Hi All,

If you have been noticing a lot of talk about Carnitine causing
heart disease, yaya, yaya, yada lately and wondered about
the peculiar odor of vegetarian propaganda reeking off of it,
Live Extension Foundation (lef.org) got tired of it and wrote
a *very well documented* (meaning references out the nose)
article on the subject.

And, no, Carnitine doesn't cause heart disease. It helps with
the problem.

http://www.lef.org/featured-articles...mpaign=IND301E

What concerns us from the paper, is the following:

Carnitine Fights Diabesity

As obesity rates skyrocket, more and more Americans are
developing type II diabetes as a result, producing a
syndrome called "diabesity."18,19

Since carnitine helps the mitochondria utilize energy,
it plays a critical role in reducing the occurrence
and impact of diabesity.20 Recent studies show that in
addition to helping the mitochondria burn fat as energy,
carnitine is also vital for removing waste products from
mitochondria.21,22 This is important because we now
recognize that the buildup of mitochondrial waste products
is one of the most important contributors to insulin
resistance, which further promotes high blood sugar and
obesity.23

Obesity and aging contribute to low carnitine levels,
which compromises mitochondrial performance and increases
insulin resistance, promoting further obesity and carnitine
reduction. Restoring carnitine levels to their youthful
values is an effective way to break this deadly cycle.21

Human volunteers who took L-carnitine 3 grams/day for 10
days had favorable changes in body composition.24
Supplemented patients used their fat for energy, burning it
22% faster than control patients, without any increase in
muscle protein breakdown. In another study, using 2 grams/day
for 6 months, demonstrated a loss of total fat mass of 4
pounds, with a gain in lean muscle mass of 8.4 pounds.25

Animal studies confirm and extend these findings, showing
that propionyl-L-carnitine decreases body weight gain,
food intake, and fat composition while improving insulin
resistance.20

Carnitine also has multiple favorable effects on elevated
blood sugar and insulin resistance, the hallmarks of type
II diabetes.22 Animals fed a high fat diet develop the
same symptoms and signs that humans do: obesity, insulin
resistance, abnormal lipid profiles, and liver damage, which
are known as metabolic syndrome. Just 4 weeks of treatment
with L-carnitine reversed all of those abnormal
parameters.18,26-28

Similar effects have been found in diabetic humans. Two grams
of L-carnitine twice daily for 10 days improved insulin
sensitivity and reduced insulin levels.29 L-carnitine
supplementation of two grams/day caused a significant reduction
in plasma free fatty acids, which contribute to insulin
resistance.30 Three grams/day were shown to reduce simulated
after-meal blood sugar spikes from 157 mg/dL to 132 mg/dL (oral
glucose tolerance test).31 A significant number of studies
document the deadly impact of elevated after-meal glucose levels.

My opinion, it is absolutely foolish to think that our science
is smart enough to allow us to eat in an unnatural fashion.
We are not herbivores.

-T