5 Best Beta-Alanine Supplements 2023: Top Brand Reviews & Buyer’s Guide
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- Written by Karla Tafra, Nutritionist
Medically reviewed by
Dr G. Michael DiLeo, MD
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Transparent Labs BULK Pre Workout
- Promotes muscle growth and recovery
- Contains nootropics to help with mental focus
- Made with zero artificial ingredients
Crazy Nutrition Intensive Pre-Train
- Unique blend of 19 ingredients
- Fast-absorbing formula
- 60-day 100 percent money-back guarantee
Optimum Nutrition Beta-Alanine
- Supports muscle buffering systems that delay muscle fatigue
- Clean and free of any artificial ingredients
- Contains histidine in addition to carnosine
Beta-alanine is one of the most popular pre-workout supplements. It’s been shown[1] to improve exercise performance, reduce fatigue, improve tactical performance, and increase[2] the concentration of an important dipeptide, carnosine, which enhances endurance and helps you train longer with more efficiency.
Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid that isn’t used to build muscle. Instead[3], it produces histidine and carnosine which help break down the lactic acid build-up in your muscles to reduce soreness and fatigue, thus improving your athletic performance. Best beta-alanine supplements are often used with creatine and other pre-workout supplements to promote muscle growth, increase endurance, and reduce muscle fiber recovery time.
Best Beta-Alanine Supplements on the market in (March. 2023)
- Transparent Labs BULK Pre Workout – Editor’s Choice
- Crazy Nutrition Intensive Pre-Train – Fastest to Absorb
- Optimum Nutrition Beta-Alanine – Best Clean Ingredients
- GNC Pro Performance Beta Alanine – Best in Tablet Form
- Legion Pulse Pre-Workout – Best All Natural
Who Should Take a Beta-Alanine Supplement?
Beta-alanine supplements can be taken by anyone who is working on their fitness goals and wants to reduce muscle fatigue and soreness so that they can recover more quickly and get back to the gym without too much downtime.
Since it helps reduce lactic acid accumulation, it’s one of the best supplements that can work in conjunction with other fitness-enhancing compounds.
The Line Up At A Glance
Editor’s Choice
Transparent Labs BULK Pre Workout
- Promotes muscle growth and recovery
- Contains nootropics to help with mental focus
- Made with zero artificial ingredients
Fastest to Absorb
Crazy Nutrition Intensive Pre-Train
- Unique blend of 19 ingredients
- Fast-absorbing formula
- 60-day 100 percent money-back guarantee
Best Clean Ingredients
Optimum Nutrition Beta-Alanine
- Supports muscle buffering systems that delay muscle fatigue
- Clean and free of any artificial ingredients
- Contains histidine in addition to carnosine
Best in Tablet Form
GNC Pro Performance Beta Alanine
- 3200 milligrams (mg) of beta-alanine in tablet form
- Easy to use
- Affordable
Best All Natural
Legion Pulse Pre-Workout
- 100 percent natural
- Options with and without caffeine
- A great variety of flavors
10% Off Coupon: HealthCanal
5 Best Beta-Alanine Supplements in 2023
Transparent Labs BULK Pre Workout
Transparent Labs’ BULK Pre-Workout is created for those looking to build lean muscle mass and enhance their athletic performance.
- Promotes muscle growth and recovery
- Contains nootropics to help with mental focus
- Made with zero artificial ingredients
- Expensive
Transparent Labs’ BULK Pre-Workout is one of the best beta-alanine supplements, as it contains a powerful formula that promotes muscle growth while speeding up your muscle fiber recovery and increasing fitness performance.
In addition to 4000 milligrams (mg) of beta-alanine, their formula packs a plethora of incredible compounds. From citrulline malate and branch-chain amino acids (BCAAs) to taurine, L-tyrosine, and L-theanine, it’s a terrific muscle-building supplement that can bring you closer to your fitness goals. Additionally, it delivers powerful nootropics, i.e., cognitive enhancers[4], that help improve your mental clarity, focus, and concentration in and out of the gym.
BULK Pre-Workout comes in a variety of delicious flavors, so there’s something for everyone, no matter their preference. It’s sweetened with stevia that in general doesn’t invoke digestive issues, so it’s unlikely you’ll experience bloating and cramps.
Crazy Nutrition Intensive Pre-Train
Crazy Nutrition Intensive Pre-Train is an explosive blend of 19 unique ingredients that work together to increase your athletic performance and help you train faster, stronger, and longer.
- Unique blend of 19 ingredients
- Fast-absorbing formula
- 60-day 100 percent money-back guarantee
- Contains sucralose, an artificial sweetener that’s known to cause[5] digestive problems in some people
Crazy Nutrition Intensive Pre-Train is a great beta-alanine powder supplement that packs an additional 18 unique, fast-absorbing ingredients to support muscle growth, boost energy, enhance focus, improve your lifts, and promote your motivation and drive.
One serving contains 2.5 grams (g) of beta-alanine and 18 other potent ingredients, including stress-reducing ashwagandha[6], muscle-building citrulline malate, and a variety of micronutrients to replenish your stores.
The product is on the affordable side, especially when you sign up for a subscription that gives you 20% off. Additionally, they offer a 60-day, 100% money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with the product.
Optimum Nutrition Beta-Alanine
Optimum Nutrition Beta-Alanine is a great beta-alanine supplement that’s clean and filled with recovery-boosting histidine and magnesium.
- Supports muscle buffering systems that delay muscle fatigue
- Clean and free of any artificial ingredients
- Contains histidine in addition to carnosine
- Free delivery only when you order $75 worth of products
Optimum Nutrition Beta-Alanine powder is clean, free of any artificial ingredients, and rich in recovery-boosting compounds such as histidine and magnesium. One serving (two scoops) contains 3200 mg of beta-alanine, 1100 mg of histidine, and 30 mg of magnesium, making it the perfect formula to help improve your endurance in the gym and speed up your muscle recovery.
It comes in a variety of flavors as well as an unflavored version, so you can mix it in whichever drink you prefer. The supplement is on the affordable side, but you don’t qualify for free shipping unless you’ve basically purchased three tubs at once.
GNC Pro Performance Beta-Alanine
Perfect for those who are on the go, GNC Pro Performance Beta-Alanine supplement is conveniently packed into tablets, making it easy to take before your workout, with just a sip from the water fountain.
- 3200 milligrams (mg) of beta-alanine in tablet form
- Easy to use
- Affordable
- Four tablets per serving might be hard to swallow for some people
GNC Pro Performance Beta-Alanine is highly rated and popular among athletes for its quality, and also ease-of-use. Since it’s in pill form, you don’t have to worry about mixing it with water and drinking a full glass before your workout.
Some people really dislike exercising on a full stomach and that’s why this beta-alanine supplement strategy (that is, as a tablet) makes it so convenient. One serving contains 3200 mg of beta-alanine, and you can take four pills before your workout or take two pills before and two pills after. The product is very affordable when compared to other beta-alanine supplements on the market, and they even offer a subscription model which saves you money and eliminates the need to worry about when you have to restock.
Legion Pulse Pre-Workout
Legion Pulse Pre-Workout contains a powerful formula with 14.9 mg of active ingredients to increase your endurance, strength, and stamina to perform even the toughest workouts.
- 100 percent natural
- Options with and without caffeine
- A great variety of flavors
- Expensive, but offers a discount on bundles
Legion Pulse Pre-Workout is a 100% clean pre-workout formula with 14.9 mg of active ingredients, which the company states have all been peer-reviewed for effectiveness. It’s naturally sweetened and flavored in all of its 18 delicious flavors. Some of the most unique ones include mojito, an arctic blast, bubble gum, and the crowd’s favorite–fruit punch. It’s a delicious and refreshing pre-workout drink that’s packed with nutrients that support your workout and help you train longer and feel stronger.
One serving contains 3.6 grams of beta-alanine and 8 mg of citrulline malate, enhancing your recovery and helping reduce your downtime from the gym. Legion pre-workout is also lab tested for potency and purity, ensuring its great quality. Additionally, you can choose a caffeine-containing and caffeine-free formula, depending on your preference and sensitivity to caffeine.
Some people are highly sensitive to caffeine, experiencing an extreme adrenaline rush when they take it. This can cause a variety[7] of symptoms from jitters and headaches to nausea and anxiety. Therefore, it’s important to check the label of your pre-workout and choose the one without caffeine as an ingredient.
How We Ranked The Best Beta-Alanine Supplements?
The best beta-alanine supplements contain a high dose of beta-alanine and have additional ingredients like citrulline malate, BCAAs, and other micronutrients to further enhance your workouts and promote muscle recovery, and contain clean ingredients with zero or minimal artificial add-ons.
We also looked at the price point compared to the value the beta-alanine supplement brings to the table and showcased which brands we think are worth spending a bit more money on.
Benefits of Beta-Alanine
Beta-alanine helps increase[3] carnosine levels in your muscles that serve as a buffer[8] against the lactic acid whose role is to reduce your muscles’ ability to contract, causing fatigue and soreness. Nitric acid is increased via carnosine, and this supports better oxygenation of tissue–the antidote to lactic acid–thereby reducing the acidity in your muscles. Thus, carnosine improves your recovery time and promotes longer bursts of high-intensity exercise.
Beta-alanine supplementation thus helps improve your overall athletic performance, with studies showing[9] a 13% improvement in cycling performance after only two weeks of use. Beta-alanine also helps improve exercises that are shorter in duration[10], such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
Another benefit of beta-alanine supplementation is an increase in muscle endurance in older adults[11] by delaying the start of neuromuscular fatigue during and after physical exercise.
Research shows there might be some evidence[12] that beta-alanine can help increase lean body mass and have a positive effect on your body composition. The reason behind it could be an increase in training volume, due to the boost in HIIT that beta-alanine allows, thus indirectly promoting muscle growth and fat burn.
It’s also important to note that carnosine, derived from beta-alanine, acts as an antioxidant to help fight[13] free radicals and their oxidative damage, supporting your immune system and promoting anti-aging effects. Studies also show that the nitric oxide production[14] that carnosine increases promote heart health and slow down the aging process. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator[15], allowing more blood flow (and therefore oxygen) to tissues. Some supplements only contain carnosine, but beta-alanine supplements seem to be better[16] at increasing carnosine levels.
Other than supplementing with beta-alanine, there are some foods that contain this non-essential amino acid naturally. These include beef, poultry, and fish, so those on a plant-based diet get 50% less[17] carnosine in their muscles when compared to carnivores.
Side Effects of Beta-Alanine
According to the Internation Society of Sports Nutrition, beta-alanine supplementation is considered safe in recommended doses in healthy individuals. The only known and reported side effect seems to be tingling sensations of the nerves, also known as paraesthesia[1], but further studies conclude how this can be avoided by merely using lower doses than recommended. (Also, see the question, “Can beta-alanine be harmful,” below in FAQ).
On the other hand, if someone does experience different side effects, especially those that are more pronounced or uncomfortable, they might be a reaction to another part of the pre-workout formula they are using. Many brands may contain high doses of other ingredients in addition to beta-alanine that can cause side effects in some people, especially those who are sensitive to stimulants.
If you’ve ever taken a pre-workout and felt a tingling sensation and jitters, it’s usually due to combining beta-alanine with caffeine. Try taking a non-caffeinated pre-workout and see if the sensation persists.
How Much Beta-Alanine Should You Take a Day?
The recommended daily dose[18] of beta-alanine is two to five grams. It can be taken before or after your workout, but evidence suggests it’s best absorbed and most efficient with a meal[19]. The International Society of Sports Nutrition and beta-alanine research state that to really experience the full benefits of beta-alanine supplementation, one has to go through what’s known as the “loading period[1].”
This refers to continuous supplementation of at least two to four weeks, even on non-workout days. Additionally, combining it with another single or multi-ingredient supplement may be even more beneficial in the long run if the amount of beta-alanine is high enough.
Some brands contain fast-absorbing formulas while others take the sustained-release approach, which helps reduce the chances of experiencing tingling sensations.
Final Thought
Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid that helps you push through your workouts on the days when you feel like you don’t have enough energy. It increases the level of carnosine in your muscles, reducing lactic acid and preventing fatigue from causing you to slow down.
It’s one of the main ingredients in most pre-workout formulas as it’s scientifically proven to work, changing the chemical structure of exercise-induced acidity in your muscles. When combined with other powerful ingredients, it can even help you build muscle, lose fat, and improve focus.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, scientifically proven to reduce muscle fatigue, it’s worth taking for those who are looking to increase their athletic performance and time spent in the gym. It’s definitely most beneficial to athletes and those training for a specific goal where pulling long hours in the gym or in training is absolutely necessary.
Like anything taken into the body, too much can cause harm. Going well beyond recommended doses can be toxic to your brain and nervous system. However, at the recommended doses, except for the possibility of tingling sensations (avoided with a lower dose or time-released preparations), it has been proven safe.
Beta-alanine and L-alanine are two different amino acids. The first one is a non-essential amino acid and is not used in protein synthesis, while the second is one of the essential amino acids and it’s involved in building protein. They have different roles and functions, so there is no better or worse. They both bring on health benefits, just from different angles.
Yes, the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends taking beta-alanine every day, even on non-workout days to experience the full benefits of muscle recovery.
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Health Canal avoids using tertiary references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and rely on peer-reviewed studies, academic researches from medical associations and institutions. To ensure the accuracy of articles in Health Canal, you can read more about the editorial process here
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Written by:
Karla Tafra, Nutritionist
Medically reviewed by:
Medically reviewed by:
