consumed 30 percent less and also shed 25 percent of their body mass

The new flurry of excitement in the world of weight loss medication is that a naturally produced compound found in the human body could be the answer to stopping you overeating and becoming overweight. Researchers who examined the effect of this compound in rats and mice said that they all lost weight and consumed less food with no side effects. It is likely that this effect will be mimicked in humans as the compound actually comes from our bodies and is used to regulate appetite naturally.

The research is being conducted at Yale University in Connecticut and clinical testing on larger animals has been scheduled. Gerald Shulman who is leading the research explained that they were keen to do a clinical trial involving humans in the near future.

The compound which is called N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine or NAPE for short is produced in the human body after a high fat meal and therefore the scientists suspected that it played a part in regulating appetite. The fact that by adding it artificially to mice and rats produced appetite suppressing influences means that it is likely that they have stumbled onto an interesting finding. The scientists explained that fatty acids in food are converted into NAPE in the stomach before they go to the bloodstream. The NAPE compound then travels to the brain where it informs the hypothalamus that the hunger is no longer present.

The researchers also noted that when the rats and mice were given NAPE they behaved as if they had just eaten a large meal and actually slowed down and exhibited what the scientists called a “siesta response”. They said that after five days of regular doses of NAPE the rats consumed 30 percent less and also shed 25 percent of their body mass.

It could be possible that Shulman and his research team are onto something big!