Carnitine information
carnitine side effects, deficiency, information carnitine supplements

Carnitine, or L-carnitine, is a naturally occurring substance found in most cells of the body, particularly the brain and neural tissues, muscles, and heart. Carnitine, whose structure is similar to choline, is widely available in animal foods (meat, poultry, fish and dairy products), whereas plants have very small amounts. Most non-vegetarians consume about 100 to 300 mg of carnitine a day, and the body is able to synthesize this nutrient if dietary intake is inadequate. When ingested as a pill, carnitine is not able to cross the blood-brain barrier as well as its activated form Acetyl-L-Carnitine. Acetyl-l-carnitine has a significantly more noticeable effect on the mind than carnitine.  Carnitine has antioxidant properties. If you are vegan or vegetarian, consider Vegetarian Supplements.

Buy L Carnitine 500 mg per capsule

Buy L Carnitine 500 mg per capsule
Acetyl l carnitine 300 mg per capsule
Diet Rx with carnitine appetite suppressant
Mind Power Rx with carnitine brain booster

Click here to buy Carnitine supplement product, Diet Rx appetite suppressant with carnitine, Mind Power Rx with carnitine for better mental focus and concentration, Acetyl l carnitine, and Eyesight Rx for better vision

A combination of hoodia, ginger, green tea extract, carnitine, spirulina, acetyl-l-carnitine, choline, guggul, and several other herbs and nutrients, as found in Diet Rx, a very effective herbal diet pill for weight loss. Users of Diet Rx have lost several pounds within a week or two. FREE Diet Rx Bottle

Benefits of Carnitine According to Recent Studies
       
Exercise -- Carnitine improves recovery after heavy exercise. Carnitine may be of use in improving the exercise capacity of people with peripheral arterial disease. Carnitine moderately improves the duration of exercise and time to recovery in patients with chronic stable angina.
       
Fatigue -- Carnitine may improve fatigue in certain conditions, including cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Carnitine decreases the severity and type of fatigue induced by interferon-alpha in the treatment of patients with hepatitis C. Administration of carnitine to healthy elderly subjects resulted in a reduction of total fat mass, an increase of total muscle mass, and appeared to exert a favorable effect on fatigue and serum lipids (see study below).
       
Heart Failure -- Those with heart failure may benefit from carnitine.
        
Kidney Dialysis -- Intravenous carnitine is an accepted pharmaceutical treatment for carnitine deficiency in end-stage renal disease in patients undergoing dialysis.
       
Liver Cirrhosis -- Treatment of patients with liver cirrhosis with the signs of liver insufficiency is complex and seldom satisfactory. Carnitine, taking part in liver lipid metabolism might be a potentially effective nutrient. One study shows L-carnitine lowers the serum ammonia concentration and improves lipid metabolism in patients with liver cirrhosis. Carnitine may also play a beneficial role in the treatment of mild or moderate hepatic encephalopathy.

How Does Carnitine Work?
Carnitine and acetyl-l-carnitine play several important roles in the human body, particularly in energy metabolism. These nutrients shuttle acetyl groups and fatty acids into mitochondria for energy production. Without carnitine, fatty acids cannot easily enter into mitochondria. The acetyl group of acetyl-l-carnitine is used to form acetyl-CoA, the most important intermediary in the generation of energy from amino acids, fats, and carbohydrates. Therefore, acetyl-l-carnitine serves as an energy reservoir of acetyl groups and both acetyl-l-carnitine and carnitine help improve energy production. Those who take carnitine pills often notice an increase in energy levels.
   In addition to producing energy, these two nutrients remove toxic accumulations of fatty acids from mitochondria, keeping these organelles healthy and functioning at their best. Energy production in the mitochondria is not a perfect process and toxic metabolites can often accumulate. Accumulation of these toxic metabolites and the resulting oxidative damage is likely to contribute to aging of cells. A waste substance called lipofuscin accumulates in cells as we age and perhaps adequate acetyl-l-carnitine intake can help minimize this accumulation. A study in rats providing acetyl-l-carnitine from youth showed this nutrient to decrease lipofuscin levels in their brain as they got old. Therefore, it is theoretically possible that supplementation with carnitine or acetyl-l-carnitine can slow the aging process.

Does Carnitine help with weight loss?
By itself, carnitine is unlikely to produce significant weight loss, but when combined with other nutrients it may be helpful.

What about safety of Carnitine?
It seems carnitine is a relatively safe nutrient in doses ranging from 250 to 750 mg.

Deficiency of Carnitine
Carnitine is comprised of two amino acids -- lysne and methionine. Its role is to transport the long-chain fatty acids across the cell's inner mitochrondial membrane. Mitochrondia use fatty acids and glucose to produce energy. Secondary carnitine deficiency is a rare metabolic disorder usually diagnosed at birth. However, primary carnitine deficiency, which is due to decreased synthesis of carnitine in the body or altered transport of carnitine across the cellular membrane, can occur in people of all ages. Carnitine levels decrease with age.

Carnitine Research Update
Combined treatment with L-carnitine, a popular dietary supplement, and acetyl carnitine, a related chemical, appears to improve sperm motility in men with fertility problems, according to a new study. In the study, 60 infertile men between the ages of 20 and 40 years were randomly selected to take a combination of L-carnitine and L-acetyl-carnitine or an inactive "placebo" for 6 months. In the medical journal Fertility and Sterility, researchers at the University of Rome led by Dr. Andrea Lenzi report that 2 months after the completion of therapy, men who took L-carnitine and L-acetyl carnitine had increases in sperm concentration, forward movement, and total movement. The most significant improvements in sperm motility, both forward and total, were observed in men who had the lowest levels of moving sperm when the study began. The researchers note that four spontaneous pregnancies were achieved during the study by men who had taken the combination therapy.

Exploratory open label, randomized study of acetyl- and propionyl-carnitine in chronic fatigue syndrome.
Vermeulen RC, Scholte HR. Research Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Psychosom Med. 2004 Mar-Apr;66(2):276-82.

Carnitine versus androgen administration in the treatment of sexual dysfunction, depressed mood, and fatigue associated with male aging. Cavallini G, Caracciolo S, Vitali G et al. Urology. 2004;63:641-6.

L carnitine administration in elderly subjects with rapid muscle fatigue: effect on body composition, lipid profile and fatigue. Pistone G,. University of Catania, Catania, Italy. Drugs Aging. 2003;20(10):761-7.

Carnitine emails
Q. Your site is amazing in the amount of information given on supplements. I've been sitting here now for two hours reading and learning ... and learning more, I might add, than I have from any other site I've been to. Usually a site that sells supplements only gives the upside of everthing. What caught my attention right off the bat, on your site, was the balanced portrayal of every supplement as to the good and the not so good ... for example "don't waste your money on HGH". I appreciate and respect that honesty and that's what got me hooked on reading more and more. Anyway, here's the background regarding my question. I have LASIK induced Trigeminal Neuralgia ... the nerves in my eye were damaged during the surgery. I have found no relief from pain with traditional medications ... seizure drugs etc. I worked with several neurologists, neuro opthamologists and pain specialists and then stopped the drugs altogether because the side effects were just adding to the pain which wasn't being helped anyway. So, when I recently read about acetyl-l carnitine helping with diabetic neuropathy and it's pain I thought I'd give it a try to see if it would do anything with my particular nerve pain which has traveled along the trigimenal nerve path into my brain. I have no idea, of course, if this will do anything, but I figured I'd give it a try since they're both a type of nerve damage. Who knows, maybe I'll stumble on to something, finally. Anyway, at the time I read the article I just scribbled down the word carnitine never realizing until tonight, after reading your website, that carnitine is different from acetyl-l carnitine. From what I've read here it seems that carnitine itself is used more by the physical body whereas acetyl-l carnitine is used by the brain. Here's my question. I have the wrong carnitine sitting here. I will order the acetyl-l carnitine now. Is it okay to take the two together though? And if so, would I then cut down on the dosages for each? Or would I take the recommended doses of both since they're used by different parts of the body?  I have just started taking the carnitine but I thought I would try it alone for awhile, then take the acetyl-l carnitine alone for awhile, when it arrives, and then finally try taking them both together to see if the combination might prove more helpful in my case. But I wasn't sure if it was okay to take both together or whether or not to cut down on the dosage if I try this experiment. Thanks for any help you can give with my question and thanks for the wonderful website!
     A. It really is very difficult to predict responses to nutrients, and sometimes the best way is by trial and error, trying one nutrient first, taking a break, and then trying another nutrient. There is so little research with trigeminal neuralgia and supplements so it is unexplored territory.


Supplements and Herbal Index tongkat ali