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See also: thermogenic supplements and fat burners
Fats: Functions and Metabolism
Fats or lipids, together with carbohydrates, are the main energy source of our body. In fact, each gram of fat provides 9 calories against the 4 provided by carbohydrates. Unlike the latter, moreover, the stores of fat are practically infinite (each kg of adipose tissue has a calorific value of about 7800 calories).
Even by taking fat burning supplements, it is not possible to force all these biological mechanisms too much. In other words, there are no substances that can significantly accelerate the consumption of fat.
How They Work
The alleged lipolytic function of certain supplements is mainly due to the presence of substances with thermogenic activity capable of accelerating metabolism. By increasing the body's energy expenditure, fat will be indirectly burned, favoring the loss of excess adipose tissue.
Carnitine
Carnitine, on the other hand, is a separate supplement, through which attempts are made to maximize the entry of long-chain fatty acids into the cell.
What they contain
Fat burning supplements are often based on caffeine or substances with similar activity, often mixed together (green tea, yerba mate, cola, synephrine, guarana). Through the administration of these substances a hormonal response mediated by catecholamines is triggered in the organism which favors the increase of the body metabolism, heart rate, blood pressure and the number of respiratory acts (thus increasing the oxygenation of the blood).
The "fat burning" effect of these products is well documented, as long as these substances are present in significant quantities.
Together with caffeine and its analogues, fat burning supplements are often associated with minerals (iodine to improve thyroid function), antioxidants, other substances with a presumed thermogenic effect (calcium pyruvate) and sometimes with natural diuretics.
Side effects
Exceeded a certain dose, depending on individual sensitivity and diet, fat burning supplements can cause side effects that are also quite important such as: hypertension, headache, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia and convulsions.
Alternatives
Is it possible to burn fat naturally?
The most powerful and effective fat burner is aerobic physical exercise (cycling, jogging, endurance swimming, cross-country skiing, etc.).
Only an important calorie expenditure can in fact massively stimulate lipolysis.
- To find out how to increase your metabolism through diet and exercise read: Speeding up your metabolism
- To find out the relationship between sport and fat consumption, you can instead refer to the following article: Aerobic activity and fat burning
