L-Carnitine

[quit-once]

Yesterday I was listening to Science Friday on NPR and they featured a research professor who recently published a study about the harmful effects of L Carnitine. I will share what I can remember.

L-Carnitine is an amino acid-like compound that is contained in red muscle tissue. It is also a supplement. I have a bottle of GNC pep pills that contains "micronized L-Carnitine". Used as a pre-work-out supplement for "explosive" energy. It does not provide any calories or any other nutritional benefit for people, even it its natural form in red meat.

They have concluded that the carnitine in meat is what actually causes hardening of the arteries and plaque formation, more so than just the saturated fats alone. Upon digestion, carnitine releases a gas into the blood stream that enhances plaque formation. It is dependent on the kinds of bacteria that live in your gut. If you eat a lot of meat, there are more meat digesting bacteria on hand to cause the release of the harmful gas into the bloodstream. Vegans and vegetarians have different gut microflora and when they (vegan rats) were fed red meat they produced almost no harmful gas from the carnitine. Of course this was just a rat study so they are making assumptions that people would have similar results over time.

Bottom line: I won't be buying any more carnitine containing supplements because I eat a lot of meat and I don't want to up my chances of having a heart attack or a stroke. I will still eat red meat but will try to work in a little more white chicken and fish.

[Motivation_Follows_Action]

THanks - useful info. And I've just signed up for science friday!