Beverly International claims their Lean Out fat burner is the "optimum lipotropic formula in the world," and that it should be in everyone's diet. No surprise there. Retailers don't make money when their products gather dust; ergo, almost every weight loss product in the world boasts the most amazing, revolutionary, ground-breaking formula (and so on and so on and so on) and you must have it in your possession.
That said, what's the story with Beverly International's Lean Out?
First and foremost, this is an "old-school" formula. Lipotropics (ingredients that facilitate the conversion of fats into other useful products) have been used in weight loss supplements for years (to little effect) and the other foundational ingredients of this formula —carnitine and chromium—are no strangers either.
It's rare you see them trumped up to the extreme anymore, simply because the existing clinical data doesn't support such claims, and it's easy to refute them.
With that said, let's take a closer look at the formula. In addition to a couple of B-Vitamins (B12, Biotin) Lean Out contains...
1) Inositol (1000 mg): A well known lipotropic, inositol is involved in nutrient transfer at the cellular level. It also facilitates communication between nerve cells and helps to transport fats throughout the body.
2) Choline Bitartrate (1000 mg): Choline serves a number of vital functions, including maintaining the structure/function of cell membranes, normalizing homocysteine levels (via a metabolite, betaine), and serving as a precursor for acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter important to learning and memory. It plays a vital role in maintaining proper fat metabolism by the liver.
In one study, it was shown that choline supplementation reversed fatty liver disease—something that can occur when the liver has an inability to process fats properly. Other studies show it has no particular effects on exercise performance.
3) Chromium (200 mcg Chromium Picolinate): Because chromium plays a vital role in insulin function, it's a smart addition to any weight loss supplement. Clinical evidence documenting chromium's role in weight loss is contradictory. Some show a modest effect, some show no effect, and others even call the robustness and methodology of the studies into question.
4) DL-Methionine (1000 mg): This ingredient aids in fat metabolism and acts as an antioxidant.
5) L-Carnitine (600 mg): The advertising for Lean Out makes much out of Carnitine's role in fat burning, due to its ability to faciliate the transport of fatty acids to the mitochondria of the cell (the mitochondria is the cell's "furnace"). The problem with L-carnitine is that while it looks good in theory, clinical evidence validating its effectiveness is contradictory and inconclusive.
Additionally, any positive effect is only realized with a very large, multi-gram dosage. Rather bafflingly, the Lean Out advertising copy notes this—something I found pretty ironic, considering their own product delivers approximately a mere one third to one-sixth of an "effective" dosage in a 4-tablet daily serving. By the retailer's own admission then, this product contains nowhere near an effective dose of carnitine. An odd advertising strategy, to say the least.
6) Betaine HCL (100 mg): A naturally-occurring nutrient/metabolite with therapeutic applications; it can be used to treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, for instance.
7) Coenzyme Q10 (10 mg): A potent antioxidant, Coenzyme Q10 has been used experimentally to treat mitochondrial diseases.
So there you have it. Beverly International's Lean Out in a nutshell.
In theory, taking supplemental lipotropics ensures you have plenty of the raw materials on hand to properly metabolize fat and improve your body's efficiency of such.
In practice though, I've never read anything—either clinical or anecdotal—to suggest supplementation provides any more than the subtlest of effects.
And that makes sense, since anyone focused on eating properly is likely to be obtaining more than adequate amounts of all lipotropics directly from the diet.
That doesn't leave Lean Out with much else to offer; a sprinkling of carnitine, some chromium, a few B vitamins, and a few milligrams of betaine and coenzyme Q10. And at $28 for a month's supply, it's a bit difficult to recommend just as a simple experiment.
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