Tue, Sep-21-04, 12:58
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Senior Member
Posts: 2,241
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Plan: Atkins-like
Stats: 215/170/170
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: Hannibal MO
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Carnitine for Cramps?
A lot of use have experienced cramps from low carbing, judging from the number of threads on the subject. I've read a lot of good info as far as things to do to avoid cramps. In my own case, a potassium supplement (Lite salt) was effective at eliminating my cramps. However, there have been folks who seem to have cramps in spite of K and Mg supplementation.
I was reading some material today and came across the symptoms of carnitine deficiency. These include lack of energy and cramps, two common complaints. Since carnitine is involved in transporting fatty acids into mitochondria, it stands to reason that a person on a high fat diet might have increased carnitine needs. The other thing is that carnitine is water-soluble, and we might be getting into a deficiency when we first dump all that water at the beginning of our diet.
You get carnitine from meat, so I am not at all sure that a low carb diet could lead to a long-term deficiency. There was one website that mentioned carnitine deficiency in kids put on a ketogenic diet though. In any case, I know some performance atheltes have used carnitine as a supplement in the past. It appears to have few side effects, so I thought I'd suggest it for those who've had no luck curingtheir cramps. I might even look for some of this stuff myself, although I am not a supplement person.
Have a good day. Lennie
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