Have you ever heard of carnitine?
Here's some examples what it in the fitness industry...
This supplement claims to increase cellular energy production, which in turn means you'll burn more fat and boost your metabolism.
Carnitine is an essential molecule that carries fat from the bloodstream into mitochondria where metabolic processes occur. This results in the breakdown of fat and potentially weight loss.
Figure: Acyl-CoA + Carnitine = Acyl-Carnitine molecule = fatty acid molecule being shuttled from the cellular fluid into the matrix of mitochondria to be used for energy (fat burning).
Once in the mitochondria, Acyl-Carnitine is converted back into an Acyl-CoA + Carnitine and then Carnitine is transported back to the cell membrane to be used again.
This process is highly regulated via transport proteins.
So, yea why wouldn't we want MORE of this amazing molecule to assist with weight loss??
Well, our bodies make carnitine all on its own in our liver and kidneys from two amino acids, lysine and methionine. This process requires vitamin B6, C and B1/niacin to be present. However, we only make as much as we need and only when we need it, NO MORE.
So far there’s no known case of anyone having a deficiency in carnitine production either. However it COULD happen if someone is severely protein deprived or severely deficient in one of those vitamins I listed above, then MAYBE production of carnitine could be impacted, but we have yet to see this occur.
So, this is a case of where more is not always better because if you're ingesting a carnitine supplement, your body isn't going to use more than it needs anyways, which means it won't pull out more fat to burn.
You’ll most likely pee out the excess just like our bodies do with any excessive amounts of supplementation we give it!
So this supplement is BUSTED!
Don't waste your money on carnitine.
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