Weight Loss & OEA Fatty Acid
Weight Loss Study Introduction
Clues to how a naturally occurring fat compound blocks hunger, which could
pave the way for a new class of safer anti-obesity drugs, have been found.
In a weight loss study, scientists said they had shown how the fatty acid
oleylethanolamide (OEA)--found naturally in the diet--bonds with cells
to send the body a signal to stop eating.
Weight Loss Study Method
The researchers fed high-fat diets to two groups of mice: one normal and
one mutant group that had had cell receptors that interact with OEA genetically
removed. After the mice were fattened up, they were treated with OEA for
four weeks.
Weight Loss Study Results
Normal mice ate less and lost weight with the treatment, but it had no
effect on the mice that had their cell receptors removed--suggesting that
cell receptors play a key role in how the fat communicates to the body
to stop eating. In the normal mice, OEA also lowered cholesterol levels
by reducing levels of hunger-inducing nitric oxide molecules.
Weight Loss Study Conclusion
This shows the receptors are not only necessary for the hunger-curbing
and weight-reducing actions of OEA, but may also contribute to the overall
stability and maintenance of our feeding system. Drugs that are now being
tested for obesity work in similar ways, but they are potentially more
toxic than naturally occurring OEA.
Source: Nature, Sept 2003.
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