grimness earner: Weight Loss and Alginates

Research carried out at the Faculty of Life Sciences (LIFE), University of Copenhagen, shows that dietary fibres found in algae help the body to feel full and therefore lose weight.

Previous studies have showed that a diet rich in fibre is good for the maintenance of a healthy weight however this new research shows that it is specifically the alginates, the dietary fibres of the brown algae, which cause artificial satiety.

There are different types of seaweed including red algae, brown algae and green algae but this research is solely based on the effects of brown algae. A study was carried out by the research team in Copenhagen over a 3 year period and they looked specifically at the effects of taking different alginate doses. Those who drank alginates also ate as much food as they liked yet these subjects ate less food than those who were not drinking fibre drinks with the alginates.

Further to this finding, a 12 week study was carried out involving over 96 overweight men and women. 48 subjects took a drink full of alginates three times a day before their main courses. The results showed that among the 80 subjects who participated, those who drank the alginates lost a larger average of 1.7kg than did the subjects in the placebo group.

The study?s author explains that the alginates possibly form a gel inside the stomach supporting the feeling of fullness since the gel takes up space inside.

Weight loss has always been as simple as burning as many calories as you ingest. If we don?t burn the calories, weight starts to pile on and can be quite instantaneous considering the average person puts on five whole pounds over just the Christmas period.

The researchers have developed this special fibre drink made from alginates for market, the first of its kind available. We should hear more about this exciting natural supplement in the coming months since the findings were so recently presented in the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, in mid-December of 2011.

In other news on weight loss supplements and treatment, Qnexa, the long awaited weight loss drug is still waiting the result of their application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on whether the drug, made by Vivus, will be suitable for market. There is currently no licensed weight loss treatment available other than Xenical, which reduces the absorption of dietary fat b y the body.

The most recent update on the drugs progress explained that the company had been asked to remove their contraindication for women who were of a childbearing age and rather focus the contraindication on women who were pregnant instead. This is due to the evidence suggesting one of the key ingredients has in the past been linked with the formation of cleft palate in unborn babies. This news is likely to have come to the delight of the pharmaceutical company, Vivus.

Further to this, the company will also revisit their Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy under the guidance of the FDA. We will know more about the FDA?s review of Qnexa this April 17^th, a date that has been long awaited among those involved in the weight loss treatment industry.