A birds eye view of L-Carnitine
Let’s examine a weight loss supplement called L-Carnitine. It’s become very popular over the last few years and it can be found in a wide range of diet pills or even as a stand alone supplement. Chances are you’d get better use out of L-Carnitine if it’s mixed with other potent fat burning ingredients.
By itself, it’s really hard to tell if the supplement will help you lose weight – despite popular belief. That’s not to say that it won’t work or isn’t effective but there’s no hard-core, concrete evidence to support such outlandish claims that some of these supplement companies make. It does have its benefits for sure, but maybe not in the way these companies would have you believe.
How does L-Carnitine work?
Despite what most believe, L-Carnitine is not an amino acid per se, but rather what is called a quaternary amine and is synthesized from two existing amino acids called lysine and methionine.
L-Carnitine can be found naturally in the body and is introduced through red meats, some nuts, avocados, pork and even in specific species of fish –although not as amounts.
The basic function of L-Carnitine is to transport fatty acids found in the body to the cell’s mitochondria, or in simpler terms, the cells furnace. These fatty acids are then burned and used as energy. The weight loss companies would have you believe that the more L-Carnitine induced into the body, the more of these fatty acids you’ll burn, which would result in a higher energy rate.
While that’s not entirely correct –there really isn’t any scientific research to back up claims that L-Carnitine can drastically boost energy levels – a supplement can help if there are L-Carnitine deficiencies in the body. There are some who still feel that L-Carnitine can play a key role in weight loss, by helping the body transport more fatty acids to get burned off.
That’s not entirely untrue. Consider this study that shows supplementing the diet with 3 grams of L-Carnitine lead to a significant increase in fat oxidation. So you can see that there is some science to back up weight loss claims made by proponents of L-Carnitine.
Where L-Carnitine goes wrong
If you’ve taken L-Carnitine as a supplement or know other that have with limited results the problem could be, it appears, not so much with L-Carnitine as a supplement but instead with the amounts being taken.
It is recommended that to get the effective amounts of L-Carnitine dieters should take in 2-6 grams daily – anything short of that and you’re being short changed. This should be taken into careful consideration.
There are companies that simply list L-Carnitine in the profile without putting the proper amounts in. This is called “window dressing” and unfortunately a common practice in the weight loss industry. Our simple advice: be aware of what’s going into the pill or product. That will save you and your wallet from wasting money on stuff that doesn’t work.
Other benefits of L-Carnitine
But there are more benefits to L-Carnitine then just as a weight loss agent. In fact, maybe it’s most effective outside of the weight loss arena. L-Carnitine can also help with muscle contraction, keeping the body’s protein levels balanced and helping maintain a health heart.
There’s more: L-Carnitine may also help deter kidney and liver disease and chronic fatigue syndrome. All those benefits make L-Carnitine a valuable supplement and one coveted by numerous nutritional products.
Where can I get L-Carnitine
As mentioned there are a couple of ways you can get L-Carnitine supplements into the body. The first would be to take it straight up.
While that is a possibility and easily found on any nutritional website, I’m under the impression that a better option would be to use it mixed with other ingredients – such as what you’d find in a fat burner. Check out Leptorexin, this would a good choice for a fat burner that also contains a L-Carnitine.