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Surprising facts about carnitine revealed...

With many of the larger companies planning to stop selling supplements containing ephedrine and caffeine, the search is on for alternative ingredients to use in weight loss products. One of the most popular is a supplement known as carnitine.

It's often difficult to find independent facts about carnitine, mainly because many magazines and web sites are owned by companies that sell it. On the other hand, some writers tend to gloss over any positive facts about carnitine, claiming that exercise and a "balanced" diet is all you need to lose weight. As with many things, the reality lies somewhere in the middle.

Although most people are interested in carnitine because of its effect on weight loss, it has been studied for many other purposes. One of the little known facts about carnitine is that acetyl-L-carnitine (which is slightly different from L-carnitine) is reported to have benefits for people suffering from Alzheimer's disease [12].

Facts about carnitine

First isolated from muscle tissue in 1905, L-carnitine became popular as a weight loss supplement in the 1980's. Theoretically, increasing the amount of carnitine in your body increases the use of fat as a fuel source, making weight loss faster and easier.

Because carnitine appeared to act as a vitamin, it was originally called vitamin BT. Scientists discovered later that your body uses two amino acids — lysine and methionine — together with vitamin C, iron, vitamin B6 and niacin, to make carnitine. Although it's sometimes called an amino acid, L-carnitine is probably best described as a vitamin-like nutrient.

Your body produces carnitine in the liver and kidneys. It then gets stored in tissues that use fat as a source of energy, such as skeletal and heart muscle. Carnitine can also be found in foods such as meat or dairy products. In total, your body stores 20-25 grams of L-carnitine — usually a mixture of both sources.

Carnitine isn't really considered an essential nutrient because your body can make it by itself. Under certain conditions, however, the demand for carnitine may exceed the ability of your body to make it. This has led some to classify carnitine as conditionally essential.

Weight loss

A fatty acid contains many carbon atoms joined together. When fatty acids are burned for energy, these carbon atoms (together with their associated hydrogen atoms) are removed two at a time. Once the component atoms of the fatty acid have been broken from each other and combined with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water, it is said to have been oxidized. Essentially, the terms "fat oxidation" and "fat burning" both mean the same thing.

Carnitine plays a vital role in the oxidation of fat, which is the main reason for the interest in carnitine supplementation as an aid to weight loss..

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