Carnitine Myth

1994/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Dietetika/Elikagaiak

In France a few months ago some dietary foods were removed from stores due to inadequate concentration of carnitine from health authorities. Carnitine or vitamin BT (L-3-hydroxy-4-trimethylamonium-butyrate) comes from two amino acids, lysine and methionine.

Carnitine is important in the metabolism of fats, since it carries fatty acids in cellular mitochondria. In 1955 they realized this role of carnitine, but outside the mitochondria also influences carnitine.

To understand the influence of carnitine, interesting trials were carried out with twins that since childhood had “cramps” in the muscles. These pains were accentuated by fasting, a high-fat diet or physical exercise. All the metabolism seemed normal, except the oxidation of fatty acids, which lacked carnitine.

Therefore, foods containing carnitine were accepted, but they should not exceed certain proportions: in children's dairy they should not exceed 15.5 milligrams per day and in the rest of products they did not exceed 1,000 calories and 100 milligrams per day.

However, foods containing carnitine were unjustifiably successful. On the one hand, people began to believe that carnitine provided a lot of energy in the cells and, on the other hand, it seemed that it thins. Therefore, in some dietary products the proportion of carnitine increased to 231 grams per thousand calories and in some sports foods to 343 grams.

However, health officials have analyzed 276 dietary foods and withdrew nine for their illegality. In the products for athletes 130 have been analyzed and 33 have been removed.

It is true that the shortage of carnitine causes problems in metabolism, but the abuse is not demonstrated at all, much less in which the person slimming down.

Occasionally there are similar sasizientific myths in the field of food and the solution may be the one carried in the United States by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). In fact, chemicals, vitamins, minerals, plant extracts, etc. that they claim to have magical virtues. has been widely studied to verify these benefits enacted by manufacturers. There are products that, according to propaganda, cure cancer, obesity, hypertension, infections, sterility, etc., but there is no choice but to punish the greedy manufacturers when what was said in the propaganda is a lie.