When you are in the world of sports, you also learn a lot about your body, about nutrition and about supplements that can help you with your performance or with losing weight, so if you are part of this world, you have probably already heard about the benefits of carnitine.

Carnitine is the generic term for several compounds, such as L-carnitine, acetyl-L-carnitine, and propionyl-L-carnitine. It is an amine that our own body synthesizes in the kidneys and liver from other amino acids and is found in tissues such as skeletal and cardiac muscle.

Although when it was discovered it was thought to be a vitamin, it is now known that it is not an essential nutrient, which means we produce what we need of this amino acid and do not need to ingest it as a supplement.

When our body synthesizes it, it plays a role in energy production, as it transports fatty acids to the mitochondria so that they can be oxidized or burned to produce energy. For this reason, it is popular as a fat burner, although this is not its only function. Once it performs this first function, carnitine also helps to remove the toxic compounds generated to prevent their accumulation.

Some research has highlighted the potential benefits of carnitine in heart and brain diseases; however, its main use is for weight loss and, hypothetically, it could work, as its function is to help the body reduce fat stores and burn them.

While there are studies with small groups that have resulted in carnitine helping with weight loss, they are still not conclusive enough, and when it comes to losing weight, much more is always required than just a simple supplement. 

Additionally, carnitine has other benefits including lowering blood pressure, improving recovery capacity in athletes, and reducing muscle damage, but it is important to remember that a healthy person does not need to supplement with carnitine, as their body produces it without issue. On the other hand, animal products such as meat, fish, chicken, and milk are good sources of carnitine.