Acetyl-L-Carnitine & Pantethine Prevent Damage to the Blood Brain Barrier

Byron J. Richards, Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist
Acetyl-L-Carnitine & Pantethine Prevent Damage to the Blood Brain Barrier
Your blood brain barrier must keep unwanted substances out of your brain. If it becomes “leaky” due to inflammation, stress, pollution, etc. then problematic substances can cross into your brain and a chain reaction of damaging events follows. Such problems with blood brain barrier integrity are a percentage of the problem in just about every issue that affects your brain's health, including reduced learning ability, memory decline, cognitive decline, depression, and any neurologic disease. Nutrients such as Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC) and pantethine can help preserve the integrity of your blood brain barrier, thus reducing nervous system stress.

One of the most common compounds in widespread use that damages your blood brain barrier is excess alcohol intake. Excess alcohol is known to set off an inflammatory free radical reaction at the blood brain barrier, making it permeable not only to alcohol damage but also damage from any other toxins in the bloodstream at the time of alcohol intake, which is typically a wide range of toxins from digestive origin.

A new study shows that ALC can prevent damage from alcohol to the blood brain barrier. It was found that ALC boosted the antioxidant enzymes that naturally protect the blood brain barrier, giving it extra support to deal with a toxic challenge.

These researchers also noted that the metabolic breakdown product of alcohol, acetaldehyde, also induced injury to the blood brain barrier. Acetaldehyde is also a byproduct of Candida albicans, which is why people with an overgrowth of Candida have brain fog and other neurologic problems. It is known that pantethine fuels the production of the key enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase, that clears acetaldehyde. Furthermore, pantethine has been shown to prevent inflammation at the blood brain barrier. This affect was so powerful that it was able to prevent malaria from entering the brain.

ALC and pantethine are known to help brain function in multiple ways. One way is to protect your blood brain barrier so that substances that should be kept out of your brain stay out of your brain.

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