Beta-alanine is an amino acid that fights the unpleasant symptoms of menopause

How is beta-alanine useful during menopause?

Beta-alanine can easily be considered one of a woman’s “best friends” during menopause. For example, according to the results of a blinded study (where patients did not know whether they were receiving the active substance or a placebo), 70% of women taking beta-alanine decreased the frequency and severity of hot flashes.

But beta-alanine still causes mistrust among many because of its name. Women who have a hard time with hormonal changes do not want to load their body with “additional chemicals.” So what is beta-alanine and why is it needed during menopause?

Effect on a woman's body

The content of the article

An amino acid that can suppress the development of some of the unpleasant symptoms of menopause that are of vegetative origin. This substance works with peripheral vascular centers, reducing negative symptoms resulting from an increasing lack of female sex hormones and manifested by weakness, severity of hot flashes, sweating, skin heat and headaches.

This amino acid also limits the flow of histamine into the blood without being an antihistamine blocker. In addition to older women experiencing menopause, other people should pay attention to this substance:

• Nervous
  . Beta-alanine relieves stress and reduces anxiety.
• Losing weight.
  This amino acid helps burn excess fat in the body and reduce appetite.
• Elderly.
  This amino acid improves memory and acts as a general tonic, increasing the body's endurance and increasing its resistance to various diseases.
• For athletes
  . This amino acid replenishes glucose and promotes the breakdown and absorption of proteins. It increases endurance, activates muscle growth, relieves muscle pain after exercise, and also accelerates recovery from injuries, so people who practice systematic heavy physical activity need to take this substance into the body in increased quantities, with beta-alanine coming from food more quickly everything will not be enough.
• For vegetarians
  . Vegetarians who practice a complete exclusion of animal foods require the inclusion of dietary supplements with this amino acid in their diet, since it is present in small quantities in plant foods.

Cleansing the body

. Beta-alanine helps rid the body of ammonia, one of the metabolic products, as well as mercury and arsenic.

Arterial pressure.

Fights hypotension—lowering blood pressure.

Deficiency Symptoms

Typically, the symptoms of beta-alanine deficiency are relatively subtle and only appear when there is a general protein deficiency in the body.

Possible symptoms include:

• dizziness;
• hypoglycemia (low blood glucose concentration);
• lack of muscle development;
• loss of muscle mass;
• enlarged prostate and pain when urinating;
• changes in the condition of the skin and hair;
• decreased mental abilities;
• mood swings.

Food sources

Natural sources of this amino acid for humans are a variety of protein foods - meat, chicken eggs, squid, and gelatin. Additional sources of it can be products such as mushrooms, soybeans, yeast, sunflower seeds, parsley, as well as a variety of nuts, cereals, legumes, and bran.

It is important to remember that this amino acid is destroyed during prolonged cooking of the above products in water.

The lack of this amino acid makes itself felt by weakness of the immune system, poor appetite, decreased libido, urolithiasis, hypoglycemia, and neurosis.

Instructions for use and contraindications

Recommended dosages:

• for athletes - 2.4-6.4 g daily for 10 weeks;
• to improve physical performance in older people - 800 mg three times a day for up to 28 days or 800-1600 mg twice a day for up to 12 weeks.

Many trainers recommend taking beta-alanine along with creatine, as their mutual effect is enhanced.

Contraindications:

Not recommended for pregnant and lactating women. Also, be sure to consult your doctor if you are taking medications for your heart and blood vessels.

Side effects

The most common adverse reactions when taking Beta-alanine are skin redness, tingling and burning. The affected areas are the skin of the abdomen, head, arms and legs.

These negative reactions develop after taking the supplement - after 10-15 minutes and last up to two hours. Sometimes taking this dietary supplement can cause nausea, sleep disturbances and seizures.

To prevent these side symptoms, the amino acid should be taken with food or with a sports cocktail, being careful not to exceed the daily dose recommended in the instructions.

How to choose the best dietary supplement?

The quality of a dietary supplement primarily depends on the brand, so the choice must be made responsibly. Here are some examples of good β-alanine supplements:

Optimum Nutrition

The most common packages are powder of 203 and 263 grams. Optimum Nutrition is one of the most well-known sports nutrition brands, but it comes at a price to match.

Be first

The most commonly found packaging on sale is 200 grams of powder. It costs about 600 rubles, which is much cheaper than supplements from Optimum Nutrition. However, Be First is also a well-known company that has established itself as a reliable and high-quality sports nutrition brand.

Now

Now Foods does not focus on sports nutrition, but on the entire market of dietary supplements for different categories of people. They provide a quality product at a fairly low price. Now's Beta Alanine is most commonly found in packs of 120, 750-milligram capsules.

Benefit for health

Beta-alanine increases carnosine levels and promotes muscle growth. In addition, the amino acid is involved in the process of converting glucose in the liver, produces a neuroprotective effect, has a beneficial effect on the body of women during menopause, and stimulates spermatogenesis in men.

β-Alanine also has effects in the brain. The substance increases cognitive abilities, improves memory and attention, and stimulates the functioning of dopamine receptors. This nutrient also exhibits rejuvenating properties. Scientists do not yet know the exact mechanism of the effect of beta-alanine on age, but many consider it an analogue of resveratrol.

The main beneficial properties of the amino acid include the regulation of central nervous system functions. Taking beta-alanine prevents oxidative stress of proteins and lipids, which helps maintain their quantity in nervous tissue. Therefore, drugs based on this substance are often used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and to stimulate motor activity in patients with Parkinson's syndrome.

For more interesting information about amino acids, watch the video:

Beta Alanine is all that matters.

Overdose

Frequently taking high doses of alanine may cause some side effects. Among the most common are flushing, redness, and mild burning or tingling of the skin (paresthesia). But this note applies only to the pharmaceutical analogue of the amino acid. The substance, obtained from food, usually does not cause any discomfort. Side effects can be avoided by reducing the daily dosage of the substance. Alanine is generally considered a safe drug. However, people with food allergies should replenish amino acid reserves with caution.

In addition, the body will report an oversaturation of alanine with chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, sleep disturbances, pain in muscles and joints, deterioration of memory and attentiveness.

What is beta-alanine?

The word “beta” in the name of the substance means that in the molecule the amino group is connected not to the carbon atom closest to the carboxyl group (as in all alpha amino acids), but to the next one (beta carbon). All amino acids that make up proteins (glycine, leucine, valine, glutamine, tryptophan, etc.) are alpha amino acids. Beta amino acids are not part of the proteins of living organisms, and in general, only one of these amino acids is present in the human body - beta-alanine.

But nevertheless, when combined with the amino acid histidine, beta-alanine forms carnosine, an extremely important substance that regulates metabolism in muscle cells. Carnosine binds lactic acid, which is released during muscle work and causes a burning sensation in tense muscles. Reducing muscle wasting and increasing calcium channel sensitivity allows for increased muscle contraction during work.

In addition, this substance is an antioxidant that slows down the aging process. It has been established that in elderly people the concentration of carnosine is noticeably lower than in young people (by 35%), therefore it is believed that increasing carnosine reserves helps delay the onset of old age.

What products contain

Foods with the highest concentration of amino acids that need to be added to the diet:

• All types of meat;
• Sea and river fish;
• Seafood;
• Dairy products;
• Red and black caviar;
• Almost all nuts;
• Chicken eggs (with yolks);
• Pumpkin seeds;
• Oatmeal;
• Soy products;
• Peas.

The main difficulty is that to obtain the effect of the amino acid, it must be taken shortly before physical activity. With regular food consumption, it is almost impossible to accurately predict when foods will be digested and begin to be absorbed by the body. This will also lead to the consumption of large amounts of food and stress on the gastrointestinal tract, during which training becomes ineffective and uncomfortable. This method of taking beta-alanine is harmful, so obtaining the amino acid using a supplement is considered the most convenient and effective.

Interaction with other substances

Best materials of the month

• Coronaviruses: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)
• Antibiotics for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19: how effective are they?
• The most common "office" diseases
• Does vodka kill coronavirus?
• How to stay alive on our roads?

Alanine combines well with creatine, but does not combine with taurine (they may compete for absorption). Interacting with other bioactive compounds, it participates in the synthesis of carnosine, anserine, coenzyme A, phenylalanine, pantothenic and pyruvic acids.

Reviews about the application

To leave a review, fill out the special form below:

Send your review

Beta-alanine

Average rating: Number of reviews: 0

More than 80% of reviews of beta-alanine supplements are associated with improved muscle tone. According to professional athletes, as well as people interested in bodybuilding, after taking the amino acid, tone increases, pain decreases, and muscles recover faster. Many athletes are also pleased with the price of supplements.

There are also reviews of women taking beta-alanine as an antimenopausal agent. They claim that the supplement:

• relieves fatigue;
• normalizes blood pressure and heart function;
• relieves hot flashes;
• improves quality of life;
• increases blood viscosity in women with a tendency to thrombosis.

Doctors also write reviews about β-alanine. They recommend taking dietary supplements even for girls diagnosed with artificial menopause, which occurs after surgical operations. After all, the amino acid not only normalizes hormonal levels, but also has an anti-inflammatory effect.

Now Foods, Sports Series, Beta Alanine, Endurance, 750 mg, 120 Veggie Caps

★★★★★

RUB 1,351

More details