GNC Burn 60, CLA and L-Carnitine

I take L-Carnitine every day as recommended by my doctor. After my third child was tested at birth and found to have 0 carnitine in his blood (babies get it from their mothers in utero), they tested me and found I had zero carnitine in my system as well. Apparently my years of veganism had taken their toll. I changed my diet but my levels were still rock bottom. Since my brother died of unknown causes at age 30, and he had a heart defect, my geneticist recommended I take a supplement to make sure my carnitine levels stay steady. I'm not sure if it helps with my fat burning, but I've noticed I seem to have more energy these days--though weight loss and exercise have played a part in that, I'm sure.

Bottom line, I wouldn't bother with it unless you get a blood test to check your carnitine levels and they are so low the doctor sees a reason for you to go on it. Otherwise you're just wasting money. Most people's bodies synthesize carnitine from amino acids, so if you're eating a well balanced diet that includes foods that have lysine, for example, you shouldn't have a carnitine deficiency.

Too much carnitine can cause problems, too. Diarrhea is just one of them, so is sleeplessness. When our baby was put on carnitine supplementation they overdosed him and it was awful. So unless you know exactly how much you need to take you risk hyper-carnitization, as my doctor put it.