What is L-carnitine used for?
Carnitine is used primarily for its catalytic effect on the transport and utilization of fatty acids in cells. In other words, carnitine accelerates the burning of fats to be used as an energy source, saving glycogen and therefore, improving endurance and exercise capacity.
90% of the carnitine reserves of the body are in the muscle, due to the importance of this component on muscle functions.
Carnitine for sport: Natural fat burning
Its effect on the metabolism of fats and the transport of these through the bloodstream, is based on oxidation with the purpose of obtaining energy, minimizing oscillations of blood glucose.
Carnitine helps reduce stiffness because it decreases the accumulation of lactic acid and improves the preservation of glycogen reserves, increasing endurance and sports recovery.
That is, L-carnitine mobilizes body fat to use as a source of energy, and, therefore, decreases the body’s adipose content. It is one of the most used fat-burning in sports because it manages to eliminate fats and preserve proteins.
Carnitine for the muscles
In short, in addition to getting the athlete to have a high availability of energy to perform the exercises, carnitine achieves the fat to disappear and the athlete to show the muscles of the body better. It is widely used by bodybuilders to define musculature.
At the same time, carnitine helps to reduce the muscle pain produced by the muscles in sports.
In addition, in situations of deficit of lean mass or musculature it is a stimulator that can promote a series of benefits that we will see next:
Carnitine for male fertility
Carnitine appears in male sperm and is necessary for it to be fertile. Carnitine supplements or ALC are used for the treatment of male infertility.
Carnitine to lose weight
Carnitine, for its properties to accelerate the metabolism of fats, is considered a good ally for people who want to lose weight.
Carnitine to control cholesterol and triglycerides
Carnitine for cardiocirculatory problems
Among the main benefits , for example, it encourages the production of vitamin C and vitamin E, promote an increase in cardiovascular health by strengthening the muscular structure of the heart, arteries, or musculature in general, in cases of severe malnutrition.
In this sense, both carnitine and acetyl-L-carnitine are being used in some countries to treat heart problems, such as hypertension, angina pectoris or heart failure.
Carnitine ensures that fatty acids do not accumulate in the heart, muscles and liver. At the same time, it manages to avoid the appearance of cholesterol and triglycerides.
ALC for diabetes
There are some studies that seem to attribute beneficial properties to acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) in the treatment of diabetes. Supplements of this protein in injected form regulate blood sugar levels and reduce the symptoms of pain that diabetes produces in the nerves of the body (diabetic neuropathy).
ALC to improve some mental illnesses
Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC) is able to delay the aging of brain cells. For this reason it is being used in numerous clinical studies for the treatment of some mental illnesses produced in elderly people as a consequence of the degeneration of brain neurons, due to the passage of time and free radicals.
Among the most common abnormalities treated with this supplement are Alzheimer’s disease, senile dementia, multiple sclerosis, and depression.
ALC for AIDS
AIDS patients usually have very low levels of carnitine because the medicines used in the treatment of this disease favor the elimination of this component by urine.
For this reason, these patients are usually supplemented with ALC supplements.
More information on carnitine
