Are you struggling to lose fat but not able to reduce a single pound or a Kg?
And from nowhere you know about the magic fat burner L-carnitine. Suggested by your gym trainer or the fittest buddy in your gym.
So is it a magic pill that is going to burn all your fat once you pop in or just another useless supplement hyped by the influencers?
Before we come to any conclusion. Let's understand
What L-carnitine is?
Levo-carnitine is generally abbreviated as L carnitine. It is a naturally occurring amino acid structure that our body produces. It can also be taken from Diet & supplements.
What is the role of L carnitine in our body?
It transports long-chain fatty acids into mitochondria to get oxidized for energy production & it also helps in removing products of metabolism from the cell.
Why L-carnitine is sold & accepted as the best Fat burner by everyone?
As we know the function of L-carnitine is to oxidize long-chain fatty acids.
So from a hypothetical perspective, it seems that elevated levels of carnitine will help us to burn more fat in the body. In addition to accelerating weight loss, this would also help to spare muscle glycogen, thereby improving exercise performance. Unfortunately, this theory doesn’t transfer into practice here. [1] The majority of the studies that have been done on L-carnitine have little or no benefit regarding fat loss. Of course, While supplementation does increase blood levels of carnitine, there is no corresponding increase in the transport of fats into the mitochondria, and thus fat burning capacity is not enhanced.
The other reason why carnitine is considered the best fat burner is a 2016 systematic review & meta-analysis in which a few Iranian researchers mentioned in their conclusion that “We conclude that receiving the carnitine resulted in weight loss.”
This statement is highly mis utilized by fitness influencers & supplement companies for their monetary benefits. As the company knows that the common man is not going to read the research paper ever, they manipulated the statement for their marketing benefit.
But if you go through the paper then it is mentioned that there is a drop of only 1.33 kg of Bodyweight & a 0.47 kg/m2 decrease in body mass index. Which is insignificant & very negligible to be considered. It is also mentioned that the magnitude of weight loss also decreases over some time. [2]
Another meta-analysis of 2020 also has the same view [3]. That there is only a 1.2 kg reduction in body weight & 0.24kg/m2 reduction of BMI with no significant decrease in body fat % & waist circumference. It is also mentioned that the difference is only seen in overweight & obese people.
Benefits of Carnitine: Apart from negligible fat loss benefits. It is helpful in cognitive preservation in the geriatric population. But this recommendation should be given by your doctor, not by an influencer.
Darkside of L-carnitine: In a meta-analysis, it is seen that long-term supplementation of L-carnitine elevates fasting plasma TMAO ( Trimethylamine-N-oxide) which is pro-atherogenic. Atherogenic means the formation of plaques in arteries thereby leading to atherosclerosis( which is heart disease). [4]
So should we take supplementation of carnitine or not?
If you are having it for fat loss then it has no benefit & I won't recommend it. Bcoz it is not cheap & after spending that much money you will only see a 1-1.5Kg drop in body weight. That also decreases over some time as mentioned in the meta-analysis.
Few people think that they are vegetarians or Vegans they should take a supplement of Carnitine. As carnitine is naturally only available in animal products. But this is untrue, even if we don't get it from the diet it is not needed. As it is mentioned by NIH "Healthy children and adults do not need to consume carnitine from food or supplements, as the liver and kidneys produce sufficient amounts from the amino acids lysine and methionine to meet daily needs" [5].
If you are following a poor diet that is very low in calories & protein or has some medical condition for which your physician has suggested taking supplementation of carnitine then it is fine. For any other reason having it is just a waste of money.
Refrences:
4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32958033/
5] https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Carnitine-HealthProfessional/
You tube Video link : https://youtu.be/qaUc2B8_RJs
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