Acetyl-L-carnitine to maximize

testosterone and erections

May 8, 2023 by Hans Amato
Acetyl-L-carnitine might have a positive influence on your androgens.

Carnitine is a naturally found compound in the body that’s involved in

energy metabolism and removing products of metabolism from cells.

In the body, 75% of carnitine is ingested from the diet, and 25% is
synthesized internally (roughly 11–34mg per day). It’s created from
two essential amino acids lysine and methionine and requires vitamin
C, vitamin B6, niacin, and iron as cofactors. L-carnitine is then stored in
skeletal muscles, heart, brain, and testes.

The bioavailability of l-carnitine from dietary sources is estimated to be

54–86%, whereas the absorption from supplements is roughly 9–25%
from a single oral dose of 2g dose.

Signs of carnitine deficiency

 Can’t sleep through the night

 Brain fog
  Exercise intolerance
 Fatigue
 Hypoglycemia
 Decreased or floppy muscle tone or muscle weakness
 Shortness of breath
Supplemental forms of carnitine include:

 L-carnitine
 Acetyl-L-carnitine
 L-Carnitine-L-tartrate
 Propionyl-L-carnitine
 Glycine propionyl-L-carnitine
Most people know carnitine as the compound that boosts fat burning,
but it does so much more than that. Let’s dive in.

Hans here! I increased my testosterone to 1254ng/dl and have been

maintaining high T naturally. I’ve turned myself into an Alpha Energy
Male.
An Alpha Energy Male with high energy, fast recovery, high sex drive,
and confidence.

This is why I research obsessively, experiment and write, and have

been doing so for the past decade.
Hope you enjoy and join me on this journey.

Carnitine on testosterone
People with kidney disease have low carnitine levels, due to enhanced
excretion.

In men with kidney disease, low carnitine levels were independently

associated with low free testosterone (R).
In aminals with diabetes or that were poisoned, carnitine is able to
increase LH, FSH, various steroidogenic enzymes (StAR and CYP11A1)
as well as testosterone (R, R)
Carnitine is also able to prevent testicular damage and the drop in
testosterone induced by heat stress (R). Hot baths, saunas, seat
warmers, tighty whities, prolonged sitting, etc., increase testicular
temperature too much and lowers testosterone. Carnitine can help to
prevent this.
Carnitine and androgen receptors
Carnitine might strengthen the effect of testosterone and DHT by
upregulating androgen receptors.

According to this study, supplementing 2944mg of L-carnitine-L-

tartrate (yielding 2g carnitine) increased androgen receptor content (in
the vastus lateralis) after 3 weeks, only if it was consumed with a carb-
heavy drink (R).
As you can see in the graph below, AR didn’t increase when L-
carnitine-L-tartrate was taken with water, but only with a carb-heavy
drink (8 calories/kg/BW and 1.1g/kg carbs).
Additionally, the L-tartrate was added to help stabilize L-carnitine and
there are no known biological effects of tartaric acid. Thus, it likely
doesn’t matter which carnitine you use to increase AR.

https://youtu.be/2IOFOhHKuMU
Carnitine might help with building
muscle
Carnitine might be able to help with muscle growth as it:

 Increases IGFBP-3, a transporter for IGF-1 into cells (R). IGF-1

enhances insulin sensitivity and is anabolic.
 Prevents excess muscle damage from exercise, thus preserving
androgen receptors (R).
 Speeds up muscle recovery after exercise (R).
 Enhances blood flow and oxygen supply to the muscle tissue via
improving endothelial function (R).
Although studies have shown that carnitine doesn’t improve aerobic
exercise performance, it might enhance anaerobic exercise
performance.

This study found that 2g of carnitine increased bench press and leg
press reps to failure on the 1st and 3rd sets, more than the placebo.
It appears that the main benefit of carnitine is from delaying fatigue
more than anything else, as well as reducing oxidative stress and
muscle soreness.

This 35 days study found that 3g L-carnitine-L-tartrate (about 2g

carnitine) supplementation improved recovery and reduced fatigue
following exercise across gender and age (R).
As you can see in the graph, it reduced creatine kinase (a marker of
muscle damage) and CRP (a marker of acute inflammation) and
increase SOD (superoxide dismutase; an anti-oxidant enzyme that
deactivates superoxide, a free radical).

All of this helps to speed up recovery so that you can train more
frequently and with more volume.
Carnitine for better erections
The people carnitine will help the most are people with diabetes,
obesity, sleep apnea and inflammation.

The reason why is because carnitine is a powerful anti-oxidant and

lowers oxidative stress and inflammation. That’s how it improves
vascular health and function and increases nitric oxide (R).
This study found that 2g propionyl-L-carnitine + 50mg Viagra twice a
week vs Viagra alone improved erections (improvement was seen in
68% vs. 23% of users) and successful intercourse attempts (76% vs.
34%) significantly more (R).
Propionyl-L-carnitine is a strong endothelial anti-oxidant, similar to
pycnogenol. Thus, when you have healthier blood vessels, you can
respond better to something like Viagra.

Propionyl-L-carnitine (PLC) and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) have recently

demonstrated an antifibrotic activity that reduces the size of plaques
seen in acute and chronic Peyronie’s disease (R). Less plaque will
result in better erections.
Carnitine vs testosterone
In this study, they compared 160mg oral testosterone undecanoate
taken daily vs 2g propionyl-L-carnitine and 2g acetyl-L-carnitine per
day for 6 months (R).
Total and free T increased from 9.89 to 13.96 (285 to 402.6ng/dl) and
4.4 to 23.7 in the testosterone group, but didn’t change in the carnitine
group.

Despite not increasing testosterone, carnitine was significantly more

effective than testosterone in improving nocturnal erections and
erections in general.

Additionally, propionyl-L-carnitine and acetyl-L-carnitine dramatically

improved the effectiveness of Viagra in restoring erections after
bilateral nerve-sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy (R).
Carnitine for fertility
One of the main reasons why people become infertile is because they
have oxidative stress in the Sertoli cells (where sperm is produced),
which then damages the Sertoli cell and sperm. This leads to low
sperm count, low motility and infertility.

Carnitine is a powerful anti-oxidant and lowers free radicals, thus

protecting the sperm.

This meta-analysis showed that carnitine is just as effective as NAC (N-

acetylcysteine) at increasing sperm motility and normal morphology.
However, NAC increased sperm concentration and ejaculate volume
whereas carnitine did not (R).
Carnitine also provides energy for the sperm, which improves their
health. In fact, low levels of carnitine have been suggested as one of
the contributing factors for sperm disorders such as azoospermia and
asthenospermia (R).
ALCAR on dopamine, serotonin,
noradrenaline, etc.
Acetyl-L-carnitine has many beneficial effects on the brain, by
improving energy production (better glucose and fat oxidation),
reducing oxidative stress and preventing stress-induced brain
dysfunction.

ALCAR has been shown to:

 Protect dopaminergic neurons and protect against

Parkinson’s disease (R).
 Prevent the decrease in dopamine receptor D1 expression
with age (R).
 Enhance the release of dopamine in the brains (cortex,
hippocampus, and striatum) of old animals to the same level as
young animals (R).
 Increase noradrenaline levels, which enhances focus,
motivation, energy, libido, etc. (R)
 Promote acetylcholine release, which helps with focus,
vasodilation, sleep, etc. (R)
 Enhance glucose oxidation (reduce glucose to lactate
conversion) and ATP production (R).
  Prevent the decrease in cortisol receptors in the
hippocampus (R). Reduced hippocampal cortisol receptors may
be involved in depression, forgetfulness, etc. (R)
 Increase the NMDA glutamate binding site density to
promote neuronal plasticity, focus, memory formation, etc. (R)
 Prevent stress-induced neuroenergetics dysregulation that
leads to neurological damage and depression (R)

Carnitine restores insulin sensitivity and

glucose oxidation
A lot of people think that carnitine is only useful for boosting fat
oxidation. However, it actually helps to promote proper glucose
disposal and oxidation (R).
“Studies in humans and animals demonstrate that “lipid over
supply” causes or worsens insulin resistance via multiple
mechanisms involving the accumulation of intracellular lipids in
multiple tissues. In particular, the accumulation of fatty acyl CoA
derivatives/metabolites in muscle inhibits both insulin
signaling and glucose oxidation. Therefore agents that ameliorate
the accumulation of fatty acyl CoA derivatives and/or their metabolites
would be beneficial in the treatment or prevention of insulin resistance
and T2D.” (R)
Carnitine is also used to shuttle acetylcarnitine out of the
mitochondria, thus allowing proper glucose oxidation, because
acetylcarnitine inhibits proper glucose oxidation.
Carnitine switches energy substrate preference in the heart from fatty
acid oxidation to glucose oxidation. Shocker isn’t it?

“By converting acetyl-CoA to its membrane permeant acetylcarnitine

ester, CrAT regulates mitochondrial and intracellular carbon trafficking.
Several studies have indicated that CrAT combats nutrient stress and
enhances insulin action by permitting mitochondrial efflux of excess
acetyl moieties that otherwise inhibit key regulatory enzymes such as
pyruvate dehydrogenase and enhance metabolic flexibility.” (R)
Why it’s low
The most common causes of carnitine deficiency are:

 Impaired absorption due to IBD or another inflammatory bowel

condition (colitis, Celiac disease, etc.)
 Low dietary intake of carnitine
 Low precursor intake (lysine and methionine)
 Low cofactor intake (vitamin C, vitamin B6, niacin, and iron)
Summary
Carnitine doesn’t directly stimulate testosterone production, but it can
help to prevent testosterone from declining due to excess oxidative
stress and inflammation. Carnitine might be able to increase free
testosterone, as low carnitine is independently associated with free
testosterone.

Carnitine:

 Might help build muscle

 Improves fertility
 Improves erections. People that don’t respond very well to Cialis
or Viagra might benefit from adding an anti-oxidant such as
acetyl-L-carnitine or propionyl-L-carnitine to their stack.
 Improves insulin sensitivity
 Enhances brain health
I personally don’t supplement with carnitine as I do get a lot from my
diet (I regularly eat 500g of red meat daily). I have used it in the past
to see how I would respond, but haven’t noticed anything.

Some people do have an increased requirement for carnitine despite

eating a diet high in carnitine. This is likely due to impaired absorption
or another genetic factor where they don’t synthesize enough.

Here you can see the amount of carnitine in various foods.

Interestingly, kangaroo meat (637 mg) and horse meat (423mg) are
much higher than beef (139 mg per 100 g of dry weight) (R). The
regular consumption of Kangaroo meat must be what’s giving the All
Blacks rugby team the upper hand to win so many world
championships. Jk everyone! 😀