L-Carnitine
Supplements have always been a part of the health industry. One of the more popular health supplements to come out of the market over the past decades is L-carnitine.
Popular for its fat-burning properties and role in weight loss, this substance is added in some food products and is sold as a food supplement as well.
How does L-carnitine work? Is it safe to use? What is the best way to use it? You will discover in this article the answer to these questions and more.
What is L-Carnitine?
L-carnitine is an amino acid naturally found in the human body. It has 3 important functions, which are all linked to its supposed health benefits if it is taken as a supplement.
– It carries fatty acids to the mitochondria – An essential step in the metabolism of fat metabolism is for its individual components – fatty acids – to be carried into the mitochondria, the cellular component responsible for metabolism.
This is where L-carnitine comes into the picture. It serves as a carrier of fatty acids, which would then be processed at the mitochondria to be converted into energy. With the help of L-carnitine, the body can metabolize fats more effectively, resulting to more energy and faster fat loss.
It inhibits the build up of lactic acid and other metabolites
The build up of metabolites in muscles is related to both fatigue and injury. The most prominent of these metabolites is lactic acid.
A by product of energy production via anaerobic means, lactic acid can build up in the muscle, which can cause muscle pains and cramps. L-carnitine prevents that from happening by ensuring that aerobic metabolism is done efficiently.
It helps in burning off fat tissue
With sufficient L-carnitine consumption, you can facilitate more efficient burning of fat tissue. As mentioned earlier, L-carnitine facilitates more effective cellular transfer of fatty acids, which leads to better metabolism of fat.
When this happens, fat becomes more efficiently metabolized, which can lead to a reduction in excess body fat. This leads to both weight loss and improved body definition.
What are L-Carnitine Benefits to Health?
The health benefits of consuming L-carnitine are numerous. While not as expansive as other natural health supplements, the benefits you can get from this amino acid are significant.
Improved energy
Because of the way it improves how you utilize fat, L-carnitine helps in boosting energy. Whether you are about to begin a hard day’s work or you are about to go for a serious workout, L-carnitine can give you that much-needed shot in the arm to overcome what lies ahead.
A lot of users noted that with the help of L-carnitine, they were able to increase their performance during workouts and even while doing daily activities.
Increased endurance
L-carnitine boosts endurance in many ways. Whether you are a weekend warrior or a high-level athlete, the use of L-carnitine can help boost your stamina as well as prevent injuries associated with fatigue.
Because your body is able to utilize fat more effectively, the glycogen storage of muscles is better preserved, resulting to better endurance.
Also, it makes the body rely less on anaerobic processes, preventing the build up of lactic acid that can lead to cramps.
Better post-workout recovery
Enhanced recovery is one of the biggest benefits of using L-carnitine as a workout supplement.
As mentioned earlier, it prevents the build up of lactic acid and other metabolites in the muscles, which prevents both soreness and injury.
Also, it keeps the energy stores of muscles intact, which helps it to better withstand longer and more frequent exercise.
It has been proven in studies that L-carnitine supplementation can help reduce muscle soreness and damage after exercise.
Weight loss
L-carnitine has attracted a lot of attention because of its supposed weight loss benefits. While in itself it cannot cause you to lose weight, it does facilitate the processes that will help you shed off excess pounds.
With your body able to better utilize fat for energy, your ability to burn fat is significantly increased.
This is where the weight loss by shedding off excess fat comes into play. This is why L-carnitine is commonly recommended for those having a hard time losing excess body fat.
Better body definition
A better figure is one of the long-term benefits of L-carnitine supplementation (provided that you combine it with regular exercise and proper diet).
Being able to shed off excess fat will help bring you closer to your ideal weight. In addition, losing those excess pounds will help in making your muscles more prominent, giving you a more imposing physique. Improved body definition is one benefit of regular use of L-carnitine.
Are there any side effects?
Just as with any other health supplement, there is always the risk of encountering some side effects when taking L-carnitine. This is especially so when it is taken in amounts beyond what is recommended.
There are also some people who may have hypersensitivity reactions to L-carnitine. Common side effects you may experience when using L-carnitine include nausea, abdominal cramps, and nausea. In some cases, it might lead to more serious side effects such as palpitations and vomiting.
If you experience any adverse effect after taking L-carnitine, you need to stop taking the supplement immediately and consult your doctor.
If it’s severe, it may be necessary to get emergency medical attention right away. L-carnitine is not indicated for use in patients with severe ailments such as seizure disorder and kidney disease.
What is the right way of taking L-carnitine?
L-carnitine can actually be taken at any time of the day. However, it is believed that it is best taken after completing a high-carbohydrate, high-protein meal. It is most ideally taken with your post-workout meal to jump start your metabolism.
While consuming L-carnitine supplements can be done on a once-daily basis, some take this supplement up to 3 times a day without experiencing any side effect.
Cycling is not necessary when taking this supplement. The recommended daily dosage of L-carnitine is 1 gram a day (the usual dosage found in oral supplements), but you can raise your dose to up to 3 grams daily.
Best L-Carnitine Products
L-Carnitine has earned a reputation as one of the hottest natural health supplements today.
With its ability to improve how the human body metabolizes fat, this supplement can help you lose excess body fat (and weight), improve muscle form and performance, improve endurance during workouts, and enhance recovery times.
Given these benefits, more bodybuilders are looking to add L-carnitine in their supplies. Here are 3 of the most highly rated L-carnitine products available today. Check out these reviews to see which product is best for you.
Nova Nutritions L-Carnitine 1000mg Tablets
This product by Nova Nutritions is one of the most highly-rated L-Carnitine supplements on the market today.
Marketed as a product that is designed to help facilitate healthy weight loss and boost cellular energy, these tablets are designed to help people of all ages to lose weight.
As a “double potency” product, its dosage is twice as high compared to other L-carnitine supplements available on the market. Laboratory tested to ensure maximum quality, this product is designed to provide your money’s worth.
Each tablet contains 1000mg of L-carnitine fumarate, which is considered as the ideal dosage for most people.
While most people can take one tablet once a day, you can take this up to 3 times daily depending on how much weight you need to lose.
This can be taken with or without meals, but it is generally recommended to take this product during a meal. It is safe to take for people with special diets (keto diets, vegan diets, etc.), and it also doesn’t contain any artificial color, flavor, sweetener, or preservatives.
Many users love this L-carnitine product from Nova Nutritions because of its impressive quality.
Most users are able to get results with the help of this product, regardless of what their exercise routine or what their dietary restrictions are.
This product is highly regarded because it simply works as advertised for most people.
Also, this product is preferred by those who want only L-carnitine, without any of the additives.
On the downside, there are some people who claim that they aren’t able to digest the tablet, which might hinder it from taking full effect and also cause an upset stomach.
Arazo Nutrition L-Carnitine 1000mg Tablets
This L-Carnitine product from Arazo Nutrition is one of the more popular ones currently available.
Marketed to boost energy and metabolism and to aid in rapid muscle recovery, this product has become the L-carnitine supplement of choice for a lot of serious bodybuilders.
It aims to help body builders before, during, and after workouts by boosting energy levels, promoting fat burn, improve heart health, and create a lean and ripped physique.
Each serving contains 1000mg of L-carnitine, which is at par with other high-performance L-carnitine supplements available on the market.
Arazo Nutrition makes sure that their products are made with the highest levels of quality; all of their products, including this one, are regularly tested for safety, label accuracy, and nutritional value.
All their products are made in a FDA and GMP certified facility for your safety and confidence. Also, their products are tested for purity by a third-party facility to ensure optimal quality for all of their products.
This stringent approach to quality has made Arazo Nutrition L-Carnitine tablets among the most popular and effective products of its kind on sale today.
Arazo Nutrition L-Carnitine gets consistently high ratings from product reviews. Some of these users have tried different brands of L-carnitine supplements, and they found that this product is the one that provides consistent results.
For most people, they got the results they are seeking for with this product, especially if they are used the right way.
Beyond the weight loss, users found a positive effect in their endurance and recovery from physical activities while using this product.
Feedback of ineffectiveness and side effects are minimal, making this product an almost-perfect L-carnitine supplement.
Finaflex Carnitine Energy
There are 2 types of L-carnitine supplements: those that contain only pure L-carnitine, and there are those that are mixed with other ingredients to create a specific effect.
Finaflex Carnitine Energy is one example of the latter. Each serving of this product contains 1000mg of L-carnitine, 50mg of caffeine, and gbbGO, a proprietary metabolite of L-carnitine that further triggers metabolic rate.
The combination of these 3 ingredients is aimed towards increasing its taker’s metabolic rate, which promotes rapid weight loss and drives energy levels up.
While most L-carnitine supplements are available in tablet form, this one is available in liquid form. Just follow the instructions, mix the formula with the right amount of water, and you are ready to go.
This product is available in different flavors so you can add variety to your supplementation routine.
Depending on your goals, you can take this product once or 3 times a day, ideally before going for a workout. This product can also be used in virtually all diets, as it is both keto and vegan friendly.
Based on the reviews, the Finaflex Carnitine Energy works as good as advertised. It is mainly advertised as an energy booster, and its mix of ingredients does give its user an extra pep in their step.
This is highly recommended when you are about to embark on a really strenuous workout, giving you that extra push when you need it.
Reduction of excess fat is a welcome side effect with this product; you can get that ripped physique you’ve always wanted with the help of this product.
However, just like with most flavored supplement, the taste can be a hit-or-miss experience; either you will like it or you won’t.
There are many other L-carnitine products available on the market today. However, you cannot go wrong with picking any of these 3 products. As best-sellers, they can help you achieve your fitness goals while providing you the health boost L-carnitine is known for.
Before going for any of these supplements, make sure to follow up with your physician to see if there are any counter-indications for taking these products.
Also, make sure to report immediately if you feel any unexpected effects from taking these products. Remember that ultimately, your own safety should be the top priority.
