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Fat burners, which we usually reach for during a reduction cycle, are not always a good choice - sometimes health or purely individual aspects stand in the way. Sometimes it is worth combining fat reducers based on lipotropic substances with thermogenic substances to synergize the effects we want.
What are lipotropics anyway?
It can be said that lipotropic substances are active ingredients of fat tissue reducers in the world of supplementation - they are a great alternative to fat burners, the main ingredient of which is usually a form of caffeine, which is not recommended or worth considering for everyone. Not everyone can use caffeine preparations and not everyone necessarily likes the stimulation of the nervous system that accompanies taking the supplement. They are extremely useful in health aspects, because the body uses them to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and thus regulate and normalize the balance between the cholesterol type LDL and HDL (good cholesterol) - the first type has a relatively high density, so it is most often deposited and retained in the body. As you can probably guess, in extreme cases this leads to atherosclerotic changes, and there is also a risk of myocardial infarction with improper (or lack of) health prevention - deposits are formed that settle on the walls of blood vessels, which in turn leads to clogging of veins, for example.
The main task of lipotropics is not to directly intensify burning, but to synergize burning processes and provide a larger amount of fat particles to undergo this process. They participate in the transformation and processing of fats and serve to transport lipid molecules. They accelerate and stabilize metabolic processes, and also participate in breaking down larger fat particles into smaller ones thanks to their emulsifying properties - this increases the absorption and availability of these components for the digestive system.
Complex lipotropic preparations are all aids for combating unnecessary fat tissue that stimulate lipolysis processes and enhance the transport of lipid components to combustion centers, e.g. mitochondria - these are usually supplements composed of several active ingredients in optimally selected proportions and forms. These include, for example, L-carnitine, CLA, Inositol, taurine or products containing betaine. All lipotropic substances are certainly not known in terms of their overall action and properties, so we will deal with the most popular and most commonly used. These include, for example, choline, which also has a positive effect on the heart, supporting the functioning of the cardiovascular system of the human body. It takes part in the metabolic transformations of fat and cholesterol components (thus maintaining LDL-HDL homeostasis), and is additionally a component of lecithin - which in turn actively participates and affects the production of fats and its transport.
The body is able to synthesize choline on its own from supplied amino acids, folic acid and vitamin B12. From it, in turn, we are able to produce a substance acting as a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine - metabolism processes. Inositol is another component of lecithin. It can be said that it affects the active stimulation of calcium ions by phosphoric acid salts, which in fact leads to increased neurotransmitter activation - so it can be safely said that it actively participates in the transmission of impulses on the nervous background. In addition, it has a soothing and relaxing effect. It has a synergistic effect with choline. Methionine, which is a quite specific amino acid, affects the reduction of the degree of accumulation and deposition of fats - it also supports the elimination of excess fat cells in a free state, which in turn can be deposited into residual adipose tissue. When discussing the components of lecithin, we have already shown its aspect that interests us, but it is better to use partial components of this substance than lecithin itself in excess - excess lecithin can lead to vitamin metabolism disorders (vitamins B), and in particular to vitamin B6 deficiency. It is worth mentioning that methionine stimulates lecithin production.
The most popular supplements supporting the processes and speed of fat molecule oxidation include l-carnitine and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) - however, this is a topic for the next parts of the article, because contrary to appearances, these agents have not been forgotten and have not been replaced by thermogenic agents. Lipotropics that are often used also include pyridoxine, taurine or betaine, which stimulate - in a synergistic way with each other - the processes responsible for getting rid of and breaking down unnecessary fat molecules, and also inhibit the accumulation of fat tissue.
Why sometimes lipotropics and not classic caffeine thermogenics?
Thermogenesis, as you have already learned from the previous part of the article, is a set of physiological processes of a chain nature - it leads to maintaining us at a slightly elevated temperature, especially in the case of using thermogenic fat burners or active substances characteristic of this type of means. In the stimulation of these processes, there is an increased combustion of compounds supplied with food or stored in reserve form - they show high-energy potential.
So if they are so effective, why are lipolysis supplements sometimes a better choice? The most commonly used and active ingredient in thermogenic supplements is caffeine, which increases blood pressure and body temperature slightly - due to these properties, supplements of this type are not recommended for people with circulatory or cardiovascular problems. The function of caffeine - positive for some, negative for others - is its ability to affect the nervous system, which de facto leads to arousal in this context. Therefore, these supplements are not recommended for people who are hypersensitive to caffeine or people with nervous system problems.
The fatal deficiency of lipotropic substances
Yes, an insufficient amount of lipotropic substances in the human body can have negative effects, affecting its functioning. For example, we can disturb the zinc and copper balance in brain cells - this has a destructive effect on the nervous system, because, for example, too much copper delivered to the brain manifests itself in aggression and irritability. This can also lead to increased blood pressure, which can be extremely dangerous for people suffering from hypertension. The body's cholesterol balance can also be disturbed, and therefore the LDL to HDL ratio - as a consequence, excessive cholesterol deposition on the walls of blood vessels can occur, with a regular deficiency. One of the reasons for fat deposition on the walls of blood vessels may be the difficult transport and inappropriate use of transported lipid molecules - lipotropic substances, on the other hand, support the transport and use of lipid molecules, because they themselves are sometimes components of lipoproteins (lipid compounds covered with a so-called protein layer). The deficiency of these nutrients also leads to disturbances in concentration, memory, and overall mental comfort, which may manifest itself in physical discomfort.
Janusz Ziolkowski - www.bb-mag.pl
