What Are The Benefits of L-Carnitine?

What are the benefits of L-Carnitine? It is a dietary supplement that plays a role in the production of energy while transporting fatty acids into your cell mitochondria.  What is interesting is that your body can produce L-Carnitine out of the amino acid’s lysine and methionine. For your body to produce enough of it you need to have enough Vitamin C in your system.  You can obtain small amounts of L-carnitine by consuming small amounts of fish and meat.

Vegans have a hard time producing L-carnitine because they don’t consume animal foods. So taking an L-carnitine dietary supplement is essential for vegans. There are several types of L-carnitine such as:

Acetyl L-carnitine– Studies have shown that it may benefit people with neurodegenerative disease.

L-carnitine L-tartrate– It is supposed to help muscle soreness and recovery in exercise.

Propionyl-L-carnitine– This helps to boost nitric oxide production while improving blood flow.

Acetyl-L-carnitine and L-carnitine is the most common and effective dietary supplements to use.

One of the main roles of L-carnitine is energy production and mitochondrial function. About 98% of L-carnitine is stored in your muscles along with trace amounts in your liver and blood. There are studies that have shown that L-carnitine plays a positive role in healthy aging and disease prevention.

L-carnitine is a popular ingredient in the fitness industry when it comes to fat burner weight loss supplements. Most human studies don’t show any real significant fat burning effects from taking L-carnitine.

There was an 8-week study where 38 women exercised 4 times a week and they saw no difference in their weight loss results while take an L-carnitine fat burner vs the group that didn’t take anything.

Another study monitored a group taking the L-carnitine fat burner during a 90-minute stationary bike workout. This group took this for 4 weeks, and they didn’t see any fat burning change.

There was one analysis of studies where the group was obese and older adults lost an average of 2.9 more pounds while taking L-carnitine.

From the studies it seems that L-carnitine has worked better with obese individuals and older adults. Any improvement that L-carnitine can help with fat loss is small and not significant. Ive always said that the best fat burner is eating a healthy balanced diet while being in a caloric deficit.

Brain Function

When it comes to the effect of brain function there have been some human studies that have shown that acetyl-L-carnitine can help reverse the decline in brain function associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other brain diseases.

Heart Function

L-carnitine is linked to improvements in patients that have severe heart disorders such as coronary heart disease and chronic heart failure. There was a 12-month study that observed a reduction in heart failure and death among people who took L-carnitine supplements.

The best food sources for L-carnitine are:

• Beef- 81 mg per 3 ounces
• Pork- 24 mg per 3 ounces
• Fish- 5 mg per 3 ounces
• Chicken-3 mg per 3 ounces
• Milk- 8 mg per 3 ounces

Food sources of L-carnitine has a greater absorption rate than supplements. Studies have shown the absorption rate for food is 57 to 84%. And the absorption rate for supplements is 14 to 18%.

The main food dietary sources of L-carnitine are red meat, fish, and milk. The recommended daily dose of L-carnitine is anywhere from 500 to 2000 mg.

The Bottom Line is L-carnitine is known as a popular fat burner. Although the studies reveal that any positive fat burning effect from this is small and not significant. There are studies that support its positive effect on brain function, health function and disease prevention.

The best food sources that obtain L-carnitine is from fish, meat, and milk. Studies have shown that the absorption rate is better from food than supplements.

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