A Deo et Rege

I am into health and fitness and have been since I was a teenager. In fact, I have taken vitamins on and off from the time I was fourteen. As an overweight teenager, I basically took matters into my own hands and read about health and fitness issues, including nutritional supplements. So, when I read about a supplement I hadn’t heard of from two sources in the same week, I’m intrigued! The supplement is Acetyl L-Carnitine, an amino acid. I can honestly say I’ve never experienced such an immediate result from taking any other supplement in my entire life. Here is my experience, both positive and negative.

I started by taking 250 mg. of Acetyl L-Carnitine the evening that it came. I immediately noticed greater mental clarity, sharper vision, and a generally elevated mood. I was able to sit down and focus enough to finish grading some papers I had been putting off for awhile. I’m not ADD by any means, but I still can be distracted. In spite of the greater focus, my sleep was lighter that night and I was somewhat restless. I figured taking it in the morning would help eliminate this, so the next morning I took 250 mg. on an empty stomach. I noticed the same benefits previously, with a little bit of restlessness thrown in. I was cruising along throughout the morning, but had a pretty big “low” in the afternoon. It came right as one of my classes was starting! Bad timing, I guess. I also experienced light sleep that night too, but this could’ve been connected to congestion, which I suffered from that day.

The next day, I modified my routine again by taking 125 mg. in the morning and 125 mg. in the late afternoon (all on an empty stomach). I still had an afternoon low and slept lightly to boot. More bad timing, I think. But, curiously, my workout that day was incredible. I got on the “virtual bike” and instead of my usual average of 220-230 watts over a 30 minute period, I was able to do 260 watts over the same period. This resulted in an additional 80 or so calories burned!

The next day, I cut my dosage to 65 mg. before breakfast and another 65 mg. or so before lunch. This removed the low and kept me going through school and my after school workout. So far, so good. During the weekend, I cut my dosage to 65 mg. one time before lunch. Once again, I noticed a nice workout boost, going from an average of 168 or so strides/minute on the elliptical machine to 175 or so strides/minute.

As it stands, I have had a great experience with Acetyl L-Carnitine, but only when I got the dosage correct. We all respond to supplements differently and even “recommended” doses can be wrong for different people. Here is the summary of my experiences:

Positive: Sharper vision, better mental clarity and more focus, huge workout boost (all at lower doses)

Negative: Restlessness, lighter/less sleep (at higher doses), some nausea (even at lower doses)

Bottom Line for Me: After I got the dosage correct, I noticed incredible benefits without the annoying side effects. Even today, my average watts on the bike were 250, which is incredible for 30 minutes after a full day of teaching. I’m definitely going to keep taking Acetyl L-Carnitine, especially on workdays and workout days. I plan on taking a break from the supplement some weekends and most holidays.

These are my experiences only. If you are interested in taking this or any supplement consult a doctor. Here is a good website on Acetyl L-Carnitine by Dr. Ray Sahelian.

We’ve all seen them: the 40 year old fitness obsessed man at the gym who looks 30 and the 25 year old druggie/alcoholic woman on Cops who looks about 50. Can we determine how old a person really is based on lifestyle choices rather than calendar age? Now we can…for the most part anyway. It’s called the Real Age Test and it can be taken at the Real Age website. Is the test a perfect indicator? Probably not, but it does use the most current research about aging and lifestyle.

The entire website and the Real Age book are also great, even if it all seems like a big infomercial at times. I’m definitely a Real Age devotee since the “program” (in quotes because it’s more a series of suggestions) has helped me get in great shape and become much healthier. After following the suggestions in Real Age, I’ve lost about 25 pounds, lowered my blood pressure from moderately high to perfect, and my resting heart rate is now about 48. I was in great shape in high school, but am actually fitter now. I’d highly recommend the book and the website for anyone wanting to be healthier and become younger.

The Tories in Great Britain, recognizing the spiraling cost of healthcare suggest that the obese and smokers be denied treatment until they clean up their act. They suggest giving incentives, similar to frequent flier miles, for those who have or develop healthy lifestyles. This news coincides with a CNN story that focuses on two businesses that save money by either penalizing those with unhealthy lifestyles in the form of higher insurance premiums or rewarding those who are healthy with lower out of pocket costs. The firm that practices the rewards saw no premium increase when the average firm saw the prices rise by 8.8%.

My thoughts? The Tory plan has some merit, but it would have to be implemented in a somewhat forgiving manner, at least at the start. The plan of penalizing or rewarding an employee financially sounds great. A healthy person should not have to pay more to cover people who show an indifference to health. I’ll bet some habits will change when the wallet thins.