Scientists are adding seaweed to bread and other common food stuffs to find ways to help people lose weight while they eat.
A team of UK scientists from Newcastle University are engaged in research that shows that dietary fibre contained in alginates from commercially used sea kelp, can help reduce the amount of fat absorbed by the body by up to 75 per cent.
Natural Fibre and Weight Loss
The research team, led by Dr. Iain Brownlee and Professor Jeff Pearson, presented their findings on 22 March, 2010 at the American Chemical Society Spring meeting in San Francisco. The team have discovered that Alginate, a natural fibre contained in sea kelp, prevents the body from absorbing fat better than any other currently available over-the-counter treatments.
Using an artificial gut, they tested the effectiveness of more than 60 different natural fibres by measuring the amount of fat that was digested and absorbed with each treatment. "The aim of this study was to put these products to the test and our initial findings are that alginates significantly reduce fat digestion," explained Dr Brownlee at an interview during the event.
Alginate lines the walls of the digestive system and prevents dietary fat passing through. The types of seaweed identified as carrying alginate are Lessonia and Laminaria. They are native to the Far East, South America and parts of Norway and Scotland, although they could be harvested anywhere. Read more
No comments:
Post a Comment