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L-Carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) is a natural histidine containing dipeptide amino acid and the other being beta-alanine. Carnosine is found throughout your body. The highest concentrations are in high energy demand areas such as your brain, heart and muscles.
L-Carnosine is known as the ‘longevity molecule’. But don’t let that put you off if you’re not concerned about anti-aging. Carnosine levels decrease with age – starting at age 10! And decrease by 63% by the time you reach 70 years.[i]
L-Carnosine is one of the most powerful antioxidants known. It’s a heavy-metal scavenger. It’s a super auto-regulator. And it stands alone when it comes to preventing and reversing advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and cross-linking. And it’s highly concentrated in your brain.
Your brain uses l-carnosine to repair tissue and clear away toxins. And increase the energy output of your mitochondria. It suppresses excess immune responses when your immune system is in hyper mode. And it stimulates the immune response if you have a weakened immune system.
L-Carnosine helps:
- Neuro-repair: L-Carnosine prevents and reverses the damage done by advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs are created in your brain by sugars binding to amino acids, and caused by a variety of things including certain food and cooking techniques. Affecting word recall, response time, and cognition.
- Brain Energy: L-Carnosine can revive mitochondria. And even rescue your brain cells if the mitochondria have stopped functioning.
- Neuroprotectant: L-Carnosine has a powerful antioxidant effect in your brain. It continues to prevent oxidative damage even after brain cells have been attacked by free radicals. Preventing brain cell death and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Overview
L-Carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) is a dipeptide of the amino acids beta-alanine and histidine. Carnosine is found throughout your body. The highest concentrations are in high energy demand areas such as your brain, heart and muscles. (Don’t mistake l-carnosine for l-carnitine).
L-Carnosine is known as the ‘longevity molecule’ and targets several major processes in your brain and body. It removes heavy metals which accumulate in, and damage brain cells causing diseases like Alzheimer’s.[ii] And it prevents cross-linking of proteins which cause the neurofibrillary tangles found in Alzheimer’s.[iii]
L-Carnosine fights mitochondrial dysfunction by relieving oxidative stress caused by accumulation of free radicals in cells.[iv]
This not only works in your brain cells. L-Carnosine is used by athletes to achieve better results. Its buffering nature contributes to the acid-base balance in muscles.
Researchers have found l-carnosine restores neurotransmitter receptors. Receptors that were damaged from stroke or glutamate toxicity.[v]
And l-carnosine reduces damage to telomeres. These caps on the end of DNA strands shorten with each cell replication. This natural, ongoing process is used for example in long-term potentiation needed to form memories. L-carnosine slows the rate of shortening of telomeres.[vi]
Some l-carnosine is naturally produced in your body by the enzyme carnosine synthetase. And you can get l-carnosine from food – primarily from red meat and poultry. But a typical meal provides only about 250 mg of carnosine. It’s then quickly degraded in your body by the carnosinase enzyme.
This means carnosine from food doesn’t last long enough in your body to provide much benefit. And if you’re a vegetarian, you won’t be getting much carnosine other than what’s naturally produced in your body.
Supplementing with at least 1,000 mg of l-carnosine per day overwhelms that carnosinase enzyme. Allowing you to maintain consistent blood levels of this vital nutrient.
How does L-Carnosine Work in the Brain?
L-Carnosine boosts brain health and function in several ways. But two in particular stand out.
- L-Carnosine is critical for brain health. L-Carnosine’s antioxidant, neuroprotective, chelating, and anti-glycation activity not only maintains optimal brain health. This dipeptide can be used to prevent and treat neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, diseases of the sense organs (i.e. eyes) and cancer.[vii]
L-Carnosine has been shown to reduce oxidative and glycemic stress.[viii] And it reduces inflammation. L-carnosine reduces the accumulation of b-amyloid plaque which plays a role in cognitive dysfunction and Alzheimer’s. And it helps remove heavy metals that cross the blood-brain barrier and accumulate in brain cells.[ix]
- L-Carnosine is required for healthy mitochondria. In your brain, you can have thousands of mitochondria in each cell. And they pump out energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). 20% of your body’s total ATP is located in your brain.
Glycation during this energy production reduces the functionality and efficiency of mitochondria. This is turn can cause apoptosis (cell death).[x] Glycation happens when proteins or DNA bond chemically to sugar molecules.
These sugar molecules go on to form advanced glycation end products (AGEs). These AGEs are implicated in Alzheimer’s, skin wrinkles, hardened arteries, and reducing the function of most major organs. Including your brain.
A study in the Netherland was done to examine the association between AGEs and cognitive function. This population-based study also included 215 people with type 2 diabetes.
Researchers tested for global cognitive functioning, information processing speed, verbal memory (immediate and delayed word recall), and response inhibition.
The study found there was a direct correlation with markers measured for AGEs and decreased cognitive performance. And the associations were no different between healthy people and those with diabetes.[xi]
Another study out of the University of California determined that l-carnosine was able to prevent AGEs.[xii]
How things go bad
Free electrons are a byproduct of ATP energy production. These electrons convert oxygen to a highly reactive form capable of damaging brain cells. And wreaking havoc with DNA in the long-term.
If left unchecked, it leads to neurodegenerative disease like memory loss, cognition dysfunction, and eventually diseases like Alzheimer’s.
↓ ATP levels decline in mitochondria
↓ Cognition, learning, memory and recall decline
↓ AGEs damage brain cells
↓ Free radicals damage brain cell mitochondria
All of these changes can happen at any age. And can start at age 10 or earlier (in the case of autism).
So l-carnosine supplementation can help for age-related cognitive decline, as well as anyone who wants to boost cognition, learning, recall and memory.
L-Carnosine benefits
There is a proven high correlation between human lifespan and l-carnosine levels. Having high levels of skeletal muscle carnosine contributes to a number of life-extending activities. As L-Carnosine is highly concentrated in your muscles and brain.
L-Carnosine helps prevent the buildup of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that damage mitochondria. And eventually end in premature cell death.
It is a heavy metal chelator and works by removing heavy metal accumulation in brain cells. L-carnosine is an anti-oxidant and pH buffer in muscle cells preventing lactic acid buildup.
How does L-Carnosine feel?
When you start taking L-Carnosine, you’ll notice younger-looking skin. And you’ll have more energy.
You should experience a boost in cognition and decision-making capability. Thinking could be more fluid and your motivation may see a boost.
These changes are reported by neurohackers in their 20’s and 30’s as well as the more senior user.
But most of the talk and research on l-carnosine is on its anti-aging and longevity benefits. So what if I told you it also helps fight the flu?
It turns out that the influenza virus raises nitric oxide (NO) and oxygen free radicals such as superoxide anion (O₂⁻˙). When NO and O2– interact, they form peroxynitrite, the pathogen that causes pneumonia.
The excess amount of toxicity and oxygen radicals generated overwhelms your immune system. A study in the American Journal of Therapeutics reports that l-carnosine can put a stop to this overwhelm. And help you avoid or get rid of the flu or cold.
And eating chicken soup to make you feel better when your sick is not an ‘old wife’s tale’ after all. Chicken soup is rich in l-carnosine.[xiii]
L-Carnosine Clinical Research
L-Carnosine improves cognition
Animal and human studies suggest NMDA antagonists worsen executive function. This dysfunction is often caused by glutamate toxicity. And if this persists, you end up with diseases like schizophrenia.
This double-blind, placebo-controlled study worked with 75 adults with schizophrenia. They were stable in their symptoms at the time of the study. Subjects were randomly selected to receive 2 grams of l-carnosine per day for 3 months.
Executive dysfunction, memory, attention and motor speed were assessed at the beginning, and at 4 and 12 weeks. The l-carnosine group performed much better in executive function tests. And were better at strategy with fewer errors than the placebo group.[xiv]
L-Carnosine improves autism symptoms in children
L-Carnosine enhances frontal lobe function in your brain. And acts as a neuroprotectant. It also works with GABA for an anticonvulsive effect.
This double-blind study work with 31 children with autism for 8 weeks. They were given 800 mg of l-carnosine per day. The scientists then used several autism rating scales to measure results.
After 8 weeks of l-carnosine use, the children showed significant improvement in behavior, sociability, communication and vocabulary. The researchers concluded that l-carnosine enhanced neurologic function.[xv]
L-Carnosine is anti-aging
In 1965, Dr. Leonard Hayflick found that human cells have a limited capacity to divide. After which they become ‘senescent’. This is now known as the “Hayflick Limit”.
Hayflick discovered that your cells go through 3 phases. This first is rapid cell division called ‘mitosis’. The 2nd is where mitosis slows. And the 3rd stage is ‘senescence’ where the cell stops dividing entirely. They remain alive for a while and then do a particularly disturbing thing. They commit suicide. This programmed cell death is called ‘apoptosis’.
This cell life cycle occurs throughout your body and its trillions of cells. Including in your brain. But what if there was some way to slow down this programmed cell death?
Turns out there is. And it’s called L-Carnosine. Researchers at Sydney Laboratory in Australia found that l-carnosine extended cell life. They put cultured aged human cells in a petri dish with carnosine. The cells reverted back to juvenile cells.
When they put those same newly rejuvenated cells in a culture that had no carnosine, they reverted back to their old self again. Put them back in carnosine and they got young again.[xvi]
This experiment has been done again and again in labs around the world. Establishing l-carnosine as the best anti-aging thing since Ponce de Leon was searching for the Fountain of Youth right here in Florida (where I’m writing this article).
David Guetta thinks that Miami is “the sexiest city in the world”. Could be that everybody in Miami is using l-carnosine.
L-Carnosine Recommended Dosage
Recommended L-Carnosine dosage is up to 1,000 mg per day.
To keep a consistent level of L-Carnosine in your body, split your dose into two 500 mg doses. One in the morning and one later in the afternoon.
One important note on L-Carnosine. When you supplement with L-Carnosine it binds to aldehydes. Preventing them from making proteins. The byproduct is lipofuscin. This age pigment is not dangerous. But shows up as brown spots on your brain, skin and other organs.
As lipofuscin builds up over time, and this process is accelerated when using l-carnosine, it can interfere with proper organ and cellular functions.
This is why I recommend stacking L-Carnosine with CDP-Choline (Citicoline) and acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR). CDP-Choline provides a choline molecule for the synthesis of acetylcholine (ACh). And ALCAR works as a cofactor in this synthesis as well as boosting mitochondrial energy production while acting as a neuroprotectant.
You can also try adding DMAE with CDP-Choline and ALCAR which helps flush lipofuscin from your brain and body. So stack your daily dose of 1,000 mg of L-Carnosine with CDP-Choline, DMAE and ALCAR at their recommended doses.
L-Carnosine is water-soluble so you don’t need to take it with a meal, or healthy fat like some nootropics.
L-Carnosine Side Effects
Carnosine is considered an extremely non-toxic and safe. High doses can cause insomnia. And L-Carnosine can cause a stimulant effect. So take your 2nd dose before evening.
Type of L-Carnosine to Buy
L-Carnosine comes in powder, capsule, tablet and liquid form.
Most major supplement manufacturers offer 500 mg tablets or capsules.
But make sure you read the labels and get L-Carnosine in its natural form. Some manufacturers will try to fool you by calling their synthetic carnosine natural sounding names like “nature-identical”. But lab created l-carnosine is not the real thing and not nearly as bioavailable.
Nootropics Expert Recommendation
L-Carnosine 1,000 mg per day
I recommend using L-Carnosine as a nootropic supplement.
Your body does make some L-Carnosine on its own from the amino acids beta-alanine and histidine. And you can get small quantities from red meat and poultry. But it’s easily and quickly broken down by the enzyme carnosine synthetase.
So to get its benefits, and enough to overwhelm the carnosinase enzyme, you must take it as a supplement.
L-Carnosine is especially helpful for repairing brain cells at the mitochondria level. It removes heavy metals, works as a very powerful antioxidant, and gets rid of AGEs.
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) kill brain cells. Foods that are high in AGEs include roasted, fried, sautéed and barbecued meats, nuts and tofu. Those fries you had for lunch? Brain cell death.
Your natural production of L-Carnosine starts to drop at age 10. So anyone will benefit from supplementing with this anti-aging nutrient.
L-Carnosine helps control blood glucose levels, prevent Alzheimer’s, wound healing, protects from the side effects of chemo therapy, alcohol-induced liver damage, combatting heart disease, and eye health by protecting or repairing cataracts.
L-Carnosine is also particularly useful if you’re dealing with autism or Alzheimer’s. For autism, dose up to 800 mg per day. For Alzheimer’s, dose at least 1,000 mg per day.
And don’t forget to stack your daily L-Carnosine dose with DMAE and ALCAR. (See Dosage Notes)
Join The Discussion - 159 comments
Ralf Krumian
November 30, 2020
Hello David,
i ordered the L-Carnosine from Now-Foods. On the bottle it says Beta-Alanyl-L-Histidin.
Am i gonna get benifits from it or should i return and buy a brand that has the pure form of L-Carnosine?
Ralf
David Tomen
December 2, 2020
Ralf, the chemical name of L-Carnosine is beta-alanyl-L-histidine. It’s the same thing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1137521/
Rob
February 16, 2020
Hi there,
When you say:
“L-Carnosine even seems to have the ability to normalize brain waves,”
What exactly do you mean by this?
Also, please could you share links to any research article which explain this?
Thanks in advance.
David Tomen
February 18, 2020
Rob, when I wrote that review I came across a reference to L-Carnosine and brain waves. But I cannot find it now. So will remove that sentence until I can find it again.
Rob
March 4, 2020
Not a problem.
Pity it’s not available as that would have made a great read.
Thanks so much for getting back to me on this, and thanks for your amazing work, it’s much appreciated 🙂
Jonathan
December 26, 2019
I’m having trouble finding any brands that specify that their L-carnosine is natural. (I see only that NOW says theirs isn’t.)
In fact, the brand you recommend, Bulk Supplements, seems to say theirs isn’t, answering a question on the Amazon product page you link to by saying it’s “synthetically derived from L-Histidine and B-Alanine.” Does that mean it isn’t the “natural” product you recommend?
David Tomen
December 26, 2019
Jonathan, L-Carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) is a dipeptide of the amino acids beta-alanine and histidine. So is either produced in your body by the enzyme carnosine synthetase from raw materials supplied by red meat and poultry, or in the lab.
I suppose you could argue that one was more natural than the other. But if you are not getting enough “naturally” then capsules or powder is the next best option in my opinion.
Ken
August 31, 2020
Hi David
Further to this question, Belle Labs said this of their product: “The L-Carnosine starting compounds are naturally sourced, but the product is considered synthetic as it is synthesized using the starting compounds rather than derived from animal tissue. Naturally sourced product is typically derived from fish or other low value meat sources and typically contain higher levels of heavy metals.”
Obviously my first question to you is regarding whether this is as natural as I am likely to find, and the second is with regard to the comment on heavy metals. Is there a trade off here of natural and metallic or semi-synthesized and centrifuged with a lower heavy metal content?
David Tomen
August 31, 2020
Ken, the thing is synthetic carnosine is not very bioavailable. So using it will provide no benefit.
If you are worried about heavy metal contamination I suggest asking a manufacturer for their Certificate of Analysis for that batch of product. That’s the only way to determine if the heavy metal content is unacceptable.
Lynn
December 24, 2019
Thanks so much for this information!
Do you know if regular l-carnitine will help flush lipofuscin, or does it have to be ALCAR? I don’t tolerate ALCAR or DMAE well, but I currently take l-carnitine without problems.
David Tomen
December 25, 2019
Lynn, it is DMAE that helps flush out lipofuscin. ALCAR is used to support the use of DMAE and doesn’t affect lipofuscin on its own.
Avy M
September 29, 2019
Hi David,
I just came across this article online when searching some info about L-Carnosine, and I found it very helpful!
Just a small question: I sometimes have desserts / cakes before lunch time in the office, in order to inhibit glycation, do I have to take L-Carnosine right before or at least 30 mins before having the desserts? Just wondering how to make it more effective.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Many thanks!
David Tomen
September 29, 2019
Avy, the recommended dosage of L-Carnosine is 1,000 mg per day. 500 mg in the morning and 500 mg later in the day. That way you keep a consistent level of it in your system and you don’t have to worry about timing.
But keep in mind that long-term use of L-Carnosine will produce lipofuscin as mentioned above in the “Dosage Notes” section of this review. So you should be using it with ALCAR or DMAE to get rid of the excess lipofuscin.
Wong
September 11, 2019
Hi David
Any natural brand of L Carnosine that you can recommend . Most of the products did you mention lab or nature . Thanks in advance.
David Tomen
September 11, 2019
Wong, the only L-Carnosine supplement that I know of that is offered with no “other ingredients” is by Bulk Supplements: https://amzn.to/2NaA0TQ
Reza
June 8, 2019
Hi David,
I have been taking L-Carnosine 500mg three times a day along with Centrophenoxine 300mg twice a day (taking along with Carnosine). It seems to me that my mental sharpness, memory and cognition considerably. The only thing that bothers me is that after two weeks of increasing my Centrophenoxine dosage from 300mg daily to 600mg daily, I noticed a new onset of floaters in my eyes, I can not relate it to taking these supplements though, since I am myopic and experience eye strain while using computer or cellphone for a long time. I do hope the floaters get better over time, do you have any idea or guess that these supplements may cause floaters? If anything they should prevent it, since they are potent anti-oxidants. Thanks
David Tomen
June 10, 2019
Reza, L-Carnosine will produce lipofuscin which should be taken care of with Centrophenoxine. I’m not an eye expert and don’t know if those ‘floaters’ are caused by extra lipofuscin. But it’s worth researching.
The best eye supplement I’ve found that may help you is this one: https://nootropicsexpert.com/performance-lab-vision-review/
Reza
June 11, 2019
Great. Thanks very much for the reply, and the link to the product you sent me. I will try those for my eyes to see if it helps me get rid of these floaters.
Matt
April 22, 2019
Hi David,
You say you use “DMAE” to address Lipofuscin in another article, but is it “straight” DMAE, or the DMAE from Centrophenoxine that you use? I get the feeling you do not use Centrophenoxine for this purpose, so if I’m correct, can you tell me why?
David Tomen
April 23, 2019
Matt, I have used DMAE for years because it’s cheaper and has been around longer. More of a ‘track record’.
Gbenga
June 30, 2020
Hello Dave,
You mention in your video on DMAE that you don’t recommend it, but you say in this comment thread that you’ve used it for years because of its track records. Can you shed more light on this seemingly contradictory views? Thanks in advance.
David Tomen
June 30, 2020
Gbenga, I did use DMAE for years to take care of lipofuscin that can get out of hand on skin while using L-Carnosine. And I didn’t experience any problems because I was also using Alpha GPC and CDP-Choline.
I just don’t recommend DMAE on it’s own because there are more effective ways to increase acetylcholine.
So it depends on why you’d want to use DMAE. If it’s to keep lipofuscin down and you supported DMAE use with a choline supplement there shouldn’t be a problem.