Summer is imminent, and now many of us are searching for that
quick fix for our winter blahs.
Summer is imminent, and now many of us are searching for that quick fix for our winter blahs.
Chances are we have gained weight and lost energy over the colder months.
Although there is no magic pill I can suggest, L-Carnitine is a supplement that may be helpful to achieving your goals.
Your first question is most likely “what is L-Carnitine?” L-Carnitine is an amino acid-like and a vitamin B-like substance which can be supplied to the body through food as well as manufactured by the body itself.
Food sources are mainly from foods of animal origin, particularly red meat. In addition, L-Carnitine can be obtained through supplementation (pills, powders etc.).
The next question you might have is “what does L-Carnitine do?” Good question.
This substance has many different benefits ranging from metabolic/weight management to cardiovascular wellness to exercise performance to brain function.
Another plus – there are no adverse effects to supplementing L-Carnitine.
This article will address the benefits as they relate to weight management and exercise performance.
There are many studies that demonstrate that L-Carnitine helps to promote a healthier lean body weight.
L-Carnintine assists in weight management by speeding up the rate at which fatty acids are broken down, increasing the resting metabolic rate and encourages muscle growth.
L-Carnitine is needed for energy metabolism (burning calories). It turns fatty acids into energy by breaking them down.
By doing so, the energy is available from fat, and protein, which is an alternate source of energy, is left to perform the functions in the body that it needs to do.
As such, L-Carnitine decreases the amount of fat that is deposited in your cells and allows an increase in muscle cells
Now, it stands to reason that the only way to shed excess pounds is to burn more calories than you consume.
The most effective way to use those excess calories is to exercise, therefore increasing the caloric demands of your body.
Exercise is a hard concept for some people to grasp. They often find themselves to be “too tired” or “not having enough energy.”
Perhaps after you have exercised, your body aches afterwards. L-Carnitine can help with these issues as well. It can actually play an important role in exercise performance.
Studies have shown that this supplement can increase the amount of oxygen used during exercise, which means a higher level of endurance.
Therefore, people who tend to tire out more quickly will have more energy.
The so called “weekend warriors” also benefit from L-Carnitine. These are the people who exercise with great intensity on the weekends, but then remain somewhat sedentary during the week.
Supplementation of this kind has been shown to reduce the amount of lactic acid build-up in the muscle, thus also reducing the post-workout fatigue.
Furthermore, L-Carnitine aids in the use of fats rather than glycogen stores as an energy source.
The more fat and less glycogen stores that are utilized, the more energy you will have for sustained exercise. Depletion of your glycogen stores will result in quicker fatigue.
L-Carnitine holds lots of promise in terms of helping us reach our goals of exercise and weight management.
It can be extremely effective for improvement of exercise performance, and thus weight loss.
My next article will address the benefits of L-Carnitine and cardiovascular health.
Karen Frost is the Wellness Director for Gold’s Gym of Morgan Hill. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Physical Education from New York University and is certified by the American Council on Exercise as a Personal Trainer and a Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant
