Media Sensationalism: Meat and Carnitine are Bad for your Heart

This study was recently published, pushing the hypothesis that L-Carnitine in meats could be a connection between meats and cardiovascular disease risk, via TMAO (Trimethylamine oxide). It has received a lot of media coverage today. But there is a lot of speculation in this study.

For more click here

Carnitine and Heart Disease- Positive Results

8.1. Blood Pressure

ALCAR in conjunction with ALA can potentially reduce hypertension in via their combined anti-oxidant and pro-energetic effects^[165] as well as insulin resistance and glucose tolerance in those with compromised cardiac health^[166] with minimal to no side-effects at the dosage of 2g a day. At this dose of 2g daily, it has been implicating in reducing blood pressure in persons with poor glucose tolerance by almost 10 points systolic, with some decrease in diastolic as well.^[49]

A dose of 4.5g GPLC has been shown to increase nitric oxide levels after 28 days of supplementation in some persons,^[1] and does so at a dose of 3g as well.^[33]

 May benefit blood pressure in unhealthy persons (metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure). Has the mechanisms to improve blood pressure independent of a disease state via nitric oxide, but it is unclear how it affects blood pressure in those with normal blood pressure.

8.2. Disorders of Blood Flow

Carnitine, in the form of Propionyl-L-Carnitine (PLC, or GPLC if bound to Glycine), has been shown to improve symptoms of intermittent claudication. PLC supplementation at a dose of 1-3g a day seems to reliably increase maximum walking time in persons suffering from intermittent claudication^{[14][167][15]} and improve quality of life.^[13] The benefit does not appear to be dose dependent, and seems to benefit persons with more severe symptoms to a greater degree than persons with lesser symptoms.

PLC aids peripheral arterial diseases in general as it increases peripheral microcirculation.^[168][169] In persons with peripheral arterial diseases, PLC supplementation can increase strength and exercise performance^[170] although exercise itself can also be seen as therapeutic.^[171]

 Quite promising for periphery artery disease and intermittent claudication

8.3. Aging

During aging, defects in oxidative phosphorylation occur exclusively in Interfibrillar mitochondria, located between myofibrils.^[172][173] Due to substrate poorly oxidized when introduced into complexes I, III, and IV and not alleviated by uncoupling it appears the aging 'defect' associated with cardiac mitochondria is located in the Electron Transport Chain.^[113]Enzymatic activity of complexes III (through cytochrome C binding) and IV also appear to be decreased during cardiac aging.^{[172][174][175]}

It appears these damages may be secondary to cardiac Ischemia.^[113] Ischemia causes damage to the Electron Transport Chain after 10-20 minutes via reducing activity of complex I^[176] and reducing phosphorylation at complex V and adenine dinucleotide translocase.^[177][178] Complex III^[176] and IV^[179] are hindered at longer periods of Ischemia. It appears that the general process of Ischemia hits elderly persons harder than youth^[180] despite some level of damage at both ages.^[181]

Acetyl-L-Carnitine is proposed to target these defects its various mitochondrial benefits, discussed elsewhere. One such benefit is seen when aged rats were given a bolus of Acetyl-L-Carnitine 3 hours before cardiac Ischemia, and suffered less damage.^[182] The same benefits were not seen with adult hearts subject to Ischemia, and the damage induced to aged hearts defaulted to similar levels as adult hearts.^[182][113]

Another possible mechanism is increasing levels of CPT1 in the myocardium, without affecting overall carnitine levels.^[183] A decline of this rate-limiting step is seen during aging, thus upregulating it may attenuate changes seen with aging. It has been noted in human hearts that less fatty acid oxidation occurs with aging, causing a shift towards cardiac glucose metabolism^[184]which are thought to be due to less CPT1 activity.^[185][186]

Nelson's Tips and Suggested Supplements

Here are some tips and suggestions :

Diet: 
http:// testosteronewisdom.blogspot. com/2012/02/science-of- healthy-eating.html  

Exercise: 
http://testosteronewisdom.blogspot.com/2012/10/practical-exercise-tips.html

Exercise web sites: http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html   and    http://www.myfit.ca/

Supplements:

Zinc/Copper: One, twice a day with food (this supports healthy testosterone and low chances for acne): http://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Zinc-Balance-100-caps/dp/B001602A10/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1302649942&sr=8-2

Multivitamin one after breakfast and lunch:  http://www.amazon.com/Super-Nutrition-Energy-vegetarian-capsules/dp/B00028PI16/ref=sr_1_10?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1302650064&sr=1-10

Carnitine, 1000 mg with breakfast and 1000 mg with lunch:

http://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-L-Carnitine-Vegetarian-Licaps/dp/B0020NC04Y/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1305148419&sr=8-7

Vitamin D (4000 IU per day): 

http://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Vitamin-1000-softgels/dp/B000VN0MSG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1355366397&sr=8-2&keywords=vitamin+D+jarrow

Coenzyme Q-10 (200 mg per day):

http://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Q-Absorb-Co-Q10-Softgels/dp/B000U67W8W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355366495&sr=8-1&keywords=jarrow+coenzyme+q10

 Omega 3 (2000-4000 mg/day):
http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Naturals-Omega-3-Formula-180-Count/dp/B002CQU55K/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1355366919&sr=1-1&keywords=omega+3+lemon

Whey Protein (1 or 2 servings a day, no need for a blender- This is the most tolerable and light of all)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_7?url=search-alias%3Dhpc&field-keywords=isopure%20zero%20carb

Creatine (5 grams per day, two hours before exercise- NOT for people with kidney dysfunction)

http://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Creatine-Surge-Fruit/dp/B0001VKFLM/ref=sr_1_8?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1355366688&sr=1-8&keywords=creatine+jarrow

Pill box:

http://www.amazon.com/Apex-Medi-Tray-Times-Days/dp/B000KI5QVU/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1305148499&sr=8-15

For studies and references on each supplement, visit:

  http://examine.com/supplements/

L-Carnitine Increases Sperm Motility and Quality

L-carnitine is concentrated in the epididymis, where sperm mature and acquire their motility (86). Two uncontrolled trials of L-carnitine supplementation in more than 100 men diagnosed with decreased sperm motility found that oral L-carnitine supplementation (3 grams/day) for three to four months significantly improved sperm motility (87, 88). However, no information on subsequent fertility was reported. A cross-sectional study of 101 fertile and infertile men found that L-carnitine concentrations in semen were positively correlated with the number of sperm, the percentage of motile sperm, and the percentage of normal appearing sperm in the sample (89), suggesting that L-carnitine levels in semen may be useful in evaluating male infertility. More recently, a placebo-controlled,double-blind, cross-over trial in 86 patients with male infertility found that L-carnitine (2 grams/day) supplementation for two months led to significantly improvements in sperm quality, evidenced by increases in sperm concentration and motility (90). Similar improvements in sperm motility were observed in a subsequent placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized study conducted by the same group, but the patients received combination therapy consisting of L-carnitine (2 grams/day) and acetyl-L-carnitine (1 gram/day) for six months (91). Interestingly, in both studies, the most dramatic carnitine-induced improvements were noted in patients with the lowest baseline sperm motility measures (i.e., most severe cases) (90, 91). Another group of researchers also reported improved sperm motility following combined carnitine therapy. In this placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized study, 44 patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia (reduced sperm motility) received placebo, L-carnitine (3 grams/day), acetyl-L-carnitine (3 grams/day), or a combination of L-carnitine (2 grams/day) and acetyl-L-carnitine (1 gram/day). The combination therapy as well as acetyl-L-carnitine, alone, resulted in significant increases in sperm motility (92). Together, these data suggest that carnitine therapy may be useful in disorders of sperm motility and male infertility; however, large-scale clinical trials are undoubtedly necessary.

Source: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/othernuts/carnitine/

Antioxidants may boost fertility in men

I wrote about these supplements in "Testosterone: A Man's Guide"

Showell MG. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011;1:CD007411.

Antioxidants helped subfertile men and their partners experience more live births and higher pregnancy rates when compared with those who received placebo or no antioxidants, according to recent data. Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that examined use of antioxidants for male subfertility in couples undergoing assisted reproduction techniques. Thirty-four studies involving 2,876 couples were included in the review. Pooled results from trials comparing antioxidant treatment with placebo, using live births as an outcome, favored the antioxidant group, with 18 live births occurring among 116 couples in the antioxidant groups vs. two births among 98 couples in the placebo groups (OR=4.85; 95% CI, 1.92-12.24). These findings were consistent with pooled data from studies specifically comparing vitamin E with placebo (OR=6.44; 95% CI, 1.72-24.04) and in those comparing zinc with no treatment (OR=3.67; 95% CI, 1-13.51). Pregnancy rate also appeared higher among those receiving antioxidants in trials using this as an outcome. Of 515 couples in the antioxidant groups, 82 became pregnant vs. 14 in the placebo groups, with the pooled OR reaching 4.18 (95% CI, 2.65-6.59). Further, data from several trials, including those comparing coenzyme Q10 and L-carnitine plus L-acetyl carnitine with placebo, demonstrated that antioxidants positively affected sperm fragmentation, sperm motility and sperm concentration when compared with placebo, the researchers said. Several head-to-head comparison trials involving various outcomes foundselenium superior to N-acetyl-cysteine and selenium plus N-acetyl-cysteine superior to either antioxidant alone. No statistically significant differences were noted, however, when a combination L-acetyl carnitine and L-carnitine was compared with either antioxidant alone. Harmful adverse events associated with the antioxidants studied were not noted in any trials. The researchers concluded that having men take oral antioxidants may improve chance of conception, although further studies are required to verify these data.