Willner Window Radio - L-Carnitine

[Guest guest]

The following is an excerpt from The Willner Window radio program,

originally airing on July 2, 2002. The Willner Window can be heard

every Sunday afternoon, from 2 pm to 4 pm, on WOR Radio (710 AM),

New York.

 

http://www.willner.com/radio_04-04-04.aspx?id=22

 

Arnie: Good afternoon everyone, this is .... Welcome to The Willner

Window. For those of you who might be first-time listeners, the

focus of this show is nutritional supplementsB vitamins, herbs,

homeopathic remediesB and their proper usage. With me this afternoon

is...

 

Arnie: If we listed the most common complaints and questions we get

at Willner Chemists, fatigue and low energy would probably be near

the top of the list.

 

Of course, when making a recommendation, we always try to determine

the cause of the fatigue, or lack of energy. If the cause can be

identified, the best treatment is to target the cause.

 

Richard: It may be necessary to see your doctor as part of the

attempt to identify to cause. Some possible reasons for fatigue and

tiredness could be . . .

 

 

 

Arnie: One encouraging piece of news about treating tiredness and

low energy came out of a study in Italy. A group of doctors were

trying to help patients taking chemotherapy drugs. Fatigue, of

course, is a common problem when on that type of medication.

 

Richard: Actually, in this study, they were looking at patients with

advanced lung, pancreatic and gastric cancers who were given the

drugs cisplatin and ifosfamide, which can lead to depleted levels of

the amino acid carnitine.

 

Knowing this, they gave those patients a liquid carnitine supplement.

 

Ninety percent of the patients reported increased energy after only

one week of carnitine supplementation.

 

Sam: Carnitine, of course, is a supplement we have talked about many

times in the past.

 

Carnitine is needed to release energy from fat. It works in the cell

membrane, facilitation the transport of fatty acids into

mitochondria, the powerhouse, or energy-burning part of cells.

 

Carnitine is made in the body from the amino acids, lysine and

methionine. However, in infancy and in situations of high energy

needs, such as pregnancy and breast-feeding, the need for carnitine

can exceed production by the body.

 

Arnie: We generally look at carnitine as filling two functions.

First, it would be thought to be helpful for various types of

cardiovascular disease, helping to lower elevated triglyceride

levels. And, in fact, it has been used for treating angina,

congestive heart failure, intermittent claudication and elevated

triglycerides.

 

Secondly, we have been recommending it as an energy-booster. The

theory being that it is sort of like increasing ones ability to

throw more logs onto the fire. Think of the fire as being the

mitochondrial A furnace@ in the cells, and the logs as being the

triglycerides.

 

Sam: And, in fact, it has been used by those suffering from chronic

fatigue syndrome, those on weight loss programs, and by athletes

looking to increase their endurance.

 

Richard: Getting back to this study, however, while it is

encouraging to see this documented instance of carnitine= s ability

to treat fatigue, we should point out that these patients may have

been suffering from a depleted level of carnitine, due to the drugs

they were taking.

 

So we do not know for sure if the same effect would be observed in

those with normal carnitine levels.

 

The study was also not placebo controlled. They plan to conduct a

larger, randomized placebo controlled study as the next step.

 

Arnie: Nevertheless, it is encouraging to the extent that it

confirms the connection between carnitine supplementation, or

metabolism, and energy. With little downside, it would seem to me

that anyone suffering from tiredness, fatigue or low energy should

certain experiment with carnitine supplementation.

 

Sam: The typical dose of carnitine can range from 1,000 mg to 3,000

mg daily, in divided doses. It is available in tablet or capsule

form, as well as a liquid. Some companies add vitamin B6 to their

carnitine supplements, because B6 is necessary for carnitine

synthesis. And as we said earlier, it can be made in the body from

lysine and methionine, with help from vitamin C, iron, and niacin.

 

Arnie: While we are talking about low energy, and fatigue