Does L-Carnitine Have an Effect on Athletic Performance?

L-Carnitine is a big seller in the supplement world, and is thought to have positive effects on athletic performance.  However, this idea has been the center of controversy for some years now.  Some say carnitine supplementation has no effect, and others say it does, so what’s the truth?  The truth is it’s very likely, but not certain, that L-carnitine does have positive effects on athletes in general, and in athletic performance.

Some of the areas in which L-carnitine is suggested to improve performance includes an increase to one’s maximal oxygen intake, stimulates lipid-metabolism, and enhanced muscle fatty acid oxidation, altered glucose homeostasis, enhanced acylcarnitine production, modification of training responses, and altered muscle fatigue resistance.  This means your body will be able to recover from exercise faster, and be able to participate in exercise longer.  This information can be found in two studies:  one by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Leukemia Research and Hematology and the other by the Department of Clinical Chemistry, Turku University Hospital.

In the end, the strongest opposition to these ideas are not that they’re false, but just that the studies done are not substantial enough to guarantee the effects.  This argument is demonstrated by a review done by the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.  What we can take away from this is that there’s not a definite answer to be given on L-carnitine and its effects, however; most theoretical principles and studies demonstrate a positive effect on athletic performance.

visit the article at http://www.kingsupplements.com/blog/fitness/l-carnitine-effect-athletic-performance/