Acetyl L-Carnitine on a full stomach or on a empty stomach?

[adrenajay]

How should I take the ALC (Acetyl L-Carnitine)? There are two theories:
1) On a empty stomach, gastric juices will destroy the ALC, so it's not the best way to take it.
2) On a full stomach, the food you ate will modify the structure of ALC, so... again, not this way.

Thank you :-)

[Paxiled]

You don't say your age, but I'd say you don't need this supplement for study or exercise as long as you're eating protein rich foods that contain it.  What you need is exercise, fun, and sleep to keep you going.  Something that will be much more useful is meditation -- it will give you way more concentration, focus and energy than taking this supplement.

[adrenajay]

"Could you please state why you want to take it."

I'm studying very hard and I have to workout too. I feel tired. So fat/performance, but not also...

[gymdandee]

That's why i asked the question! Because Is it for fat or performance?
The supplement has been around for a good 30 years.

[Paxiled]

I believe carnitine has been around as long as life has been around -- it can't exist without it.  The supplement L-carnitine, as with most amino acids or pseudo-amino acids, has been around for as long as they've been discovered.  They used to be used exclusively as pharmaceutical medicine by doctors and veterinarians.  As for "fat or performance," that isn't the only two things these substances do -- most people used to buy NAC for mitochondrial health purposes and antioxidant purposes along with lipoic acid, not for losing weight or getting bigger muscles or exercising longer.  Most substances do a whole lot of things, and knowledgeable people use them for specific conditions most of us don't know much about as well as for the things that bodybuilding mags and life extension theorists use them for.  It's a complicated world out there.  But no matter what you use them for, my very short bout of research showed disagreement about the best time to take them, which is apparently a reason many products have no time recommendations on them.  I also found disagreement about whether both forms needed to be taken or whether just L-carnitine did the trick.  As I said, interesting question with probably no authoritative answer but a lot of theories.      

[Paxiled]

It was interesting doing just a little research on this.  Came up with all kinds of conflicting answers.  Seems L-Carnitine is best taken with a balanced meal that includes a good amount of carbs, but the acetyl form at least for its main use is best on an empty stomach.  However, keep in mind carnitine in any form can cause some people stomach distress especially if you're taking a lot if taken on an empty stomach, in which case if you're one of those people you have to take it with food to avoid this problem.  My brief survey, however, was most interesting for showing how much disagreement there is on this question as well as which form of carnitine is best and for what purpose.  Fun question.    

[Paxiled]

Sorry, didn't mean to say NAC, meant acetyl carnitine.  LIke my iron post, eh?

[gymdandee]

Could you please state why you want to take it.