Amino Acids for Super Humans, Part IV - Purported Ergogenics (2/3): L-Carnitine, ALCAR, LCLT, GPLC & Co.
Image 1: Even bought in bulk, the carnitines are not exactly cheap, so you better read on to gather whether ALCAR, L-CAR, P-LCAR, L-CLT & Co are worth spending money on. Despite the fact that even my grandmother has heard of the miraculous energizing and fat-burning abilities of carnitine, most people - and even those who are buying those carnitine-enriched functional, or should I say disfunctional foods are not even aware that L-3-hydroxy-4-N,N,N-trimethylaminobutyric acid (l-carnitine) is a naturally occurring amino acid, all mammals (humans included) can synthesize from l-lysine or l-methionine in their livers and kidneys. Necessary co-factors for carnitine synthesis are ascorbic acid (vitamin C), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), niacin (vitamin B3) and S-Adenosyl methionine (SAMe) Interestingly, supplementation of the EAA substrates and co-factors failed to raise carnitine synthesis and or serum levels in respective studies. Gamma-butyrobetaine, ...
