Geschatte leestijd: 2 minutenL-Carnitine, also known as carnitine, is an amino acid that plays several roles in energy development and fat burning in the body. It is claimed to have several other protective effects, such as protecting the heart and blood vessels. Additionally, L-Carnitine has more performance-enhancing properties, but what is really true about it? Let’s delve a little deeper into the claims surrounding this amino acid, L-Carnitine.
What is L-Carnitine
The name L-Carnitine, like many other words, comes from Latin. The word is derived from the word Carnis, which literally translates to “meat.” Carnitine is mainly found in foods such as dairy, meats, fish, poultry, wheat, asparagus, avocados, and peanut butter, but the body can also produce carnitine from the amino acids lysine, methionine, vitamins C, B3, and B6, and the mineral iron. The body does this in the liver and kidneys. These are stored in the muscles and bones. As indicated in the opening of this article, this amino acid has multiple functions, including in fat burning, but it also plays an important role in carbohydrate absorption. Additionally, carnitine acts as an antioxidant.
How L-Carnitine Works
The body needs glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids to carry out a number of processes. The main source of energy is these fatty acids. These are converted into energy with the help of carnitine. This process is called beta-oxidation and takes place in the mitochondria of the muscles.
When fats are converted into energy, they are first converted into Tricarboxylic acid, or TCA, which in turn is used to produce ATP for muscle contractions. The additional amount of carnitine ingested leads to a higher amount of carnitine being stored in the body. In combination with the fact that this extra carnitine increases the transport of fatty acids to the muscle cells, it means that this amino acid can have a fat-burning effect. Essentially, instead of glucose, fatty acids are used for ATP production.
So, carnitine transports fatty acids to the mitochondria where they are used as energy. This occurs, among other places, in the muscles and especially in the heart muscle. Additional carnitine can lower the level of fatty acids (triglycerides) and has a favorable effect on the hdl/ldl cholesterol ratio. A study has shown that carnitine lowers cholesterol levels and increases hdl cholesterol while improving the ECG.
Proven Effectiveness
The fat-burning effect of L-Carnitine is contradicted by many studies. For example, a Brazilian study on rats showed that L-Carnitine caused rats to burn more fat and save proteins. This sounds positive, but in the 1990s, a study was conducted under the name The Effect of L-Carnitine Supplementation on Lean Body Mass in Male Amateur Body Builders, which showed that this effect did not apply to humans. This could be because humans can only absorb the extra amount of carnitine to a limited extent, namely 5 to 15 percent. As a result, the remaining 85% leaves without having had any effect.
There are also studies where the absorption of carnitine was improved. This was achieved by administering a higher amount of carbohydrates. These carbohydrates, which are essentially sugars, cause a higher insulin peak, which in turn seems to benefit the body’s absorption of carnitine. Unfortunately, these are very high amounts of carbohydrates, which again contradicts the athletic goal of losing weight.
Conclusion
Many studies have been conducted on the effectiveness and applicability of L-Carnitine, but unfortunately, the results are very contradictory. In theory, it could be an effective addition, but because science does not support it, we advise other means that have been proven effective.
