Question about L-Carnitine

[Bluebell29]

Hey, has anybody taken L-Carnitine out there? I heard about it on this website and have been taking it to assist in my fat-breakdown. Anyways, about 2 days after I started taking it, 2-a-day with meals as recommended, I noticed I had this feeling in my throat like something was stuck in it! It was really bad in the morning in that I would have a piece of low-carb pita pocket bread to try to "push" the feeling down. I stopped taking it for a couple of days, and the feeling went away. At first I thought it was some kind of weird virus, but now I think it was the L-Carnitine. Anybody out there ever experienced that?

[miss24]

Sort of it, L-car made me feel funny, so I had to stop taking it. It made me feel wired, and I actually wound up eating more. Not what I wanted.

I don't know if it helped burn fat to be honest.

I do however, noticed an increase in preformance during working out, and the ability to work out longer and have a little more energy.

BUT, it made me eat more calories, so it canceled out the good it was being taken for!


lol....uhg, I don't know about suppliments sometimes...

[kebaldwin]

http://www.vitacost.com/articleResults.aspx?Ntk=articles&.y=5&ss=1&.x=20&Ntt=Carnitine

http://www.worldhealth.net/p/anti-aging-search.html?whn_search=Carnitine

http://search.lef.org/search/default.aspx?s=1&QUERY=Carnitine

[TeaLeaf]

I never had the "choking" feeling, but I had to stop taking it because I read that it was recommended for HYPERthyroid patients and I'm HYPOthyroid! One day I will learn to research supplements BEFORE I start taking them! :rolleyes:

[Newbirth]

I take it. have't noticed anything one way or the other. I also take L-Glutamine to support muscle mass. I take only one capsule a day of each.

[deanmoore]

I started taking L-Carnitine a few days ago and did notice something strange about my throat-I had assumed it was the cooler night air and the fan I leave on all night.The feeling in my throat stopped after 4-5 days and i still take the vit. Thank you for that info-now it makes sense. Tea Leaf you can buy Dr. Atkins Vita-Nutrients Solution for 2 cents on Amazon.com plus shipping-for research.

[cs_carver]

I noticed I was craving food all the time and that part went away when I quit taking it.

Later, I had a very disturbing reaction to alpha lipoic acid, and now I'm much more conscious about taking anything that's advertised to cross the blood-brain barrier.

While I certainly don't want the FDA sticking their fingers in my supplement box, I wish some manufacturers were a bit more open about the downside. You almost never see any warnings or caveats about any supplements, and they're essentially no different from a lot of pharmaceuticals. At least with the pharmaceuticals, you can get ahold of a package insert and see what the full data is.

[deanmoore]

CS- I suspect it was just an adjustiment thing. Vit appear to be better than pharmaceuticals in most cases. I would simply research the vit. you decide to take as there is info on possible effects. The book I mentioned above is invalueable for research. You could also be alergic to certains vit. and have to adjust the intake level or combine it with another vit. I believe you are on the right path and advise you not to give up so easily.

[cs_carver]

The book I mentioned above is invalueable for research. You could also be alergic to certains vit. and have to adjust the intake level or combine it with another vit. I believe you are on the right path and advise you not to give up so easily.

and I spend a LOT of money on vitamins and supplements. Not sure what gives you the impression I "gave up easily." I am talking about the specific subset of supplements that are touted as "crossing the blood-brain barrier"--that's a pretty small #.

Unfortunately, there's far too much emphasis on "natural" vs pharma in most supplement literature, and the truth is, there's no particular value to "natural" in most of the cases where that word is used as a positive. There's a boatload of "natural" stuff that can kill just as fast as any synthetic.

I've posted elsewhere about the difficulty of conducting a double-blind study when you only have the one rat to use. I vote on the side of the vitamin spend in favor of an enhanced 80s decade but we won't know for another 33 years if I'm right. And all the supplements in the world aren't going to help if I get hit by a bus, although most days I think the bigger risk is getting strangled by some MD with a stethoscope when I've challenged one too many sacred cows, again.

yrs,
cs_c

[AliceT]

Unfortunately, there's far too much emphasis on "natural" vs pharma in most supplement literature, and the truth is, there's no particular value to "natural" in most of the cases where that word is used as a positive. There's a boatload of "natural" stuff that can kill just as fast as any synthetic.

I've posted elsewhere about the difficulty of conducting a double-blind study when you only have the one rat to use. I vote on the side of the vitamin spend in favor of an enhanced 80s decade but we won't know for another 33 years if I'm right. And all the supplements in the world aren't going to help if I get hit by a bus, although most days I think the bigger risk is getting strangled by some MD with a stethoscope when I've challenged one too many sacred cows, again.

yrs,
cs_c

I realize this thread was abandoned a couple months ago, but (since i can't send PMs yet) I wanted to reply with appreciation to you, CS, for making this point so well, about the "one rat" problem. I am also amused at your strangulation concerns and sympathetic as well.

As for ALC and ALA, I've been taking them for a number of years and have noticed no ill effects, but an improved ability to think clearly. If only they made us all the same, darnit! :)