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Cardamom
Herb
A spice widely used in Indian cookery. It also has a
valuable use in medical herbalism as a warming digestive stimulant for
congestive digestion with symptoms such as abdominal distension, nausea and lack
of appetite.
Carminative
A substance - often herbal - which prevents and removes the
accumulation of gases in the stomach and intestines, thus counteracting
flatulence.
Carnitine
Amino acid
The most important function of carnitine is thought to be
its role in regulating fat metabolism - carrying fat across a membrane to the
energy-burning mitochondria of each cell. The more carnitine is available, the
faster fat is transported, and the more fat is used for energy. This is a
particularly vital function in the heart muscle.
Carnitine also helps the body to break down branched-chain amino acids
into fuel for the muscles when necessary, and it controls ketone levels in the
blood. Ketones are the result of the incomplete oxidation of fats in energy
production. They are high in diabetics (whose hearts often metabolize carnitine
abnormally) and they also rise in high-protein or high-fat diets and tend to acidify the blood.
In a double-blind study which administered 2 grams of carnitine or a
placebo to ten volunteers 1 hour before they began working on an exercise cycle,
it was found that at the maximum exercise intensity, treatment with L-carnitine
significantly increased the maximum oxygen uptake and power output. Oxygen
uptake, carbon dioxide production, pulmonary ventilation and plasma lactate were
reduced. The researchers concluded that carnitine supplementation results in a
more efficient performance at maximum exercise intensity. (Vecchiet
L et al: Influence of L-carnitine administration on maximal physical exercise.
Eur J Appl Physiol 61(5-6):486-90, 1990.)
Availability:
From health food shops.
Adapted from the Nutritional Health Bible by Linda Lazarides Download the whole database |
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