I've been taking QuadraCarn for just under a week now with Lean Out. Three Quadrcarn tabs three times a day with two Lean Out in morning and one with lunch and dinner.

I'm here at work and people think I smell fishy. I just came from the gym, where I took a shower after my workout. This happened once before when I was taking too much L-Carnitine. It is a known side effect of taking too much (3grams+) of Carnitine.

Anyone else experience this issue?

It is something that we've heard of before but extremely rare. In fact in the last 15 years I have only heard of 1 other person that this happens to when consuming lots of carnitine. And I experienced him first hand and can confirm it!

I would guess that some people have an enzyme or something in their body that reacts with carnitine to make that smell - but that's purely speculation. Kinda the way some people have an aroma in the bathroom after eating asparagus. But not all people even experience that, it's a genetic thing with some people having certain enzymes that react with specific aminos in the asparagus. But that is much more common, the Carnitine thing is pretty rare.

It's an unfortunate situation for you because it is such an effective nutrient. But hey, you have to weigh it out. If the negative impact on your daily life is greater than your benefit, only you can make that call. It may not happen if you’re only taking Lean Out by itself. The smell from the guy I knew would intensify or minimize depending on the amount of carnitine he took. I do not know what the “cutoff” amount was that would make him smell though.

Hope this helps,

Steven

OK, my Wife just confirmed the fishy odor. Was hoping the guys at work were just messing with me.

I calculate that I have been taking 4.5gm of the various forms of Carnitine in Quadracarn and Lean Out (9 Quadracarn & 5 Lean Out), per day.

I'll drop down to 6 Quadracarn daily, which is 2.5gm and then maybe consider increasing as long as the cats stop following me around.

Dave

Dave -

You have a genetic defect which inhibits production of an enzyme called FCO3. This enzyme converts trimethylamines, which are byproducts of neurotransmitters and other compounds from meat such as choline and carnitine, into the non-smelly form. Apparently, the amount of carnitine you are taking is overloading the production of enzymes you have. I'm familiar with this as I have had a client with this once.

Not a great source, but it was easy to find. You can read more about it here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimethylamine

I take a Choline and Inositol supplement too. Could that be contributing to the problem converting the trimethylamines?

Choline - Yes

Inositol is a b vitamin. So shouldn't play a role in this. It's an amazing product BTW.

From the link you provided: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimethylamine

"Trimethylamine is a product of decomposition of plants and animals. It is the substance mainly responsible for the odor often associated with fouling fish, some infections, and bad breath. It is also associated with taking large doses of choline and carnitine".

So I thought the combined supplementation of choline and carnitine may compound the effect.

Yes Dave. Sorry I wasn't clearer. I think the choline does contribute, but not the inositol powder as it's a b vit.

I am going to stop the choline and cut back on the carnitine. I've taken Lean Out without the fishy odor, so I know there is a threshold. If/when the odor is gone, I will increase the carnitine again.

I'm very curious to see if my unique side effect is actually linked to my also supplementing the choline.

I will update in a few days or so.

Thank you for all your help & advice!
Dave

Dave, you're not alone. My wife (we both post on this account) has been emitting the fish smell for weeks and we didn't know what was causing it - I've only noticed it when she's dieting down for a show. I thought maybe she was oxidizing the EFAs somehow differently when she was really lean. It sounds like it could be the carnitine for her (she takes 9 quad and 8-10 lean out a day). She thinks she might take something with Choline in it too, but isn't for sure (and didn't look through the labels yet).

She pretty much takes all Bev products. Do any of the Bev products (MS, MP, UMP, LO, quad, GlutSel) have choline?

Lean Out has 1000 mg Choline.

I have stopped taking Lean Out while taking Quadracarn and the smell is gone from yesterday.

I also dropped from 3tabs 3xday Quardracarns to 2tabs 3xday. I am going to bring it back up to 3tabs 3xday to see if the smell returns.

Choline and Carnitine are both key components in Lean Out. Choline is not in the other items. The person I experienced that has this happen does not have the problem with Lean Out alone. It is when adding extra carnitine to it. It sounds like everyone that this happens to may have varying tolerances to the amount of carnitine.

Same here, the person I mentioned was also fine with lean out, but once she swithced to a quality, not something cheap so that wasn't the reason, liquid carn, around 10g a day she exprienced the problem. She does fine with 5g a day of the liquid or 10 lean out a day.

Sorry guys I meant 5g and 2.5g. I was thinking each teaspoon was 5g.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 4u2nv,

i notice this from lean out and nothing else. did not happen when taking high carnine Energy reserge over 4 g per day. only when i lean out
always has . 4-6 pills per day to 12 pills per day produce the effect

I dropped the Lean Out and Choline supplement and the fish odor went away. Quaracarn alone did not produce any odor.

The strange things we learn. Dave