Carnitine for energy
A-h-h those wonderful mitochondria: small encapsulated structures in our cells that function as our fuel “factories.” Mitochondria use food and nutrients to produce ATP (the chemical fuel the cells run on). They also regulate cellular metabolism (now you know who to blame). Inefficient mitochondrial function is blamed for many diseases including mental disorders, cardiac dysfunction and accelerated aging. And when the mitochondria aren’t functioning properly, the body is tired and sluggish. Since fatigue is one of the greatest complaints of our society, anything we can do to help these little guys along can only be good for us.
Enter L-carnitine, an amino acid-like substance that - among other things - moves long-chain fatty acids across the membrane of mitochondria. Mariano Malaguarnera, et al., from the Department of Senescence, Urological, and Neurological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy, published a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in December 2007 involving 66 centenarians (people over 100) who got tired after the tiniest bit of activity (sound familiar?). The study was a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, two-phase study. One group was administered two grams of L-carnitine a day and one group a placebo. Researchers reported the L-carnitine group lost an average of 3.5 lbs of fat mass, while the placebo group gained an average 1.3 lbs of fat. And the total muscle mass in the L-carnitine group increased by an average of 3 lbs. Without changing their lives, the centenarians reduced body fat, increased muscle mass, and improved their thinking.
Acetyl-L-carnitine is a derivative form of carnitine that readily crosses the blood brain barrier. Studies suggest that acetyl-L-carnitine prevents damage to nerve growth factor, which are proteins that stimulate the growth and development of central and peripheral nerve cells. Scientists also have found that acetyl-L-carnitine prohibits the destruction of brain cells in culture. Acetyl-L-carnitine taken alone has been linked to many health benefits including cardiovascular improvement, increased weight loss, and improved exercise performance. I personally take both carnitines every day. And I have found that after a couple of weeks of taking them (I’ll start, then stop, then start again), I lose weight without doing anything else. And it definitely helps my energy and mental clarity. Apparently these supplements do increase the efficiency of my mitochondria and boost my metabolism. Plus I don’t walk away from anything that can build muscle mass - my ever shrinking muscles need all the help they can get. And the more muscle mass, the more calories burned!
If you add alpha lipoic acid (to be the subject of another blog), you add another boost to your mental and physical metabolism. Three studies published in 2002 found concurrent use of alpha lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine improved memory and physical performance in old, lethargic rats. Another study conducted by Bruce Ames of UC Berkeley found that the combination of the two supplements made old rats behave like young to middle-aged rats. This is like 80-year-old people acting like 35 year-olds.
You may think this is something you don’t need to worry about until you get old. But as anyone who has ever had a teenager in the house knows, neurodegeneration and inactivity start when you’re still young. By focusing on ways to naturally preserve the brain’s energy system, including taking smart nutrients, you can maintain youthful brain function for life. This is certainly worth at least checking out for you young people!
All these supplements are safe, but there are a lot of different ideas about how much of each to take daily for greatest effectiveness. The body produces carnitine, but the ability to produce it decreases as we age. I take 100 mg of alpha lipoic acid twice daily, 500 mg of acetyl-L-carnitine once daily, and 500 mg of L-carnitine twice daily. I’ve included several links on this page so you can look at the information yourself and decide the dosages that are appropriate for you.
Links:
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2000/may00-cover2.html
http://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetContent.aspx?token=e0498803-7f62-4563-8d47-5fe33da65dd4&chunkiid=21450
http://www.medscape.com/druginfo/dosage?drugid=91508&drugname=Acetyl+L-Carnitine+Oral&monotype=default
http://health.med.umich.edu/body.cfm?xyzpdqabc=0&id=6&action=detail&AEProductID=hw_cam&AEArticleID=hn-2795007&AEArticleType=Cam
Other studies regarding efficacy of combining ALA and acetyl-L-carnitine:
1. Liu, J., E. Head, et al. (2002). “Memory loss in old rats is associated with brain mitochondrial decay and RNA/DNA oxidation: partial reversal by feeding acetyl-L-carnitine and/or R-alpha -lipoic acid.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A 99(4): 2356-61.
2. Liu, J., D. W. Killilea, et al. (2002). “Age-associated mitochondrial oxidative decay: improvement of carnitine acetyltransferase substrate-binding affinity and activity in brain by feeding old rats acetyl-L-carnitine and/or R-alpha -lipoic acid.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A 99(4): 1876-81.
3. Hagen, T. M., J. Liu, et al. (2002). “Feeding acetyl-L-carnitine and lipoic acid to old rats significantly improves metabolic function while decreasing oxidative stress.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A 99(4): 1870-5.
4. Shen, W., K. Liu, et al. (2008). “R-alpha-Lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine complementarily promote mitochondrial biogenesis in murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes.” Diabetologia 51(1): 165-74.
December 17th, 2008 at 5:40 am
hanks for sharing your blog with all of us, very imformative.