The amount of body fat you are able to lose is governed by two basic rules: 1) your body will utilize whatever fuel is the most readily available and 2) your body must have the capacity to burn this fuel when made available. The two most readily available fuels your body uses to generate energy are fat and carbohydrate. Whether fat or carbohydrate is used is strongly influenced by the combination of protein, fat, and carbohydrate (macronutrients) in your diet and your timing of meals. Your level of physical activity and exercise also determine whether fat or carbohydrate utilization predominates because muscle, both skeletal muscle and your heart, have the highest capacity to burn fat.  On the other hand your ability to use these fuels depends on your muscle’s chemical capacity to breakdown and oxidize fat and/or carbohydrate using an array of enzymes. Metabolix Nutrition System’s Ultra L-Carnitine is designed as an adjunct to proper nutrition and exercise to enhance your ability to burn fat and improve overall health.

L-carnitine is an amino acid normally produced by the liver and also kidneys that is absolutely essential for fatty acid oxidation, i.e. fat burning. Another significant source of L-carnitine is your diet, and in particular red meat. In both skeletal muscle and the heart it is used by several enzymes that enable fatty acids (the form of fat that is burned for energy) to move into the fat burning machinery of muscle fibers – the mitochondria. Many individuals are able to produce enough L-carnitine assuming their diet is well-balanced. However there are conditions that may result in L-carnitine deficiency and result in it being a conditionally essential nutrient. These range from several relatively rare inherited genetic disorders resulting in tissue pathology, to mild deficiency caused by various factors that reduce the ability to synthesize L-carnitine and/or cause excessive loss of L-carnitine. Among those at risk are strict vegetarians, especially those that exercise intensely because of the combination of little or no meat intake and exercise which might increase loss of free L-carnitine from muscle.

Another important function of L-carnitine is its ability to maintain muscle cell mitochondria membrane integrity and function. It does this in two ways: 1) L-carnitine helps to maintain transport of other molecules besides fatty acids into and out of the mitochondria, and 2) L-carnitine is a potent antioxidant. Tissues with high rates of oxidation (fuel burning) produce free-radicals – forms of oxygen that are highly reactive and can damage cells and ultimately kill them. These products of metabolism have been implicated in numerous pathological conditions, especially cardiovascular disease. Increased dietary antioxidants have been demonstrated to help prevent excessive oxidative damage in tissues throughout the body.

In addition, recent findings have shown that L-carnitine can maintain and enhance cardiovascular function, alleviate symptoms of chronic fatigue, help stabilize blood glucose, improve recovery from intense exercise and may even play an important role in preventing the development of age related neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s.

The current recommended dosage advised by researchers involved in studying the potential therapeutic effects of L-carnitine is between 2000 and 5000 mg per day. Each Ultra L-Carnitine tablet contains 450 mg and two tablets should be taken following each meal and 30 minutes prior to exercise.