Beta Alanine Is Proving Popular With UK Olympic Athletes

More Olympic athletes are using vitamin, mineral and amino acid supplements to get the edge over their competitors and improve their performance. Mo Farah is one of the latest highly accomplished British track athletes using these natural compounds to his advantage.

Olympic and world record holder, Mo Farah subscribes to a strict training regime that includes beta alanine supplementation.

How Alanine enhances performance

 

L-Alanine is a proteinogenic amino acidA performance enhancing amino acid, this compound elevates muscle carnosine. When ingested, beta alanine is converted into carnosine. Research as shown that beta alanine supplementation can increase muscle carnosine concentrations by almost 60 percent within four weeks, and up to 80 percent within ten weeks

1. Since carnosine acts as low pH buffer, it protects the body from exercise-induced lactic acid build-up. Muscle carnosine loading is proven to enhance physical performance associated with high-intensity exercise in both trained and untrained individuals2

For athletes that rely on strength and endurance, beta alanine offers an important natural performance boost. Other research suggests that it’s not just athletes that stand to benefit from beta alanine supplementation. Carnosine has been linked with preventing hypertension3, safeguarding against diabetes, stoke and atherosclerosis45, plus offering anti-cancer properties678. Furthermore, this compound may protect the body from degenerative brain conditions91011 and cataracts12.

Dipeptides containing beta alanine are the richest dietary source of this amino acid. Proteins such as fish, pork, chicken and beef are common sources. Quality supplements containing beta alanine offer the most reliable dietary source.

 

 

  1. “Hill CA, Harris RC, Kim HJ, Harris BD, Sale C, Boobis LH, Kim CK, Wise JA. (2007). “Influence of beta-alanine supplementation on skeletal muscle carnosine concentrations and high intensity cycling capacity”. Amino Acids 32 (2): 225–33.” ↩
  2. “Derave W, Everaert I, Beeckman S, Baguet A. (2010). “Muscle carnosine metabolism and beta-alanine supplementation in relation to exercise and training.” Sports Med 40(3):247-63” ↩
  3. “Niijima A, Okui T, Matsumura Y, et al. (2002). “Effects of L-carnosine on renal sympathetic nerve activity and DOCA-salt hypertension in rats.” Auton Neurosci. 97(2):99-102” ↩
  4. “Rashid I, van Reyk DM, Davies MJ. (2007). “Carnosine and its constituents inhibit glycation of low-density lipoproteins that promotes foam cell formation in vitro”. FEBS Lett. 581(5):1067-70.” ↩
  5. “Rajanikant GK, Zemke D, Senut MC, et al.(2007). “Carnosine is neuroprotective against permanent focal cerebral ischemia in mice.” Stroke. 38(11):3023-31.” ↩
  6. “Chuang CH, Hu ML. (2008) L”-carnosine inhibits metastasis of SK-Hep-1 cells by inhibition of matrix metaoproteinase-9 expression and induction of an antimetastatic gene, nm23-H1.” Nutr Cancer. 60(4):526-33” ↩
  7. “Renner C, Zemitzsch N, Fuchs B, et al. (2010) “Carnosine retards tumor growth in vivo in an NIH3T3-HER2/neu mouse model.” Mol Cancer. 9:2” ↩
  8. “Renner C, Asperger A, Seyffarth A, Meixensberger J, Gebhardt R, Gaunitz F. (2010) “Carnosine inhibits ATP production in cells from malignant glioma”. Neurol Res. 32(1):101-5” ↩
  9. “Boldyrev A, Fedorova T, Stepanova M, et al. (2008) Carnosine increases efficiency of DOPA therapy of Parkinson’s disease: a pilot study. Rejuvenation Res.11(4):821-7” ↩
  10. “Boldyrev AA, Stvolinsky SL, Fedorova TN, Suslina ZA.(2010) Carnosine as a natural antioxidant and geroprotector: from molecular mechanisms to clinical trials. Rejuvenation Res.13(2-3):156-8” ↩
  11. “Tsai SJ, Kuo WW, Liu WH, Yin MC. (2010) Antioxidative and anti-inflammatory protection from carnosine in the striatum of MPTP-treated mice. J Agric Food Chem. 58(21):11510-6” ↩
  12. “Guo Y, Yan H. (2006) “Preventive effect of carnosine on cataract development. Yan Ke Xue Bao.” 22(2):85-8” ↩