CARNITINE: The fat burner

Do you want to know which vita-nutrient I personally take in greatest quantity every day? It’s carnitine. For a substance that is supposedly nonessential, carnitine is as necessary a nutrient as you’ll ever find. While it’s quite true that our bodies make this amino acid, rarely do we have enough to keep us at our healthiest.

The heart is completely dependent upon carnitine; two-thirds of its energy supply comes from the fats that carnitine allows the body to burn. The release of fat for use as fuel also makes this nutrient an important adjunct to any weight-loss or exercise efforts. That’s why I never forget my carnitine.

Heart Disease
After a heart attack, several complications are likely, including chest pains (angina), heart rhythm disturbances and heart failure. Taking 2 grams of carnitine per day for four weeks, hospital-based studies show, can cut the number of those complications in half. That’s a better performance than standard drug therapy.

Cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle, becomes а distinct possibility without carnitine. The amino acid protects the heart muscle from damage when a heart attack or a spasm cuts off the oxygen supply. It also helps correct that most devastating of blood lipid profiles, the combination of high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol. An irregular heart rhythm will also quickly deplete carnitine stores in the body, creating a deficiency precisely when an optimal amount is most needed Congestive heart failure flaws our ability to make carnitine too. However; taking 900 mg per day improved the health of one group of congestive heart failure patients, significantly increasing both their energy and their ability to exercise.

Energy and Endurance
Anyone who uses carnitine will get an energy boost from the amino acid, which also helps convert body fat into readily available fuel and elevates levels of certain enzymes needed to metabolize sugars, starches and other carbo-hydrates. Whether you’re a casual exerciser or a more dedicated athlete, compensating for the greater amount of carnitine lost through physical activity extends your stamina and reduces the accumulation of lactic acid, the by-product of heavy-duty exertion that’s responsible for the ‘burn’ felt inside the muscles. This may enable exercisers to get the ‘gain’ without the ‘pain’, as one study confirmed. Carnitine also clears the bloodstream of ammonia and aids in creating glycogen, the form in which the body stores glucose. Even marathon athletes can improve their stamina. A daily intake of 2 grams of taurine increased their treadmill performance by nearly 6 per cent, enough to turn an ‘also ran’ into a gold medalist.

Muscle Loss
Anyone with a severe degenerative disease, such as cancer or ADDS, stands to gain from carnitine supplementation. It’s a key nutrient for helping to prevent muscle atrophy. The AIDS drug AZT depletes carnitine, as does Valproate, an antiepileptic drug. Such drug-induced carnitine deficiency can be life-threatening.

Infant Health
Although considered ‘nonessential’ for adults, carnitine is officially classified as indispensable for infants. So
critical is this early need that researchers once proposed naming the amino acid Vitamin Bb.  Babies usually get carnitine through breast milk or fortified formulas – but not always. Most infant formulas contain carnitine, but it’s best to check the label. Breast-feeding mothers who follow a vegetarian diet almost certainly need to take supplements. Carnitine may also be a very important nutrient for protecting children against Reyes syndrome.

Other Conditions

– People with low thyroid function need carnitine to help them overcome diminished energy levels and the tendency to gain weight.
– Kidney dialysis rinses away stockpiles of the amino acid, another reason people who undergo the procedure are often weak, tired and threatened by high triglycerides.
– Other published studies suggest that carnitine may be of some value in treating diabetes, hypertension, liver disease and immune problems.
– It may also protect the liver from alcohol and other challenges.

One reason Atkins Center doctors prescribe carnitine so frequently is that it seems, in our experience, to be the nutrient most likely to overcome that bane of many dieters’ existence – metabolic resistance to weight loss. For fat to be used up as fuel, carnitine is essential.

SUPPLEMENT SUGGESTIONS

Most of us consume about 30-50 mg of carnitine a day, hardly an optimum amount. While beef is the largest, best source (with chicken, fish, eggs and milk containing smaller amounts), we can’t rely simply on eating more red meat. High-protein, high- fat meals stimulate carnitine excretion. High-carbohydrate eating is even more futile, because grains and vegetables contain negligible amounts.

To make up for the carnitine gap, a supplement of between 500 mg and 1 gram is the minimum amount we need to take for preventive purposes. For a heart problem, I normally recommend 1-2 grams daily. If you are on heart drugs, you may need less medication, which calls for the supervision of a nutritionally aware cardiologist. People who get stuck on truly effective diets, such as the Atkins diet, may need 1,500-2,500 mg to break the log jam. To support the body’s own synthesis, make sure you take additional amounts of vitamin C, lysine, methionine, iron, vitamin B3 and vitamin B6.