What is L-Carnitine and what does it do?

What is L-Carnitine? You’ve probably heard the L-carnitine is a fat-burner and can assist in performance, but probably unaware of the science behind the amino acid. Firstly an amino acid is the building block of proteins. L-carnitine is an amino acid that is naturally produced in the body within the liver and kidneys. Although L-carnitine is primarily stored within the muscle, including the brain. Now let’s deep dive into the questions of what is l-carnitine and how it works in your body.

Looking at the synthesis of carnitine it requires two amino acids lysine & methionine and three vitamins, ascorbate, niacin and vitamin B6 and a metal ion (reduce iron). A deficiency in any of one of these nutrients would result in considerably impaired carnitine synthesis.

The muscles of the body, as well as many other tissues, depend primarily on fatty acid oxidation as a source of energy. Because they cannot synthesize carnitine, its transport into these tissues is of critical importance*.

L-carnitine can be obtained by diet, primarily found in meat and other animal products but also sound in some plant products like soybeans, nuts, seeds, asparagus, broccoli, garlic, parsley, kale, bananas, bee pollen, corn, rice bran, oatmeal, whole wheat etc. The standard supplementation dose for L-carnitine is between 500-2,000mg, which can be hard to consume from only food sources, and this is why an L-Carnitine supplement can be extremely effective

1. Fat loss – L-carnitine appears to have a fat reducing effect with supplementation, but this may be limited. Studies show that L-carnitine transfer long-chain fatty acids into mitochondria, where they may be oxidized to produce energy.
2. Muscle mass – L-carnitine appears to increase lean mass. This may not apply to all individuals
3. Muscle recovery – Biomarkers of muscle damage including creatine kinase and muscle soreness are both fairly reliably reduced following the ingestion of carnitine and pairing with exercise
4. Fatigue – L-carnitine appears to be effective in reducing fatigue
5. Inflammation – possible anti-inflammatory effect on exercise-induced inflammatory biomarkers.
6. Rate of perceived exertion – a reduction in the rate of perceived exertion appears to exist following carnitine supplementation
7. Sperm quality – L-carnitine appears to increase sperm quality

Research shows that supplementing with 2g of l-carnitine two to three times daily resulted in significant improvements in cardiovascular function in response to exercise in several double-blind studies in both athletes and normal subjects*. Compared with control groups, the subjects on carnitine showed not only improvements in exercise intensity over time, but also evidence of improved energy metabolism within the muscle.

So I hope this has answered your question, What is L-carnitine! As you can see L-carnitine can be extremely effective at using fat for energy! To get yourself some quality L-Carnitine today - add it straight to cart below

References for What is L-Carnitine?
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements
https://examine.com/supplements/l-carnitine/
Textbook of Natural Medicine Pizzorno & Murray*