. Knowing what was discovered in the British study though, in looking for supplements to boost your NO output, you might want to look for one that contains not only L-arginine but citrulline as well. There are other ways to up your body’s NO production as well including:

Don’t eat fatty foods within four hours of working out: A study conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore showed that high-feat meals hamper the ability of NO to dilate the blood vessels for up to four hours;

Eat watermelon: Several studies such as one conducted at Texas A&M University indicate that watermelon contains NO-boosting molecules;

Eat cocoa: A study conducted at the University of California, Davis showed that cocoa boosts nitric oxide levels. Chocolate contains flavanols that are similar to those found in fruit, red wine and teas. One flavanol in particular though-epicatechin-is directly linked to increases in NO output. A teaspoon or two of cocoa extract is enough to stimulate NO production.

You should also know about a possible side effect. Specific dosing guidelines have not been established so don’t go too overboard supplementing with L-arginine because you might just wind up with a case of diarrhea. It’s not very common but it does happen. If you’re supplementing with L-arginine you should start with a low dosage to understand your body’s tolerances and see if you have any side effects. Increase your dosage until you achieve the optimal balance of maximum benefits/no side effects. Also, remember to consider other supplements that your might be taking because many of them are fortified with amino acids including arginine.

Most of the heavy duty research into the science of muscle growth is relatively new with the majority of the really interesting stuff just happening in the last 10-15 years. The point being that research into the benefits of NO is just really starting to gain ground. I have no doubt that in the next few years we’ll be hearing a lot more about what this amazing molecule can do-not just for the muscles but for the entire body.

Author: Mike Westerdal