ACETYL L-CARNITINE: Brain mergim

Suppose we had a simple treatment for slowing the downhill progression of Alzheimer’s disease or for speeding up the often lengthy recovery proeess after a stroke. Happily, we don’t need to suppose; we have it available in health food stores.

Acetyl L-carnitine (ALC) is a sort of ‘supercarnitine’, in many ways still similar to the original amino acid, but in other ways far different. Better absorbed and probably more active than plain carnitine, it can refresh mental energy, improve mood, slow the aging of brain cells arid impede the advance of Alzheimer’s. By energizing and balancing the central nervous system as a whole, it also strengthens our defences against infections and immune problems.

NEURAL NECESSITY

Supplementation will compensate for the natural decline of ALC production that starts around the age of forty and continues we grow older. It’s a significant loss, because ALC contributed to our stores of some of our most valuable nutrients, including glutathione, coenzyme Q10 and acetylcholine. Melatonin also depends on it. Restoring the optimal amount improves health against a variety of neurological and immune-related afflictions.

Stroke
Supplements of ALC can accelerate recovery from stroke, according to researchers who gave daily dosages of 1,500 mg over a nine-month period to a group of people who, because of a stroke, had lost the use of one side of their bodies.

Alzheimer’s Disease
The modern-day equivalent of the Holy Grail could easily be an effective treatment for this terrible memory-robbing condition. ALC is the first compound, drug or nutrient, that has both improved the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and reversed the imbalances in brain chemistry that coexist with it. People who took 3 grams of ALC per day for a year, to cite one study, displayed far less mental deterioration than did a similar number of people who did not take the supplement. ALC has performed well in controlled studies involving more than six hundred people afflicted with the disease, and at least one large study showed it to be effective in non-Alzheimer’s mental decline in elderly people.

For many of my patients with senile dementia, ALC seems to slow the disease process significantly. Colleagues have also reported that some of their patients have regained some memory ability and kept themselves better grounded in reality. Though ALC is not a ‘cure’, it often does temporarily reverse the downhill course of the disease, especially when combined with high doses of vitamin С and vitamin E.

If ALC helps to fight Alzheimer’s, what about Parkinson’s disease? Primate studies from this field of research are showing promising results thus far.

Immune Disturbances
Results are preliminary, but ALC could contribute to strengthening the immune system or shielding it from viral attacks. People with chronic fatigue syndrome, whose immune systems have clearly broken down, have lower than expected levels of ALC. Replenishing the supply alleviates symptoms, such as fatigue and brain fog.
Establishing an optimal physiological amount of ALC stimulates the overall activity of immune cells in both younger and older adults. A dosage of 2 grams a day for thirty days, according to one study, improved immune function in people with active pulmonary tuberculosis.

SUPPLEMENT SUGGESTIONS

Vigorous exercise will aid the body’s natural conversion of carnitine into ALC, but taking carnitine supplements is not an effective substitute. Only ALC increases the brain’s energy and protects nerve cells from the harm inflicted by stress and free radicals.

For anyone older than forty, in fact, ALC is clearly the preferred form of carnitine. A generally healthy person who wants to improve mental and physical performance should take about 500-1,000 mg of both carnitine and ALC.

– To reinforce the immune system, an amount in the 1,500-3,000 mg range is necessary. Because ALC invigorates the brain, don’t take it in the evening; it may interfere with sleep. People with epilepsy should use it with extreme caution, because their brains already are overly sensitive to neural stimulation.

I take both ALC and carnitine every day, as do hundreds of my patients. In the optimal dosages, I noticed a subtle metabolic effect: my energy level is steadier, and I have more stamina. I also get greater weight-loss rewards from my dietary efforts, and I make fewer trips to the fridge. On my one hundredth birthday, I’ll be happy to let you know whether it retards aging.