Enabling the use of fat for fuel is one important role that carnitine plays. It’s a critical link in the chain of fat loss, and as such might be a performance enhancer for sport. I even knew a guy who said it made him more aggressive, and he’s not the type prone to exaggeration. It’s an interesting nutrient, and its effects don’t end there. A study this month in Nutrition and Metabolism examined the effects of carnitine on protein turnover.

Protein turnover is a necessary aspect of biology for athletes. It’s the fine balance between how much protein is created in the body versus how much is broken down into amino acids. Altering this balance is a big part of what training is about, and in general we shoot to increase protein synthesis while minimizing protein degradation. You may have heard the terms “anabolic” and “catabolic.” These are complex states of the human body that essentially amount to the synthesis of new tissue and the degradation of tissue respectively. For example, the term “anabolic steroid” refers to a sex hormone (in this case either natural or synthetic testosterone) that promotes the creation of new protein.

As it turns out, carnitine can affect your protein turnover. In this study researchers examined the effects of carnitine supplementation on rats. They wanted to see if there was a change in the major processes that impact protein turnover, with a specific focus on reducing protein degradation after four weeks. They also examined the fat and protein content of the muscles.

In the end, the rats taking carnitine were clearly lighter in bodyweight and had less fat. They had greater protein content in their muscles, but only the protein content of one of the studied muscles had statistical significance. Nevertheless, the trend seems obvious and compelling, and I’d be interested to see a study longer than four weeks. The amount of carnitine in the muscles, blood, and organs was much higher in that group.

As for what researchers were looking for specifically, they found it. Carnitine suppressed the gene expression of rate-limiting chemicals in the process of muscle degradation. This means that the key portions of the process that result in muscle breakdown were suppressed by carnitine. Also of interest was the greater presence of IGF-1 in the group taking carnitine. While the researchers were only interested in IGF-1’s tendency to reduce muscle breakdown, it should also be noted that the “GF” in IGF-1 stands for growth factor, and it has known anabolic properties as well.

After this study, my reasons for supporting carnitine supplementation have become even more robust. As a substance with potential fat-burning, muscle-sparing, and maybe even aggression-inducing properties (that are hopefully limited to the weight room), this is one to check out.

References:

1. Janine Keller, et. al., “Supplementation of carnitine leads to an activation of the IGF-1/PI3K/Akt signalling pathway and down regulates the E3 ligase MuRF1 in skeletal muscle of rats,” Nutrition & Metabolism 2013, 10:28

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There were 16 men included in the study, of which 7 were randomly assigned to a group that consumed 750 mg of PA, and 9 were assigned to a placebo group that took 750 mg of rice flour. The timing of supplementation was not controlled, and each subject was provided a 36 gram amino acid collagen protein blend that was mixed in a 500 ml commercial sports drink for post workout protein ingestion.¹

Each subject was tested prior to and after 8 weeks of supplementation. In the testing session the participant’s 1-rep max for the squat and bench press were determined. The testing sessions were also used to measure body composition. Muscle thickness was measured in the vastus lateralis (quadricep) of the dominant leg of each participant. The resistance training routine was the same for each participant – a 4-day per week split routine, which required each exercise to be performed with 70% of 1-rep max for all exercises.²

The results of the study showed that those who supplemented PA during the 8-week period experienced a 12.7% increase in squat strength, and a 2.6% increase in lean body mass. Those who received the placebo showed a 9.3% improvement in squat strength and a 0.1% change in lean body mass.³

It appears the combination of resistance training and PA supplementation can in fact increase strength and significantly improve lean mass gain. This is the first study to examine the efficacy of PA on enhancing strength and muscle growth. This particular study indicated that daily supplementation of 750 mg PA is effective at increasing lower body strength and lean body mass.

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Cherries contain anthocyanins, which are responsible for the red pigment in the berries. Anthocyanins exhibit significant antioxidant properties, which led scientists to continue studying their benefits.² The amount of anthocyanins present in tart cherry juice exhibits some of the same pain management strength as that of some pain medicines.³

The study conducted by Oregon Health Science University consisted of twenty women who all had inflammatory osteoarthritis, ages ranging from 40 to 70. Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disorder, and is due to wear and tear on the joints that often accompany age.⁴ Athletes are exceptionally prone to developing osteoarthritis, since their joints often receive a significant amount of stress. As a result, the cartilage is broken down between the joints and leads to joint pain. The results of the study showed that drinking tart cherry juice twice a day for three weeks resulted in a significant reduction in inflammation marker.

The potential inflammation benefits look promising, and even more so for athletes. In a prior study, principal investigator Dr. Kerry Kuehl discovered that those who drank cherry juice while training for a long distance run reported significantly less pain after exercise compared to those who did not ingest the juice.⁵

Dr. Kuehl had this to say about tart cherries:

With millions of Americans looking for ways to naturally manage pain, it’s promising that tart cherries can help, without the possible side effects often associated with arthritis medications. I’m intrigued by the potential for a real food to offer such a powerful anti-inflammatory benefit – especially for active adults.⁶

The research does not stop there either. There was also previous research on tart cherries and its potential to reduce osteoarthritis pain done conducted at the Baylor Research Institute. This study determined that a daily dose of tart cherries helped reduce the pain that is associated with osteoarthritis by more than 20% for the majority of men and women.⁷

Cherry juice is already being used by professionals. For example, Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, CSSD, LDN, who is the Director of Sports Nutrition at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center for Sports Medicine has incorporated tart cherries into the regimen of both her professional athletes as well as her other active clients.⁸ The double bonus with cherries is that they not only display anti-inflammatory properties, but many people like the their sweet, tart taste.

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