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Home :: Supplements
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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