L-carnitine is an amino acid that can be generated by itself in human tissues and is an important factor in the energy generation process. It is responsible for sending fatty acids into the mitochondria in order to burn smoothly and produce energy, in addition to metabolizing carbohydrates.
Do you know the benefits of l-carnitine supplements?
Carnitine is mainly formed by lysine and methionine, and ascorbic acid, ferrous iron, vitamin B6, and nicotinic acid are also the main cofactors in the synthesis process. If one of these nutrients is lacking, carnitine deficiency may occur.
For healthy people (including vegetarians), 75% of carnitine can be obtained from food (meat, dairy products, vegetables, fruits), but under certain medical conditions, the body may exceed its own synthesis The amount is, therefore, a conditionally important nutrient.
Table of Contents
- What are the benefits recommended by L-carnitine?
- Are there any side effects of L-carnitine?
- Where can I buy the most recommended L-carnitine capsules?
What are the benefits recommended by L-carnitine?
1. Help lose weight
Weight loss is an important issue for most modern people. In addition to increasing self-confidence, it is more important to get healthy. Studies have shown that compared with normal weight, obese people have a 7% increase in stroke rate, coronary artery disease increases by 49%, and heart failure The risks has increased to 96%.
A systematic literature review and meta-analysis (including 9 studies with a total of 911 participants) pointed out that compared with the control group, L-carnitine has a more significant weight loss and lower body mass index effects (and especially those with chronic symptoms, such as diabetes or obesity).
*Conclusion: Oral L-carnitine has a weight loss effect, but considering the heterogeneity of the included studies, more large-scale studies are still needed to confirm.
2. Good for diabetes
Affected by the aging population and rising obesity rate, diabetes has become the fastest growing disease. According to the US Demographic Survey, about 35% of the population over the age of 20 are pre-diabetic and up to 50% after the age of 65. If left untreated, 37% of patients will develop diabetes within 4 years.
A systematic literature review and meta-analysis (including 4 studies, a total of 284 patients with type 2 diabetes) pointed out that oral L-carnitine has the effect of improving fasting blood sugar and lowering blood fat (including total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein Cholesterol, apolipoprotein B100, and AI).
The underlying mechanism is related to enhancing the mitochondrial oxidation of long-chain acetyl-CoA, inducing glycolytic enzymes, and regulating the expression of insulin-related genes.
Another systematic literature review and meta-analysis (including 5 studies, a total of 631 patients with type 2 diabetes) pointed out that L-carnitine can help improve insulin resistance and the improvement rate increases with the treatment period.
*Conclusion: L-carnitine has a positive effect on insulin resistance and blood glucose, but it is limited by the number of samples and still needs to be confirmed.
3. Beneficial cognitive function?
Cognitive ability generally refers to behaviors related to mental processing, including thinking, cognition, memory, judgment, problem-solving ability, etc.
Affected by many factors, cognitive function will deteriorate to varying degrees, including aging, stress, and many medical conditions, such as hypertension, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental diseases.
A Cochrane Review (contains 2 studies, 418 healthy adult participants) pointed out that L-carnitine has no effect on improving cognitive function (related indicators include: reaction time, alertness, memory, or delayed recall ).
*Conclusion: For those with good health, L-carnitine cannot improve cognitive function, but due to the low strength of the included research evidence, it needs to be verified by more large-scale studies with an accurate design.
4. Prevent cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of human death, far more than malaria, AIDS, and tuberculosis. In the United States, the cost of treating cardiovascular disease accounts for about 17% of the total medical expenditure, and the cost has doubled every 10 years.
A meta-analysis of literature (including 13 randomized controlled studies, a total of 3629 subjects with acute myocardial infarction) pointed out that the use of carnitine can help reduce 27% of all deaths, 65% of ventricular arrhythmias and 40% incidence of angina.
The underlying mechanism may be related to the improvement of mitochondrial energy metabolism, the removal of toxic fatty acid products, and the reduction of infarct effects.
*Conclusion: Considering the characteristics of low cost and high safety, L-carnitine may have a good secondary prevention effect for people with a high risk of cardiovascular disease, but more research is still needed to confirm.
5. Beneficial male infertility
About 4.85 million people around the world have infertility problems for couples of childbearing age, accounting for about 15% of the total number of partners, of which male factors account for about 50%.
The most common form of male infertility is idiopathic infertility, which refers to abnormal sperm morphology caused by unknown causes, followed by varicocele.
A meta-analysis of literature (including 7 studies, a total of 751 patients with idiopathic oligozoospermia) pointed out that compared with the control group, carnitine treatment can increase the probability of natural pregnancy and improve related sperm parameters (such as Abnormal sperm motility, sperm count, sperm concentration, sperm morphology).
Are there any side effects of L-carnitine?
According to the currently available literature, under the instructions, the proper use of carnitine health products is very safe and no serious side effects occur, but adverse reactions that have been reported include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, heartburn, and diarrhea.
The daily dose of more than 3,000 mg may cause fishy smell in breath, urine, and sweat.
The use of Acetyl-L-carnitine may cause restlessness in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and increase the frequency of seizures in patients with epilepsy.
Safety Precautions
Patients with poor liver and kidney function, pregnant women, nursing mothers, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and epilepsy should consult medical staff before use (because the relevant safety is unknown).
Do not use in patients with hypothyroidism (may worsen symptoms).
Do not use in combination with anticoagulant drugs, which may affect the action of the drug and increase the risk of bruising and bleeding.
May affect the function of thyroid hormones, please pay attention to those who use related thyroid therapy.
Where can I buy the most recommended L-carnitine capsules?
In recent years, food safety problems in various countries have exploded, and it is not healthy but black-hearted products that everyone spends on. Therefore, European and American products with relatively strict quality control have become popular products.
And iHerb.com is a large-scale medical cosmetics e-commerce company in the United States. It has a high satisfaction rate of 97% in the evaluation of Google customers. It provides global home delivery so that you can buy it without risking buying fakes through purchasing high-quality health products.
