Hey guys,
Just wondering, been reading a little about L-Carnitine and fat loss and wondering if anyone has used it? Seems there are other benefit than that, but I’m debating adding it to my regular supplement routine (CLA, BCAAs, multi-v, calcium, vitamins b12/b5/c/e, evening primrose oil, glutamine) . Also, recommended doses, 500mg/day or 1000mg/day?
Thanks,
A strength and conditioning coach friend of mine (William Wayland) claims to have had massive fat loss using a high doze of L-Carnitine (6-7g if I remember right) but NOT in the A-LC form. Supposably worked quite well with high intensity energy systems work - something involved in the aerobic pathway I was told.
[quote]benmoore wrote:
A strength and conditioning coach friend of mine (William Wayland) claims to have had massive fat loss using a high doze of L-Carnitine (6-7g if I remember right) but NOT in the A-LC form. Supposably worked quite well with high intensity energy systems work - something involved in the aerobic pathway I was told.[/quote]
What? You just implied anaerobic and aerobic systems in the same sentence. L-Carnitine is strictly related to only the aerobic pathway which isn’t high intensity at all. It literally transports fat to the mitochondria for fuel through Beta oxidation or more broadly the Oxidative system. This is one of the reasons why I take Vitamin C prior to the gym.
L-Carnitine is one of those things that seems like it would make sense on paper, but doesn’t produce any real world results. It does transport fat to the mitochondria for beta-oxidation (fat burning) as Fulford mentioned, but supplementing with extra doesn’t seem to result in more fat being shuttled into the mitochondria for burning. I guess if you were deficient in L-Carnitine for some reason, it would help… maybe.
[quote]elusive wrote:
L-Carnitine is one of those things that seems like it would make sense on paper, but doesn’t produce any real world results. It does transport fat to the mitochondria for beta-oxidation (fat burning) as Fulford mentioned, but supplementing with extra doesn’t seem to result in more fat being shuttled into the mitochondria for burning. I guess if you were deficient in L-Carnitine for some reason, it would help… maybe. [/quote]
Makes sense, thanks.
I just read, from Dr. Jonny Bowden’s book ‘150 healthiest foods’, that mushrooms contain a compound called L-ergothioneine, which apparently acts like L-carnitine by the fat shuttling mechanisms.
This post could be considered a lead, as I have not studied this compound yet (exams soon, no time), but find it to be intrigueing, maybe this can be of some help.
I don’t have a lot to add, but back when I was getting Biosignature done, the Biosig dude talked a lot about Acetyl L-Carnitine. I don’t really remember what exactly he wanted to use it on me for, and we weren’t able to fit it into my supplement plan, so I don’t have any experience with it.
I checked out Poliquin’s ALCAR supplement, and it had a little video description of it (Why You're Still Feeling Hungry After Eating [And How to Stop It]). He didn’t mention any fat loss benefits with it’s use, which would seem to be a good selling point for the supplement.
Maybe one of the Biosignature-trained members and/or Bill Roberts can help out with this.
Worthless supplement in my experience.
I read a Poliquin article on here about workout nutrition and he recommended taking in 3,000 mg of ALCAR upon rising to get energized for a morning workout. I was doing that for a month straight and saw no difference in my mental or emotional or any physiological state.
The problem with reading such info is that we focus on a single mechanism of a concerted process (e.g. fat metabolism) and think that, by providing exogenous amounts of a single chemical that is a part of the process, we can somehow accelerate or improve upon the process. Often times, that just isn’t how the body works, and there is also a limited rate at which the body can perform the process anyway.
Save your money.