The Dope On Blocking Fatty Acid Oxidation

Hans

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There is often a misunderstanding of what it means when it comes to blocking fatty acid oxidation, so I wrote an article to hopefully clarify some of the confusion around the topic.

The dope on blocking fatty acid oxidation » MENELITE

Let me know if it answered some of your questions, or if you have questions that I didn't cover.
 

YourUniverse

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There is often a misunderstanding of what it means when it comes to blocking fatty acid oxidation, so I wrote an article to hopefully clarify some of the confusion around the topic.

The dope on blocking fatty acid oxidation » MENELITE

Let me know if it answered some of your questions, or if you have questions that I didn't cover.
Are FAO inhibitors and stearic acid (or long chain fats) the only way to increase or fix mitochondria?
 

Jessie

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Great stuff Hans! So it's kind of counterintuitive for keto people to be supplementing carnitine, despite the fact I've seen many of them recommend it before? From what I gathered here, it's actually inhibiting FAO by removing acetylcarnitine from the mitochondria?
 

yerrag

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There is a lot to fatty oxidation, not just beta oxidation but also peroxisomal oxidation. And I didn't know that lcfa's can be broken down in mcfa's and scfa's in case the pathway to burning lcfa's is blocked.

The protocol for using FAO inhibitors together with stearic acid sounds very interesting in increasing mitochondria. Is this something that could help people like for example people who used to be long distance runners and have very low heart rate to possibly increase their heart rate by increasing their mitochondria?

Thanks for the very informative article, and explaining it very clearly Hans.

I have a few additional questions as I read your article:

Why does the heart have a preference for fatty acid oxidation? Is it just the characteristic of it being composed of muscles and therefore, being so, it burns fat at rest? Will it resort to burning glucose then when active, and to burning glycogen when subject to intense loads?

As for taking an FAO inhibitor such as meldonium, is it helpful for everyone or is it for people with heart issues that suffer from poor mix of metabolic pathways in their metabolism, where they have been relying on fatty oxidation for their metabolism too much at the expense of reducing their reliance on glucose metabolism?

Also, if one already has an optimal sugar metabolism, what benefit do you see in taking FAO inhibitors, if there is such a benefit?
 

S-VV

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@yerrag
I tried meldonium 500mg x2 per day. Positive effects were more energy and a feeling of being “lighter”. I ran out of breath less.

However, I started gaining a bit of fat and craved fatty foods a lot more, much more than before taking meldonium.
 

yerrag

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@yerrag
I tried meldonium 500mg x2 per day. Positive effects were more energy and a feeling of being “lighter”. I ran out of breath less.

However, I started gaining a bit of fat and craved fatty foods a lot more, much more than before taking meldonium.
Thanks. Why were you taking it?
 
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Hans

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Are FAO inhibitors and stearic acid (or long chain fats) the only way to increase or fix mitochondria?
No, there are other ways of doing it as well, such as exercise, fasting, lowering inflammation and endotoxins, promoting AMPK and PGC1a, etc.
I just think that this might be one of the better strategies of doing it.
 
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Hans

Hans

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Great stuff Hans! So it's kind of counterintuitive for keto people to be supplementing carnitine, despite the fact I've seen many of them recommend it before? From what I gathered here, it's actually inhibiting FAO by removing acetylcarnitine from the mitochondria?
Thanks for reading. I wouldn't exactly say that it's counterintuitive (although carnitine is anti-thyroid). Carnitine does increase the total amount of fat burned; which is most likely due to it improving mitochondrial function by restoring glucose oxidation. This then allows for more fatty acid oxidation. So the increase in fat oxidation is due to more and better functioning mitochondria, and not necessarily due to a higher rate of beta-oxidation per mitochondria.
So in other words, carnitine helps to lower excessive pathological fatty acid oxidation, but in the long term (by increasing total mitochondria), it can allow for more "healthy" fat oxidation.
But just because carnitine has a "good" aspect, such as promoting glucose oxidation, doesn't mean it should be used for that reason, because carnitine has its own side effects and there are better and smarter ways to restore glucose oxidation.
 

Mito

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There is often a misunderstanding of what it means when it comes to blocking fatty acid oxidation, so I wrote an article to hopefully clarify some of the confusion around the topic.

The dope on blocking fatty acid oxidation » MENELITE

Let me know if it answered some of your questions, or if you have questions that I didn't cover.
Do you have any thoughts on timing of FAO inhibitor supplementation? For example, once per day in the morning or evening, or before or after each meal?
 

Recoen

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@Hans is this assuming you have proper glucose metabolism first? Or will inhibiting FAO push the body to fix its glucose metabolism? I’m concerned that if someone is having a hard time getting enough ATP from glucose and their body is relying on keotacids, etc that inhibiting the FAO could lead to some major problems.
 
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Hans

Hans

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The protocol for using FAO inhibitors together with stearic acid sounds very interesting in increasing mitochondria. Is this something that could help people like for example people who used to be long distance runners and have very low heart rate to possibly increase their heart rate by increasing their mitochondria?
Not sure if more mitochondria will help the heart beat faster. Acetylcholine slows heart rate, so I think lowering excessive acetylcholine might be a better strategy for that.

Why does the heart have a preference for fatty acid oxidation? Is it just the characteristic of it being composed of muscles and therefore, being so, it burns fat at rest? Will it resort to burning glucose then when active, and to burning glycogen when subject to intense loads?
If the heart were to use only glucose, then the risk of death would have been very high, because if there would be a famine, then everyone would die. So I think it's partly because fat stores are much much larger than glycogen stores so it's a "safer" and more reliable source. Also, the heart would definitely use more glucose as the workload increases because glucose is a much more effective fuel for hard-working muscles.

As for taking an FAO inhibitor such as meldonium, is it helpful for everyone or is it for people with heart issues that suffer from poor mix of metabolic pathways in their metabolism, where they have been relying on fatty oxidation for their metabolism too much at the expense of reducing their reliance on glucose metabolism?
Even healthy people can experience benefits from it, that's why it's used as a performance enhancer. Blocking FAO, even if you're healthy, should increase mitochondrial biogenesis and upregulate the beneficial effects of peroxisomal beta-oxidation.

Also, if one already has an optimal sugar metabolism, what benefit do you see in taking FAO inhibitors, if there is such a benefit?
The benefit would most likely be improving energy production even more, limiting the damages of stress, upregulating peroxisomal beta-oxidation, etc.
 
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Hans

Hans

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Do you have any thoughts on timing of FAO inhibitor supplementation? For example, once per day in the morning or evening, or before or after each meal?
It depends on which one you use as they have different half-lives. Meldonium and Pyrucet are best taken twice daily, whereas Haidut is currently working on one with a much longer half-life of 1-2 days IIRC. I think dosing in the morning is a good idea, since then FFAs are highest after an overnight fast. Also, taking it during stress will be helpful to limit the harmful effects of stress.
 
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Hans

Hans

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@Hans is this assuming you have proper glucose metabolism first? Or will inhibiting FAO push the body to fix its glucose metabolism? I’m concerned that if someone is having a hard time getting enough ATP from glucose and their body is relying on keotacids, etc that inhibiting the FAO could lead to some major problems.
The studies show that blocking FAO improves energy production, so I think this strategy is one of the best ways to fix proper energy production. You'll just have to make sure you're consuming enough micros to support proper energy production as well (such as B-vitamins, especially B1 and also magnesium, copper and so on).
 

S-VV

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Thanks. Why were you taking it?
Good question!
I have an unexplained illness, and every so often I throw things at it to get an Idea of what may be going on. You know, perturbing the system to know more about it.

I remember going for a walk a few days after starting meldonium, and I felt incredibly light. Absolutely no oxygen “hunger”. But the fat gain and fat cravings are real. I have gone thru several boxes of meldonium and everytime, they appear.
 

Recoen

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The studies show that blocking FAO improves energy production, so I think this strategy is one of the best ways to fix proper energy production. You'll just have to make sure you're consuming enough micros to support proper energy production as well (such as B-vitamins, especially B1 and also magnesium, copper and so on).
Thank you!

Do you think pyrucet with niacinamide right after waking could help someone who tends towards hypoglycemia? If going that route, how long do you theorize it would take to have sustained improved E metabolism? Do you think someone would need to cycle this throughout the year or do you think its more a one time 6wk process?

Do you ever supplement Cu or do you rely on liver, oysters, etc?
 

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