Sports nutrition, a slim figure, strong muscles are one of the favorite topics for discussion in modern magazines, television talk shows and the Internet space. Perhaps each of us at least once stopped in a store or pharmacy in front of beautiful boxes with the inscription “L-carnitine. Your ideal body ”or have not heard, from acquaintances attending fitness clubs, stories about an unusually effective, revolutionary means for losing weight. So does the mysterious carnitine really work wonders?

What it is

Carnitine, derived from an amino acid, is found in almost every cell in our body. Its name comes from the Latin word “carnus”, which means “meat” (originally this substance was obtained from meat). Carnitine is commonly referred to as a range of chemical compounds including L-carnitine, acetyl-L-carnitine, and propionyl-L-carnitine.

The role of carnitine in the human body is difficult to underestimate. Carnitine transports fatty acids to the mitochondria (the “energy station” of the cell), where they are broken down with the release of energy, as a result of which excess fat is burned and at the same time additional energy is generated that is necessary to maintain high vital activity. It also removes toxic compounds from the body, thereby preventing their accumulation. Carnitine is found predominantly in skeletal and cardiac muscles, which use fatty acids as their main “fuel”.
The human body itself produces carnitine in an amount sufficient to maintain its normal life. Sometimes, for certain genetic or medical reasons, in some people (for example, premature babies), this production process can be disrupted, as a result of which carnitine is a conditionally essential nutrient for them.

In healthy children and adults, there is no need to take carnitine in the form of special nutritional supplements, as the liver and kidneys produce enough of this substance from amino acids for vitality.

Carnitine deficiency

In the body, carnitine is synthesized with the participation of vitamins C and group B (especially B3, B6, B9, B12), iron, as well as the amino acids lysine and methionine, and a number of enzymes. Lack of at least one of these substances can provoke a deficiency of carnitine.

More often than not, deficiency this substance is found in vegetarians, athletes, with increased physical exertion and unbalanced nutrition.

Symptoms of carnitine deficiency are usually fatigue, reduced immunity, excess weight gain, and cardiovascular disease.

As with most natural substances, the carnitine molecule has two forms that are mirror images of each other.

To distinguish between these forms, scientists use the letters L and D. The “L” shape functions in the human body, therefore, in magazine articles and ingredient lists of nutritional supplements, carnitine usually refers to L-carnitine, which has recently become perhaps the most advertised and popular a substance that provides guaranteed and rapid weight loss.

We will talk about whether this is really so and whether the effect of L-carnitine on the body is limited to weight loss, we will talk a little later.

What can be useful for

For heart health. The beneficial effect of carnitine on cardiovascular health should be of interest to everyone, especially those who are at risk of developing coronary heart disease. As a result of medical research, a relationship has been identified between low concentrations of carnitine in the heart muscle and heart failure. Carnitine provides an increase in blood flow to the heart and an increase in the level of “good” cholesterol, while reducing the concentration of “bad”. As a result, the risk of developing coronary heart disease is reduced.

For the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome, the symptoms of which include muscle and joint pain, depression, anxiety, irritability, headaches, bowel problems and loss of appetite.

In diseases of the kidneys and liver, since it is these organs that synthesize carnitine in the body, then with their diseases there is a sharp decrease in its amounts and external compensation is necessary.

In various infectious diseases with an increase in temperature, high temperature increases the heart rate, which leads to an increase in energy expenditure, and taking carnitine allows you to release this additional energy.

Mind is the key to health, or Carnitine is not “losing weight”!

Millions of people dream of having a slim body, wanting not only gain a good figure, but also improve their health. Today, thanks to the development of the so-called fitness industry, which promotes special sports nutrition along with an active lifestyle, L-carnitine has become widely known as a fat-burning supplement that anyone can buy today in a pharmacy, sports club, and even in an ordinary shopping center.

Beautiful colorful stickers on bottles and packages with pills simply cannot but attract attention, promising (often in a foreign language without translation into Russian) to make your body perfect. However, nowhere does it appear that a necessary condition for obtaining this wonderful result is the observance of a competent diet prescribed by an experienced nutritionist, and the presence of sufficient physical activity.

So, one visitor to an Internet forum dedicated to the topic of healthy eating was sincerely surprised and indignant at her body weight that continued to grow. As it turned out, the diet of this person consisted of dishes purchased at fast food restaurants, which she washed down with drinks containing large doses of L-carotene.

Sometimes people visiting fitness centers are literally “hooked” on preparations with L-carotene. Indeed, after the start of regular use of this nutritional supplement, it seems that performance improves, physical endurance increases, fatigue decreases, muscle growth increases and pain sensations after training sessions decrease.

Inspired by such a fantastic effect, amateur athletes find themselves hostages of modern preparations with L-carotene, which contain not only useful, but also harmful substances, often destroying the liver.

“My acquaintance with L-carinitin took place two years ago,” complains another forum visitor. – For 8 months I went to the gym intensively, from Monday to Friday, two classes a day, and before each workout I drank L-carnitine for half an hour. She threw off the ill-fated 8 kilograms. I had more than enough strength, I regretted that the gym was closed on Saturday and Sunday. But the time has come for the holidays; I gave up training and my favorite sour liquid for three months. Appetite doubled or tripled, and there was great fatigue. When, finally, I decided that I didn’t have extra kilos, I stopped drinking altogether. L-carnitine, but this time the fatigue hit such that I simply could not force myself to get up from the couch. Bottom line: the lost kilograms returned in full, chronic fatigue was added, which does not pass at the present time. I don’t know which doctor to go to and where to go.”

“You are telling a lie! L-carnitine is an amazing thing, the muscles do not clog, the strength is the sea. I advise everyone,” another fitness enthusiast writes on the same website.

From the foregoing, we can draw the following conclusion: carnitine is not so terrible, but not as useful and harmless as you might think. If you are planning to go in for sports or are already doing it, want to find a slender toned body and at the same time maintain health, do not succumb to the persuasion of fitness managers interested in selling the so-called “sports drugs” and do not pay attention to recommendations from the category “I advise everyone”.

Go to a competent nutritionist and sports doctor, get tested, find out your contraindications. Only an experienced specialist will be able to choose the optimal physical activity for you and prescribe the intake of the necessary nutritional supplements in the right amount.

Finally, some more statistics. Scientists who have been researching nutritional supplements for twenty years still cannot find evidence that supplementing with L-carnitine in doses of 2-6 grams (which is how much carnitine is found in over-the-counter drugs) per day can improve endurance and physical fitness. performance in healthy people. And remember: all nutritional supplements are just one of the auxiliary tools on the way to your health and beauty.