> ????? I looked this up in a few books to be sure--l-carnitine plays
> a significant role in weight reduction as an anticatabolic
> substance, but it sure won't add any muscle mass. Nor are there any
> claims that it will alter your personality in any way, although it
> will increase your energy levels, and energy levels do provide a
> basis for exhibiting a higher level of assertiveness.
Like most of the substances discussed here the placebo effect plays a
huge role. I suppose that if you eat something that gives you more
energy, think it will have beneficial effects you will become more
assertive.
Still, it has some interesting effects in the nervous system. It seems
to provide a bit of protection against damage (the neurons have enough
extra energy to cope), and in rats it promotes the formation of more
(but smaller) synapses:
@Article{Bertoni96,
author = {Bertoni-Freddari, Carlo AND Fattoretti, Patrizia AND Caselli, Ugo AND Paoloni, Roberts},
title = {Acetylcarnitine Modulation of the Morphology of Rat Hippocampal Synapses},
journal = {Anal Quant Cytol Histol},
year = 1996,
volume = 18,
pages = {275--278},
annote = {Acetylcarnitine prevented age-related synapse loss in rat hippocampus, and increased the number of synapses. It seems that ALCAR does this by enhancing neural metabolism.}
}
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