Carnitine is known to fuel the cardiac engine tremendously.
Well, in your body, carnitine acts like that shuttle bus to the Mansion. Except, instead of taking guests to the party, it takes fatty acids into the part of the cell were they can be burned for energy. Carnitine is literally the transport mechanism – the shuttle bus by which fat gets escorted into little energy factories inside the cell called mitochondria, where all the action, including fat burning and energy production, takes place. No shuttle bus, no guests at the party. No carnitine, no energy production.
We can learn a lot about the role of carnitine in energy production by looking at what happens in the bodies of people with energy deficiency syndromes such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Low levels of a carnitine compound called acetyl L-carnitine (more about this in a moment) have been found in the blood or muscles of people with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue in two different research centers. Carnitine prevents a substance called acetyl-CoA from building up and shutting down two critical energy production cycles in the body, the Kreb’s cycle and the electron transport chain. Quite simply, if you want your body’s energy production factories to work seamlessly and optimally, you need carnitine.
So what is carnitine anyway, and where do we get it?
FATIGUE FIGHTER
Although carnitine is often referred to in popular magazines as an amino acid, technically it’s not. But it is an amino-acid-like substance. (In case you ever find yourself in one of those heated dinner party discussions about the amino acid status of carntine, simply point out that an amino acid y definition needs an atom of nitrogen, which carnitine doesn’t have, and you will immediately be declared the winner of the argument, and men and women will worship at your feet).
Carnitine (also known as L-carnitine or levo-carnitine) is made in the body, mainly in the liver and kidneys, and most of it is found in the muscles. It’s actually biosynthesized from the amino acids lysine and methionine, with help from vitamins C, B6, and B3, and iron. Because it’s made in the body, conventional docs and dietitians tend to pooh-pooh the need for carnitine supplements, claiming we get all we need form the diet and the body makes the rest. Theoretically, this is true, but the key word is theoretically.
Carnitine is only found in any appreciable degree in animal products. Strict vegetarians or vegans may ingest a little as 1 mg a day. There’s also speculation that during pregnancy, breast-feeding, or growth, the need for carnitine is greater than the amount the body naturally produces. And in conditions when fatigue and low energy are issues, supplemental carnitine ay help a lot.
L-carnitine is a tremendous nutrient for the heart, it is part of what Stephen Sinatra, M.D., dubbed “the awesome foursome” for heart disease: L-carnitine, coenzyme Q10, D-ribose, and magnesium. One reason it’s so important for the heart has to do with – guess what? – energy. Remember that the heart is a muscle and beats 100,000 times or so a day. It uses an enormous amount of energy, most of it from the fuel it gets from “burning” fatty acids. If the system by which fatty acids get fork-lifted over to the cell’s mitochondria is compromised, then so is energy production, and the heart can’t work as well.
“Carnitine fuels the cardiac engine”, says my friend, nutritionist Robert crayhon, M.S., C.N., author of The Carnitine Miracle. The exercise endurance of cardiac patients goes up remarkably on 900 mg of carnitine a day.
I mentioned in the beginning that L-carnitine performed the valuable function of escorting important fatty acids into the mitochondria of the cell, where they can be burned for energy. But L-carnitine has another mission as well. On its way back from dropping off that payload, it carries away extra fatty acids and waste product,
Quite simply, if you want you body’s energy production factories to work seamlessly and optimally, you need carnitine or toxins, out of the fat-burning part of the cell for eventual elimination in the urine. If these wastes are not removed, they will clog the area, and this will ultimately affect the production of energy.
The thing of it is, we don’t have much trouble producing all this cellular energy when we’re young (did you ever see a six-year-old complain of fatigue?). But as we get older, our enzymatic systems start to get sluggish, and the heart may begin to get less of the essential nutrients It’s come to depend on.
Next thing you know, you’re in your 40s (or 50s or 60s or beyond), and your poor heart is virtually starving for energy. Like the plant in Little Shop of Horrors it’s crying out, “Feed me! Feed me!” You heart is soon struggling to deliver enough oxygen and vital nutrients to the organs, tissues, and every part of the body. And without enough oxygen and vital nutrients, there’s simply les energy production in the cells to keep the body going. The result? You’re rundown, tired, and fatigues.
Remember that you need energy not just to fight off fatigue, but also to build, repair, and renew cell membranes and other cellular structures; create immune components that help fight infection; and support the functioning of vital organs, such as the heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs. A shortage of energy translates into impaired functions that can lead straight to disease, ill health, and most certainly an impaired sense of well-being.
Some research has also shown additional benefits to L-carnitine supplementation beyond the boost in energy seen in many people. Studies show that L-carnitine elevates “good” HDL cholesterol, reduces triglycerides, and lowers blood pressure in hypertension. “I have never seen people feel such an improved state of overall wellness and a natural increase in energy as they have when the increase their intake of carnitine”, say Crayho.
Most people get about 50 mg of L-carnitine in their diet, but many professionals think the optimal level is closer to 200 to 2,000 mg. You’ll need at least 500 mg daily of an L-carnitine supplement to feel any difference, and that’s the minimum. Most health professionals recommend between 1 and 3 grams, or even 4 grams a day of you’re using the supplement for a specific purpose (such as increasing cellular energy).*
WORTH KNOWING
Carnitine works best with a low-carbohydrate diet, as high carbohydrates (especially the junky, processed, high-sugar kind) interfere with its action by boosting insulin. And it’s worth taking some omega-3s (supplements or cold water fish) at the same time.
* Some health professionals, including Mark Moyad, M.D., director of Preventive and Alternative Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center, believe that even as little as 500 mg of L-carnitine a day will give you an all-day energy boost. Personally, I think that’s a low recommendation – I’d start with 1,000 mg (500 mg twice a day).
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