Can you lose weight by eating L-carnitine?


L-carnitine is an amino acid compound having various physiological functions. It was first discovered by muscle scientists in muscle extracts in 1905. As a food nutrition enhancer, L-carnitine has been widely used in medicine, health care products and food.

L-carnitine promotes the oxidation of fatty acids to produce energy. But it does not directly break down fat, just as a carrier. Ordinary people can get enough L-carnitine through their own synthesis and daily diets (such as meat, poultry, fish and dairy products). Under normal conditions, the daily intake of L-carnitine in the diet is about 50 mg, and the body synthesis of L-carnitine is about 20 mg. Strict vegetarians consume less than 5 mg of L-carnitine per day, and their demand for L-carnitine depends almost entirely on biosynthesis.

Some studies have shown that oral L-carnitine can accelerate the oxidation of fatty acids, thereby reducing the accumulation of body fat, aerobic exercise and low-calorie diet can help lose weight. However, the enzymatic reaction kinetics indicate that the human muscle has sufficient free L-carnitine at rest. Only when the body consumes a lot of energy, the original L-carnitine in the body is not enough to convert fat, and it is effective to supplement L-carnitine. That is to say, in the case of healthy people who have no exercise and no dietary energy control, eating L-carnitine is not effective for losing weight.

What are the side effects of L-carnitine?
Both animal toxicology experiments and mutagenicity studies have shown that even high doses of L-carnitine do not produce genotoxicity, reproductive toxicity and mutagenic effects. Human studies have shown that excessive L-carnitine can cause body odor, gastrointestinal discomfort, and even cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea.


Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here