What to pay attention to when choosing L-carnitine?

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

So, now I will explain to you in detail how to properly buy L-carnitine. There are quite a few nuances and pitfalls here, and I constantly encounter the fact that people often unknowingly purchase the least advantageous product. If you don't want to read, just watch the video. The information in the text and in the video is the same.

So, carnitine in the sports nutrition market is released in 3 forms:

• Liquid
• Powder
• Capsules

All three forms are equally effective. The choice of one form or another is purely a matter of taste and personal preference. The speed of absorption of carnitine differs slightly (liquid is the fastest), but this difference is not significant and does not affect the final effect.

The main factor in effectiveness is the total dosage of L-carnitine per day. It should be approximately 4000 mg (4 grams), plus or minus 1 gram depending on a person's weight and activity level.

Liquid L-Carnitine

So, when choosing liquid carnitine, the most important factor is the amount of carnitine per 100 ml. In other words, the percentage of active substance. The second factor, which is less significant, is the amount of carbohydrates. After all, carnitine is taken to lose weight, and extra carbohydrates are unnecessary for you.

As for the amount of carnitine, it should be 10%. That is, 10 grams per 100 ml or more. I have encountered products with up to 20% content. Do not take less than 10%. Currently, about half of the companies produce carnitine with 10% content.

Regarding carbohydrates, the less, the better. The usual range is from 0% to 10%. As you can see, even 10% is not such a large amount. Therefore, I mentioned earlier that this is not such an important parameter, but if someone meticulously counts macronutrients, keep this in mind.

Here is a comparison of several liquid L-carnitines for your reference:

To summarize:

1. Try to buy a 1-liter bottle (half a liter won’t last you long).
2. Choose a product with at least 10 g of L-carnitine per 100 ml.
3. With all else being equal, prefer the product with the lowest carbohydrate content.

L-Carnitine in Capsules

Here, everything is much simpler. Choose a product with a minimum of 500 mg of carnitine per capsule. That’s per capsule, not per serving. Don’t let manufacturers calculate servings for you, as serving sizes vary among producers.

The maximum amount of carnitine I’ve seen is 1500 mg per capsule. However, when buying, pay attention to the total amount of carnitine in the jar. For example, L-Carnitine 750 by Maxler has 750 mg per capsule with 100 capsules in a jar. That means a total of 75 grams of carnitine. Compare this to L-Carnitine capsules by VPlab, which has 90 capsules of 500 mg each, totaling 45 grams of carnitine. But! Maxler costs about 1400 rubles, while VPlab costs 900 rubles. So, at Maxler, 10 grams of carnitine costs about 190 rubles, and at VPlab, it costs 200 rubles. It’s clear that these two products are almost identical in terms of value.

Here’s an example of a decent product: Carnitine by Dobromil Fit. It contains 425 mg per capsule and has a total of 90 capsules, which is 38 grams of carnitine. And the jar costs only 700 rubles.

To summarize:

1. The content should be at least 500 mg of carnitine per capsule.
2. Calculate the total amount of carnitine in the jar, as more carnitine per capsule doesn't always mean it’s cheaper.

L-Carnitine in Powder

This is also quite simple. Choose a carnitine with at least 80% L-carnitine content. The more, the better. For example: VPlab: L-Carnitine Caps. Here, there are 5 grams of carnitine in a 5-gram serving, which means 100%. In other words, this is pure carnitine with only 2% foreign impurities. On the other hand, L-Carnitine Power by SAN has 1 gram of carnitine in 1.4 grams of powder, which is about 70%. Why buy a product that is only 70% what you need when you can buy a 100% product? Usually, powdered carnitine can contain 2% – 5% impurities and about 10% flavorings. In total, this should not exceed 20%. Therefore, I said at the beginning that you should take a powdered carnitine with a minimum of 80% concentration.

To summarize:

1. Choose L-carnitine with at least 80% active ingredient.

A Few Words About Types of L-Carnitine

In addition to regular L-carnitine, there are also 2 other forms in the sports nutrition market:

• L-Carnitine Tartrate
• Acetyl L-Carnitine

These are all derivatives of carnitine. I do not recommend them. The reason is that Tartrate and Acetyl (you might also see the name "Alcar" on labels) are relatively new forms and are still poorly studied. This does not mean that these forms are ineffective, but personally, I prefer to stick with products that have been proven over the years. So, if you don’t want to experiment, stick with the old, reliable L-carnitine. That's all; I hope this article helps you make a choice. Also, check out the video below. It's very useful as well. Good luck!