What to pay attention to when choosing L-carnitine?

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2015-12-19

There is a lot of disagreement about when and how to properly take L-carnitine. Some say it should be taken before training, others say after, and some say during. So what is actually more effective?

When to take it?

Let's start with a bit of theory to help you better understand the underlying concepts. Carnitine facilitates the transport of fatty acids during the fat breakdown process. Therefore, if you are losing weight, and fat is being broken down, it breaks down fairly evenly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In the morning, in the evening, before workouts, after workouts, etc. In other words, there are no specific hours of the day or specific days when fat is broken down and when it is not. If you are not able to lose weight and fat is not breaking down, then it is not being broken down 24 hours a day. It's quite simple.

In general, I want you to understand that the process of fat burning does not start instantaneously and does not stop instantaneously. From this, we can draw a simple conclusion. Specifically, three conclusions:

1. There is no difference in when you should take carnitine. Neither in terms of the time of day nor in relation to workouts. Perhaps there may be some minimal difference, but it is so insignificant that it is not noticeable in practice.

2. It is advisable to take carnitine several times a day. A standard option would be morning and evening. It's even better to take it 3 times a day: in the morning, at lunch, and before bed. However, this is not convenient for everyone, so I usually say twice a day.

3. Carnitine should be taken EVERY day, not just on training days. This is very important.

So, as you can see, everything is quite simple. Take carnitine every 12 hours or every 8 hours. Every day and regardless of whether you have a workout that day or when it is.

I think we've clarified that question. Now let's talk about dosages.

Dosages

There is nothing complicated here either. The average working dosage is 4000 mg (4 g) per day. This refers to pure 100% carnitine. Not all carnitine-based supplements contain 100% carnitine. So, divide these 4 grams into 2 or 3 doses per day. Dosages depend on body weight, but not significantly. If you weigh 50 – 60 kg, then 3 grams may be sufficient. At a weight of 100 kg and more, 5 grams is preferable.

In essence, the more you take, the better. However, I think that 10 grams a day or more will not significantly impact the results. I have not conducted experiments, but practice generally suggests this.

That’s all I wanted to say. I also forgot to mention the duration of L-carnitine intake. Since it is half a vitamin, half an amino acid (I am slightly exaggerating), the duration of intake is essentially unlimited. You can take it year-round. It's quite possible that over time your body may respond less to it, but there should be no side effects. Goodbye!

I can recommend the following products:

1. Dobromil Fit: L-carnitin (8 capsules per day)
2. Power System L-carnitin (20 - 30 ml per day)
3. Maxler L-Carnitine 2000 (25 - 40 ml per day)
4. Maxler: L-Carnitine Caps 750 (4 - 6 capsules per day)