The pill will consolidate the results of the diet

Researchers have discovered in a long–known drug - alpha–lipoic acid - the ability, after a relatively short adherence to a low-calorie diet and a return to a normal diet, to "consolidate" the results achieved, including slowing down the aging process, which is a well-known effect of limiting the caloric content of the diet.

However, the discovery caused a dispute between the authors of the study conducted on rats. The subject of dispute is the applicability of the obtained results to humans.

It is known that reducing the amount of food prolongs the life of rats by 25-40%. However, returning to a diet with normal caloric content leads to the loss of this effect. The authors demonstrated that the effect of a low-calorie diet in rats can be prolonged by adding alpha-lipoic acid to the diet after the cessation of calorie restriction.

The head of the work, Malcolm Goyns, director of the research company Immorgene Concepts, states that he is absolutely convinced of the applicability of the new approach and is ready to start following the recommendations himself.

According to Goins, stretch-responsive receptors in the stomach take 20 minutes to inform the brain about the actual degree of filling of the stomach. Calorie restriction of food is a natural phenomenon in a number of traditional cultures, including on the island of Okinawa in the extreme southwest of Japan, where the largest number of centenarians is observed. In addition to the fact that the traditional diet for this region mainly consists of plants and lean fish, Okinawans adhere to a tradition known as "hara hachi bu" or "eat until you are 80% full." But, unlike Okinawa and other similar populations, most people find it almost impossible to adhere to a strict diet.

If we transfer the data obtained as a result of the study from rats to humans, it is enough for a person to limit himself in food for 6 months, after which taking alpha-lipoic acid will retain the life-extending effect of limiting the caloric content of the diet when returning to a normal diet.

Taking alpha-lipoic acid by itself does not have such an effect. Apparently, with the above-described intake scheme, it somehow "deceives" the body, making it think that it continues to be on the diet that it adhered to before taking the drug. At the same time, despite the fact that after the cessation of a strict diet, the weight increases, when taking alpha-lipoic acid, it still remains lower than expected when switching to a regular diet.

Alpha-lipoic acid helps to reduce blood glucose and increase the glycogen content in the liver, as well as to overcome insulin resistance, participates in the regulation of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, stimulates cholesterol metabolism, improves liver function. In medicine, it is used for toxic lesions of the liver, peripheral nervous system, sometimes it is used to treat reperfusion injuries in stroke patients. The restoration of blood flow in such patients causes oxidative damage to cells, which alpha-lipoic acid neutralizes due to its antioxidant properties.

Brian Merry from the University of Liverpool, who led the practical part of the work, considers the results very interesting, but considers it necessary to conduct further research. He does not agree with Goines, who expresses readiness to transfer the results of work into practice without additional confirmation, and emphasizes that, although alpha-lipoic acid is often included in biologically active additives, its use as a gerontoprotector has not yet received scientific justification.

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the Independent – The pill that lets dieters eat what they like01.10.2008