QUESTION: I just read an article in a women's magazine that said that taking L-carnitine, Citrimax, Chromium, and Melatonin would lead to "Fat Loss While You Sleep." Is this true?

ANSWER: L-carnitine is an amino acid that sort of acts like a shuttle to tranport fats into muscle cells where they can be burned as fuel. The promotion of L-carnitine as a great fat burning supplement is typical of supplement marketers who take the role of a nutrient and transfer it to a supplement. The reality is, our bodies are quite capable of manufacturing L-carnitine. There may be some benefit of L-carnitine supplementation in athletes who perform intense aerobic exercise with extreme frequency, but I haven't seen it play a discernible role in anybody's fat loss program.

Citrimax is HCA. Hydroxy Citric Acid was researched near 20 years ago by Hoffman-LaRoche in the hope that they could release it as a fat loss drug. It appeared to bind with the enzyme that converts carbohydrates into triglycerides. The research was abandoned as results were not statistically significant. That opened a door for supplement sellers to now sell this "highly researched compound" suspected of playing a role in minimizing fat storage. At best, this compound might prevent the conversion of some carbs into triglycerides, but the effects would be marginal at best and would only potentially occur if consumed with a high carbohydrate meal. Because HCA is not efficient at completely shutting down the enzyme, a high carb meal supplying more carbs than your body is going to burn as fuel would likely lead to fat storage even with HCA supplementation.

Then there's chromium. This was a goldmine for supplement companies. In fact, it was the second most popular mineral supplement, next to calcium, for years. The amazing thing is, chromium which found its popularity being sold as a fat burner, doesn't burn fat! Chromium is a component of GTF, Glucose Tolerance Factor, which aids in the transport of sugars. It does, therefore, play a role in both energy production and potential fat release (there is a very close relationship between blood sugar levels and fat release potential), but unless you're deficient in chromium, your body will do a nice job of producing all the GTF it requires. Of course chromium sellers would like us to believe chromium deficiency is commonplace, but it is actually quite rare, and most cases are in individuals who suffer malnutrition or diabetes. The early chromium ads referenced a study performed at Bemidgi State University where the group taking chromium supposedly added significant muscle and significant fat reduction when compared to the control group. There were some factors in that study that made it suspect. The real test was whether those results could be replicated. Despite numerous attempts, it has not been replicated to date.

Melatonin is a hormone that is produced by the pineal gland that signals the body to enter a sleep state. It does tend to decline as we age and supplementation may play a role in leading to more restful sleep, but it has nothing to do with fat reduction.

Fat Loss While You Sleep sounds great, but the truth is, if you get on a supportive program of eating and exercising, your body can burn fat virtually all day long. No supplement is going to prove to be the "fat loss solution."

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Thermogenics
Supplements

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