In this paper, we derive some new Gagliardo-Nirenberg type inequalities in Lorentz type spaces without restrictions on the second index of Lorentz norms, which generalize almost all known corresponding results. Our proof mainly relies on the Bernstein inequalities in Lorentz spaces, the embedding relation among various Lorentz type spaces, and Littlewood-Paley decomposition techniques. In addition, we establish several novel criteria in terms of the velocity or the gradient of the velocity in Lorentz spaces for energy conservation of the 3D Navier-Stokes equations. Particularly, we improve the classical Shinbrots condition for energy balance to allow both the space-time directions of the velocity to be in Lorentz spaces.