CAMLAW: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Law Blog : Complementary, Alternative, & Integrative Medicine Law, Regulation, Ethics & Policy (Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Medical Spa Information, Holistic Health Attorney, and Legal Resources)

Research on the supplement is mixed:

 ... studies hinting at L-carnitine's promise have encouraged some doctors to prescribe it to a variety of patients. Dr. Mary Hardy, medical director of the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology in Los Angeles, sometimes recommends it to cancer patients to combat fatigue and increase energy levels. Dr. Joyce Frye, a professor of family and community medicine at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, says she recommends the supplement to some of her heart patients.

But neither recommends the supplement to the average athlete looking for an energy boost or greater exercise capacity. "It's kind of a leap, to conclude that it would have a similar effect in healthy people," Hardy says.

Indeed, in the few studies that have investigated L-carnitine's ability to improve endurance in healthy people, results have been mixed. Studies conducted in the 1990s suggested the supplement improved oxygen uptake and power, but more recent studies have not consistently shown any significant difference in performance between athletes who took the supplement and those who did not.

A molecule derived from two amino acids, L-carnitine occurs naturally in the body, where it's made by the liver and the kidneys. Its job is to carry, or "shuttle," fatty acids into cells, where they're burned for energy. Carnitine deficiencies are rare; most people make enough of the molecule on their own. Carnitine also occurs naturally in a variety of foods, including red meat, tempeh, avocados and asparagus.

Getting too much L-carnitine has its drawbacks, says Roger Clemens, a professor of pharmacology at the USC School of Pharmacy, whose research has focused on functional foods, food processing and nutrition. Many supplement makers recommend as much as 3 to 4 grams of L-carnitine a day, but more than that can cause nausea or diarrhea.

These may be side effects that patients with serious disease are willing to endure. But for those after a faster jog around the block, risking diarrhea and nausea -- absent any proof of benefit -- just might not be worth it.

"It's another fad supplement," Haskal says. "It won't hurt the healthy, but it won't help you, either."
 

So .... caveat emptor.

Our law firm has many successes with health care and business law clients, whose practices are transforming the business and health care landscape as we know it.

Michael H. Cohen is an attorney providing business legal advice to green entrepreneurs and companies, and health care law advice to businesses and physicians, acupuncturists, naturopaths, homeopaths and others in the holistic health, wellness, and green industries. As a founding attorney of the Global Vision Law Group, he represents businesses poised for vertical lift, whose leaders are conscious, intuitive, and committed to shaping a better world. Michael also advises medical spas and integrative medicine clinics, physicians, chiropractors, naturopathic physicians, massage therapists, energy healers, nutritionists and herbalists, dietary supplement and cosmetics companies, and businesses with bio-energy and other technologies and medical devices. Michael offers the Entrepreneur’s Legal Toolkit as a series of legal guides to businesses. The first legal e-book deals with Contract Essentials, giving legal tips every business needs to negotiate its legal agreements; the second addresses legal issues faced by multi-level marketing companies and individuals involved in multilevel marketing and direct sales; and the third one so far is a HIPAA Regulations and Privacy Manual at far less the cost than it would take for an attorney to prepare.

Michael also sponsors Being Central, a Portal for Potential, which gives access to other, pre-paid legal services. 

Read reviews of Michael’s work through Yelp as well as on the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Law Blog. And visit the Flat Rate Legal Services page for information on legal services offered at a flat rate or project fee (such as incorporation for entrepreneurs, review and drafting of business contracts, trademark, and health law services for CAM providers and others).

Michael’s clientele  through the Global Vision Law Group includes businesses not only in California, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., and other U.S. states, but also abroad. To speak with a lawyer about health care law issues pertaining to complementary and alternative medicine, or to consult a business lawyer about laws and legal issues for entrepreneurs and new enterprises that are seeking legal advice, contact the Global Vision Law Group today.