Beta-Alanine

β-alanine · Beta alanine

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
High-intensity exercise capacity^{1, 2} Time to exhaustion in women³ Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes⁴ Exercise capacity in older adults⁵ Older adults with low MoCA (≤26)⁶	Pregnancy or breastfeeding⁷ Under 18 years⁷ Within two weeks of surgery⁷

Beta-alanine is an amino acid made in the liver and found in meat, and it is the rate-limiting precursor of carnosine, an intracellular buffer of hydrogen ions in muscle². Supplementation raises muscle carnosine, which is why it is used to support high-intensity exercise lasting a few minutes. Athletes and tactical personnel are the typical users^{2, 8}. It is also studied for exercise capacity in older adults, glycemic markers in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, and cognition in older adults.

Across healthy participants, a meta-analysis found a small overall performance effect, larger for exercise capacity than for performance tests. A network meta-analysis found its effects non-significant or context-specific⁹. In women, the evidence supports time to exhaustion only, at very low certainty. A meta-analysis of randomized trials in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes found lower fasting glucose and glycated hemoglobin⁴. In a 2021 case report, an adolescent with refractory idiopathic aquagenic pruritus was managed with supplementation; no controlled trial has tested it¹⁰. Products listing beta-alanine number in the thousands, mostly powders, capsules, and tablets, including sustained-release formats; see Form comparison.

Per the International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand, the only reported side effect is paraesthesia, which divided doses or sustained-release formulas attenuate². Some United States (US) product labels advise consulting a physician before use with kidney or liver disease⁷.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

67 sources, 59 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources