Carnitine

Hello,
I would like to ask whether it is problematic to take carnitine on an empty stomach (e.g., tens of minutes before a morning aerobics session) – I read on one package that the manufacturer does not recommend it.
I am also interested in what time interval before aerobic exercise it is appropriate to take the supplement.

The issue arises only in situations where the supplement used contains additives to which the individual is more sensitive. This is thus a highly individual factor that can be controlled by choosing a higher quality product. Generally, if carnitine is in liquid form, it is absorbed more quickly, making it suitable to take shortly before physical performance (5-20 minutes), essentially excluding the consumption of solid food components. A certain compromise can be a combination of the supplement with liquid nutrition (i.e., a hypertonic drink).

If you are working with tablets or capsules, the absorption process of the active ingredient is significantly slower, and the use of such a product is therefore shifted further before the performance (40-60 minutes). Here, on the contrary, it is advantageous to ingest the solid form of the supplement with food because the food stimulates the production of digestive and enzymatic secretions, leading to a more efficient processing of the entire supplement's content.

Hello,

I have a question about carnitine. Some clients, who are using carnitine as part of their weight loss efforts, show more effective fat burning, but at the cost of higher "water retention" levels. Their aerobic exercise frequency is 3 times a week for 50-minute sessions.

Very often, the client then shows a greater increase in overall weight on the scale and we proceed with "water shedding".

I cannot explain why this is happening.

Thank you.

Carnitine should not have a direct effect on water retention in the body. First and foremost, it is crucial to consider the type of water being assessed, whether it is intercellular or intracellular. If you start using substances like carnitine for weight reduction, combined with physical activity, and achieve a decrease in body fat percentage, the proportion of muscle tissue and consequently water (associated with muscle mass) will increase. If you have a device that can measure intercellular water content, such devices should typically show a decrease in intercellular water in such cases (perhaps with the exception of situations where physical activity is more intense, causing increased perspiration and mineral loss, and salt intake is increased without your oversight as a consultant).

Theoretically, it is also possible that individuals with an overloaded lymphatic system might react to the intake of certain additives by retaining water (carnitine supplements in liquid form contain preservatives and flavorings). However, I would tend to lean more towards the first scenario mentioned above.