Acetyl-l-Carnitine – Anti-Aging for Brain & Metabolism

Acetyl-l-Carnitine¹ (ALC) is a special nutrient with a high-level ability to positively influence brain health, stress tolerance, and metabolism – especially of fat.  Unlike plain l-carnitine (an amino acid Building blocks of peptides and protein and have multiple roles of function in life including muscle function, growth, detoxification and metabolic pathways, and neurotransmitter function.), ALC is fat soluble and highly active in nerves, offering superior protection from stress and excitotoxic damage. 

ALC is highly synergistic with the nutrient pantethine, which makes CoA.  CoA latches on to fatty acids and turns them into something that has the potential to be metabolized as fuel (acyl-CoA).  In turn, ALC grabs the acyl-CoA and makes acetyl-CoA, a form of fuel that is used by your cellular engines (mitochondria Organelle found in cells that produce ATP or chemical energy. Also involved with cell signaling, cellular differentiation, cell death, cell growth, along with heme and steroid synthesis. ) to make energy.  This burning of fat for fuel is called beta-oxidation².  The ability of your body to manage CoA correctly is vital to your health.

ALC is one of a number of nutrients that has an energetic effect on your brain cells³.  It helps to maintain their normal production of energy, and thus their health.  ALC is particularly good at protecting nerve cells and even has a regenerative effect on them.

Brain Anti-Aging and Cognitive Health

Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline are difficult problems of nerve-related wear and tear that involve the formation of amyloid plaque.  ALC helps address this problem in several ways.  ALC promotes nerve cells to alpha-secretase instead of beta-secretase.  This results in less production of beta-amyloid plaque⁴.  ALC also preserves the level of BDNF⁵, which helps to repair as well as make new brain cells.  I recently reported that BDNF itself was shown to prevent and reverse Alzheimer’s in a variety of animal models.

ALC also helps your brain metabolize fat⁶ and cholesterol so that these extra lipids don’t build up and clog your brain’s function.  This clean up function makes it less likely that cholesterol will form into beta-amyloid plaque. 

Excess alcohol damages brain cells, in part, by leaving a trail of damaged fatty particles which then produce free radicals and cause even more damage.  ALC has been shown to clean up these damaged fatty particles⁷, preventing the damage caused by excess alcohol intake.

ALC helps prevent toxins⁸ from interfering with brain cell energy production.  The ability to maintain energy production in your brain is vital to your mood as well as the lack of wear and tear that is associated with cognitive health.  And another recent study showed that a mixture of high quality nutrients, including ALC⁹, Lipoic Acid, DHA Docosahexaenoic acid Essential omega 3 fatty acid integral to the health of all cell membranes, nerve and brain function. Must be gotten through the diet via cold water oceanic fish or some very limited plant sources or taken as a supplement., and PhosphatidylSerine were able to stop cognitive decline in an animal model of experimentally induced nerve destruction.

ALC is known to boost general nerve transmission and this was recently tested in diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy¹⁰.  A dose of 2000 mg per day showed a decrease in pain, improvement in nerve conduction, and some nerve regeneration.

Studies in aging animals invariably show increased inflammation and oxidative damage in the brain.  ALC supplementation not only stops the progression of the inflammation and free radical damage it actually helps reverse the problem¹¹ – demonstrating a return of less-aged nerve function.  This is a true anti-aging result from ALC.  Another study showed that ALC restored brain energetics¹² resulting in less free radicals and less lipofusion formation (age spots) – features of an anti-aging nutrient.

Energy and Stress Management

ALC helps to preserve the integrity of mitochondria Organelle found in cells that produce ATP or chemical energy. Also involved with cell signaling, cellular differentiation, cell death, cell growth, along with heme and steroid synthesis. ¹³, which are your cell’s car engines.  This is a direct anti-aging function on their integrity, facilitating a cell’s ability to make energy.  On the other hand, individuals with chronic fatigue¹⁴ are consistently low in ALC.

You brain needs energy to function properly.  ALC has been shown to increase the output of serotonin and dopamine¹⁵, making it a truly natural antidepressant.  It does this while enhancing brain plasticity, meaning that it can help your brain form new patterns of function.

In the face of stress¹⁶, ALC helps to maintain your brain’s energy supply, meaning that it noticeably helps you to cope with stress in a more efficient manner.  This study shows that ALC helps maintain brain energy levels and acts as a buffer against oxidative stress, enabling nerves to more efficiently tolerate higher levels of stress. 

In a study with elderly men ALC was shown to improve mild depression¹⁷, which was measurable not only by questionnaire but also by positive changes in the energetics of their prefrontal brain regions.

Another form of stress is the condition of low oxygen and low blood sugar that is often found in people with poor circulation and bad eating habits.  ALC has been shown to prevent injury¹⁸ to nerves even in this stressed condition.

ALC, Fat Metabolism, and Leptin

It is not surprising that a nutrient such as ALC, which is proven to assist the burning of fat¹⁹ for fuel, will have a very positive effect on your metabolism.  Interestingly, ALC even helps insulin work better so that sugar can be more effectively metabolized, even in type II diabetics²⁰.

Animal studies show that ALC actually helps increase protein muscle mass while at the same time lowering leptin resistance²¹.  This creates a positive environment for burning calories more efficiently as the more muscle you have the more calories you can burn.  By improving leptin resistance your metabolism improves its “go signal.”

The combination of ALC and R-aplha lipoic acid has been shown to turn on metabolism within your stored fat²², in turn providing the energy to help break down fat to use as fuel.  ALC turns on specific genes that help do this.

ALC has been shown to have a rejuvenating effect²³ on your liver, helping it to metabolize calories in a more youthful manner.  Since your liver is the main metabolic organ in your body, improving its function is important for enhancing your metabolism.  ALC can even help your liver improve its metabolism in the presence of hypothyroidism²⁴.  It is rather amazing that any nutrient can keep metabolism moving along normally without the regular amount of thyroid hormone it should have.

ALC is a superior fat burning nutrient with added benefits for stress management and the preservation of your nervous system.