Newcastle University Uses Seaweed Compound For Weight Loss Remedy

the scientists are now looking for volunteers

Newcastle University scientists have come up with a new way of losing weight using a component found in seaweed. Their research shows that when the dietary fibre found in sea kelp was added to normal foodstuffs such as bread and biscuits the intake of fat by the body was reduced by over 75 percent. The research project which is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and being led by Dr Iain Brownlee and Prof Jeff Pearson involves isolating the compound alginate and adding it to regular foodstuffs. They claim that it was better at stopping the body from absorbing fat than existing weight loss treatments.

The interesting thing about this weight loss treatment is that it is different in that it is not a tablet to be taken every day but will just be added to a whole range of foods which overweight people will eat normally along with their regular meals. The idea is that in the long term many different types of bread, biscuits and milk shakes could be produced with this fat reducing compound as fat busting side dishes. So far the treatment has only been tested with an artificially made gut in a laboratory but the scientists are now looking for volunteers.

The real test of whether this special fat reducing food is effective is in whether the volunteers find it acceptable and practical to eat as part of their normal diet. The scientists said that they have already baked bread with the alginate compound and found it to be tasty.

In fact this is not the first bit of weight loss research that we have come across as Ukmedix News which makes use of seaweed compounds. We had previously reported that a company was developing a product made from the laminaria digitata variety of seaweed which would expand in your stomach and give you the feeling that you were already full.

To date the most effective weight loss medications on the market in the UK today are Reductil made by the drug company Abbott and Xenical made by Roche. These medications are both prescription medications and thus can only be purchased following her doctor’s consultation.  This can be done online at Ukmedix.