Sports supplement improves fitness in older individuals

An article published online on November 7 2008 in BioMed Central's Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition provides evidence that beta-alanine, a dietary supplement used by athletes, improves fitness in older men and women. Beta-alanine is an amino acid that forms, in part, the dipeptide carnosine, found in muscle tissue. Ingestion of beta-alanine increases muscle carnosine, which helps maintain intracellular pH. This maintenance is necessary for normal muscle function during intense exercise. Although recent research has shown that supplementation with beta-alanine is correlated with improved exercise performance in young men and women, its effect in older individuals had not been determined.

In a double-blind trial, Jeffrey R. Stout, PhD, of the University of Oklahoma's Department of Health and Exercise Science, and his colleagues randomized 9 men and 17 women with an average age of 72.8 to receive 800 milligrams beta-alanine three times per day or a placebo for 90 days. Fitness was evaluated by electromyographic testing during cycling intervals engaged in by the participants before and after the treatment period.

At the study's conclusion, 67 percent of those who received beta-alanine demonstrated improved fitness levels, compared with 21.5 of the placebo group. "Our data suggest that 90 days of beta-alanine supplementation increases physical working capacity in elderly men and women," the authors remark in their discussion of the results. "These findings are clinically significant, as a decrease in functional capacity to perform daily living tasks has been associated with an increase in mortality, primarily due to increased risk of falls."

"This could have importance in the prevention of falls, and the maintenance of health and independent living in elderly men and women," Dr Stout concluded.

—D Dye