Fat-Burning Gasoline

L-Carnitine:

With health and anabolic effects too

 

The March ’12 IRON MAN featured an article titled, “The Ultimate Fat-Burning Supplement.” It was all about L-carnitine. According to the December ’11 Better Nutrition, “L-carnitine acts as a cargo train, transporting the fatty acids to the mitochondria and taking away the trash—by-products of the process that would be toxic if left in the cell.”

So L-carnitine helps out the mitochondria in the cells where fat is burned. That means it’s essential for optimal energy production.

Mitochondrial malfunction is also directly related to aging. As L-carnitine is a mitochondrial optimizer, it’s an anti-aging supplement as well. That may be the reason a study published in Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental showed that L-carnitine helps middle-aged people recover better from exercise. Other studies have shown that effect in younger people.

In addition, L-carnitine can improve heart health because fatty acids are the main source of energy for that muscle. In fact, studies of more than 2,500 heart attack patients found that L-carnitine “significantly reduced deaths, chest pain and shortness of breath; improved recovery and lowered the odds of developing heart failure.

A study mentioned in the IRON MAN article showed that L-carnitine tartrate significantly increased androgen receptors in subjects. That’s one reason anabolic steroids are so effective.

Let’s see, better fat burning, anti-aging and heart-health effects and improved muscle-building potential. What’s not to like? The subjects took two grams of L-carnitine tartrate to boost anabolic receptors in muscle tissue. The suggested intake is one to three grams a day.