acetyl-L-carnitine and R-lipoic acid

[Guest guest]

Ok, this stuff better be good.

There was a bottle of Source Naturals Acetyl-L-Carnitine/alpha-Lipoic

Acid combo that I could have gotten at $23 for 60 capsules, but it

didn't say it was *R* Lipoic acid, so I assumed it was the racemic

mixture. Additionally, it was amazingly cheaper than all the

supplements that only had the acetyl-l-carnitine! ...Which made it

very suspicious and even more likely to have the racemic mixture,

given the cost of the R-Lipoic acid there.

There was only one brand of R-Lipoic acid-- Humax, which contains some

biotin as well, as, according to the bottle, high levels of lipoic

acid deplete biotin. It doesn't have any magnesium stearate, but the

acetyl-l-carnitine does, and they didn't have any that didn't.

The Source Naturals one might have been free of magnesium stearate, I

don't remember, but, even though I would have saved money by buying it

just for the carnitine while still getting the lipoic acid from a

different bottle, I was worried that the S-Lipoic acid would possibly

interfere even with the extra lipoic acid supplement, OR, that there

could be other balances upset by the sheer quantity of taking lipoic

acid from both sources (like biotin, according to the bottle.)

For enzymes, I ended up getting Soloray pancreatin, which was a tough

decision, because I wasn't sure what was worse for efficacy-- the

magnesium stearate, or the lack of " pharmaceutical glaze. " So I opted

for the brand that had neither magnesium stearate nor pharmaceutical

glaze, which itself I'm not sure what it contains! So hopefully the

pancreatin lasts through my stomach.

What's the best time to take the carnitine/lipoic acid? I'm guessing

on an empty stomach? It's so expensive that I'll probably only take

it once a day, but my though now is to take it before my kettlebell

workout, which will maximize fat-burning and energy, and also protect

against the oxidative stress of exercise.

Does that make sense?

Chris

--

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[Guest guest]

Chris-

>There was a bottle of Source Naturals Acetyl-L-Carnitine/alpha-Lipoic

>Acid combo that I could have gotten at $23 for 60 capsules, but it

>didn't say it was *R* Lipoic acid, so I assumed it was the racemic

>mixture.

Yeah, it was definitely racemic if it didn't indicate that it's the R form.

>There was only one brand of R-Lipoic acid-- Humax, which contains some

>biotin as well, as, according to the bottle, high levels of lipoic

>acid deplete biotin.

Yes, you do want to supplement with some d-biotin (maybe eating a good deal

of raw egg yolks every day would do the trick) when taking meaningful doses

of R-ALA.

>It doesn't have any magnesium stearate, but the

>acetyl-l-carnitine does, and they didn't have any that didn't.

I can point you to some bulk sources of alcar if you'd like. Cheaper and

no fillers to boot.

>For enzymes, I ended up getting Soloray pancreatin, which was a tough

>decision, because I wasn't sure what was worse for efficacy-- the

>magnesium stearate, or the lack of " pharmaceutical glaze. " So I opted

>for the brand that had neither magnesium stearate nor pharmaceutical

>glaze, which itself I'm not sure what it contains! So hopefully the

>pancreatin lasts through my stomach.

I'm not sure what the best option here is myself, but perhaps taking

pancreatin after finishing eating will help it survive into the small

intestine even if it's not enteric-coated.

And actually, it turns out I was wrong about pharmaceutical glaze. It

doesn't appear to be an enteric coating after all. It's used for cosmetic

purposes and to extend shelf life and keep moisture out, but that's all.

>What's the best time to take the carnitine/lipoic acid? I'm guessing

>on an empty stomach? It's so expensive that I'll probably only take

>it once a day, but my though now is to take it before my kettlebell

>workout, which will maximize fat-burning and energy, and also protect

>against the oxidative stress of exercise.

Yeah, that makes sense. You don't want to take them at exactly the same

time, though.

Unfortunately, what appears to be the best supplemental form of R-ALA on

the market (http://www.geronova.com/RALA-Gel.htm) is far from the

cheapest. The advantage appears to be that it gives you the most stable,

consistent blood levels, meaning you can take it upon rising and before bed

and have pretty even levels around the clock. It seems to be sold out

everywhere, but it's painfully expensive anyway.

-

[Guest guest]

On 8/23/05, Idol <Idol@...> wrote:

> I can point you to some bulk sources of alcar if you'd like. Cheaper and

> no fillers to boot.

Ok. Probably won't buy them for a while, now that I have some, but

I'll take a look and bookmark them.

> And actually, it turns out I was wrong about pharmaceutical glaze. It

> doesn't appear to be an enteric coating after all. It's used for cosmetic

> purposes and to extend shelf life and keep moisture out, but that's all.

Oh. Then I guess I must have gotten the best one, having neither.

One bottle listed some things in parantheses, which may or may not

have been the same as " pharmaceutical glaze " but appeared to be a

bunch of crap like titanium dioxide and some other stuff.

> >What's the best time to take the carnitine/lipoic acid? I'm guessing

> >on an empty stomach? It's so expensive that I'll probably only take

> >it once a day, but my though now is to take it before my kettlebell

> >workout, which will maximize fat-burning and energy, and also protect

> >against the oxidative stress of exercise.

>

> Yeah, that makes sense. You don't want to take them at exactly the same

> time, though.

Oh. Then how should I take them?

I guess that's one more reason not to get the Source Naturals one then!

Chris

--

Want the other side of the cholesterol story?

Find out what your doctor isn't telling you:

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com

[Guest guest]

Chris-

>Ok. Probably won't buy them for a while, now that I have some, but

>I'll take a look and bookmark them.

Beyond A Century sells 100g for $9. http://www.beyond-a-century.com/

Bulk Nutrition sells 500g for $25 and a kilo for

$48. http://bulknutrition.com/

>Oh. Then I guess I must have gotten the best one, having neither.

Unless an enteric coating is important, in which case I should probably try

a different pancreatin supplement as well.

>Oh. Then how should I take them?

Maybe half an hour apart. I don't know whether it really matters which you

take first, but maybe it would be better to take the R-ALA first on the

theory that you want the protection before the increased metabolism.

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