What Is the Scientific Evidence for Carnitine?
Carnitine might be a good addition to standard therapy for angina. In one controlled study, 200 individuals with angina (the exercise-induced variety) took either 2 g daily of L-carnitine or were left untreated. All the study participants continued to take their usual medication for angina. Those taking carnitine showed improvement in several measures of heart function, including a significantly greater ability to exercise without chest pain.12 They were also able to reduce the dosages of some of their heart medications (under medical supervision) as their symptoms decreased. Unfortunately, the results of this study can’t be fully trusted because researchers didn’t use a double-blind protocol. (For more information on why double-blinding is so important, see Why Does This Database Rely on Double-blind Studies?) Another trial did use a double-blind, placebo-controlled, design tested L-carnitine in 52 people with angina and found evidence of benefit.16 In addition, several small studies
