An amino acid supplement might help you reach your 100th birthday

Century Club

Most of us don’t expect celebrate birthdays beyond ten decades. But if you do happen to be setting your sights on the Century Club, you may be interested in a study that was restricted to subjects over the age of 100.

Researchers found surprising results that will be useful to anyone who wants to reach an advanced age in good health.

Serious multi-tasker

In yesterday’s e-Alert “Three Strikes” (5/13/09) we saw how a number of commonly used drugs have been shown to deplete the body of important nutrients – especially among the elderly.

One of those nutrients may very well be L-carnitine.

As I’ve noted in previous e-Alerts, L-carnitine is a key amino acid that’s responsible for a number of important functions:

• Delivers omega-3 fatty acids to cell mitochondria
• Reduces oxidative stress
• Helps protect cells from damage – especially heart cells
• Raises the levels of enzymes needed to metabolize carbohydrates
• Helps boost cellular energy
• Helps maintain muscle strength
• Reduces triglycerides

Food sources of L-carnitine include beef, chicken, fish, and dairy products. Unfortunately, the body only absorbs about a quarter of the L-carnitine supplied by food. And as we age, the body produces less L-carnitine.

Over the long term, that aging attrition creates predictable results.

100 and loving it

In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers at Italy’s University of Catania reported on a study in which they examined the effects of L-carnitine supplementation on 66 subjects who had all celebrated a 100th birthday. At the outset of the study, each of the subjects reported fatigue after slight physical activity.

Subjects were divided into two groups to receive either two grams of L-carnitine daily or a placebo for six months.

At the end of the intervention, tests revealed five remarkable results:

• Physical fatigue after exercise was significantly less in the L-carnitine group
• Mental fatigue was significantly less in the L-carnitine group
• In a 30-point test to assess cognitive sharpness, subjects in the L-carnitine group scored more than four points higher on average than subjects in the placebo group
• Total muscle mass was significantly higher in the L- carnitine group
• Total fat mass was significantly lower in the L-carnitine group

Before you try an L-carnitine supplement, you should know that high doses (five grams or more daily) might prompt diarrhea, increased appetite, or rash. The University of Maryland Medical Center also cautions that patients with diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, peripheral vascular disease, or cirrhosis should consult with a doctor before using L-carnitine. Actually, that’s good advice for anyone.

And HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., has this suggestion for anyone who uses an amino acid supplement: Don’t take it with a high-protein meal.

Dr. Spreen: “There are a limited number of receptors for protein substances (protein foods are composed of amino acids), so the supplement you paid good money for will be ‘diluted’ by the presence of other proteinaceous substances in the digestive neighborhood. That is not true of most other supplements, which should be taken with food.”

Source:
“L-Carnitine Treatment Reduces Severity of Physical and Mental Fatigue and Increases Cognitive Functions in Centenarians: A Randomized and Controlled Clinical Trial” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 86, No. 6, December 2007, ajcn.org