Having done a lot of reading and benefited from the tremendous amount of knowledge present on the board, I thought I’d attempt to return the favor, however small. I’ve not seen the Lysine/Carnitine connection documented here (perhaps I simply missed the thread or didn’t use the correct search string), but after doing a little research on the right combination of supplements, I stumbled upon these gems:
"Lysine is an essential amino acid, which means that it is essential to human health but cannot be manufactured by the body. For this reason, lysine must be obtained from food. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Lysine is important for proper growth and it plays an essential role in the production of carnitine, a nutrient responsible for converting fatty acids into energy and helping to lower cholesterol. Lysine appears to help the body absorb and conserve calcium and it plays an important role in the formation of collagen, a substance important for bones and connective tissues including skin, tendon, and cartilage." - http://www.umm. edu/altmed/arti … sine-000312.htm
Knowing what we know about fatty acids’ importance to semen (among other things), I’d say carnitine synthesis is pretty darned important.
"Hepatic synthesis of carnitine from protein-bound trimethyl-lysine. Lysosomal digestion of methyl-lysine-labelled (sic) asialo-fetuin." -
I’m sure that a lot of you are aware of how important Vitamin C is in our day to day life, but the following link really drives it home:
It’s shown to be essential in Carnitine synthesis, hydroxylation of Lysine ( http://en.wikip … i/Hydroxylation ), as well as for cardiovascular health. After doing a cursory glance at all this information, it seems to me that all three would be of utmost interest to this community, which is why I posted it here.
I guess my question from reading all this is ‘How many other supplements have this type of overlap?" I was considering buying some L-Carnitine, but after having read this information, I don’t see the point. It seems I can increase my L-Lysine dosage slightly and save myself some money. It also appears to be the same for L-Arginine —> L-Ornithine synthesis.
Thoughts or comments?