Our bodies use pyruvate to either convert it to lactate when the body is engaged in anaerobic activity, or it can break it down to water and carbon dioxide and generate large amounts of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate - the molecule that stores energy in the body's cells).
Although it is a natural bi-product of glycosis, it can also be found naturally in foods such as some types of maize and cheese.
Research Title: Dietary fat intake, supplements, and weight loss.
Year Published: 2000
Research Summary: Dyck reviews the evidence concerning macronutrient consumption and weight loss, as well as popular weight loss supplements available on the market. He writes that most likely diets high in fat lead to high fat stores within the body and that most weight loss supplements have little bearing on an individuals fat loss. He does however comment that supplements containing pyruvate do have the most research behind it to support its claim as a weight loss supplement, however, the mechanisms by which it works are yet to be explained.
Can J Appl Physiol. 2000 Dec;25(6):495-523.
Research Title: Dietary supplements for body-weight reduction: a systematic review.
Year Published: 2004
Research Summary:The authors comment that the general public follow or maintain conventional weight loss strategies rarely, and many instead purchase over the counter slimming supplements. Researchers aimed to analyse the effectiveness of these supplements and put them through rigorous clinical trials, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Included in the reviews were the pyruvate supplement. The authors commented that some encouraging evidence was found to support their weight loss properties, however, nothing that significantly proved the effectiveness as a weight loss and fat loss supplement. The authors do not recommend any of the supplements reviewed including pyruvate as a weight loss supplement.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Apr;79(4):529-36.
Research Title: Inhibition of regain in body weight and fat with addition of 3-carbon compounds to the diet with hyperenergetic refeeding after weight reduction.
Year Published: 1996
Research Summary:Researchers wanted to determine whether body weight loss could be maintained with the use of a combination of pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone. 17 obese women for the first three weeks, consumed less calories to induce weight loss, and then their calorie consumption was increased to 1.5 times their resting metabolism rate. The women were split randomly to either receive a placebo, or the pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone (treatment). The researchers found that weight re-gain was significantly less in those patients that had recieved the treatment. They also found that body protein gain was not different between the placebo and treatment groups, which enabled them to conclude that those patients who received the treatment were able to more effectively keep the weight off, despite eating more calories.
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1996 Oct;20(10):925-30.
Research Title: Pyruvate supplementation of a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet: effects on plasma lipid concentrations and body composition in hyperlipidemic patients.
Year Published: 1994
Research Summary:Researchers at the Montefiore University Hospital, Pittsburgh sought to find what effect pyruvate supplementation would have on body composition. The researchers took 34 patients experiencing high levels of lipids (commonly referred to as fats - but can also be referring to waxes and terpenes) and put them on a month long low cholesterol and low fat diet, and noted how fats within patient's blood cells decreased. They then divided the patients into two groups receiving either pyruvate or a carbohydrate substance. The patients that received the pyruvate showed increased weight and fat loss to the subjects in the placebo group, however cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglyceride levels were unchanged between the two groups. The results of this study suggest that this supplement enhances fat loss with a calorie controlled diet, without altering lipid levels.
Am J Clin Nutr. 1994 Feb;59(2):423-7.
Conclusions about Pyruvate Supplements:
It's clear that the theoretical mechanisms that it works along, make it a tempting supplement to take for fat burning, and the evidence so far does support its use as a weight loss supplement. However, as most of the studies suggest weight loss can be achieved through a calorie controlled diet and these supplements really just offer additional support, and may be helpful in keeping the weight off once it has been lost.
The research presented indicates that it can enhance fat loss without altering lipoproteins and cholesterol levels, but because research has not yet uncovered fully the way in which pyruvate works and exactly how effective it is as a "fat burner", it is still not recommended as a weight loss supplement.
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