King Charles II supplied this natural herb to a number of his mistresses

Everyone always assumes that weight loss medications are a new invention developed by drug companies trying to cash in on the growing problem of obesity around the world however they have in fact been around for thousands of years.

The ancient civilizations of both Rome and Egypt used herbs and concoctions to help men and women to stop feeling hungry. Even the humble aborigine from Australia knew that by chewing on various plants he could control hunger pangs.

One very famous appetite suppressant which found favour among the royals in the 17th Century in the United Kingdom was the Heath pea. It is well known that King Charles II supplied this natural herb to a number of his mistresses in order to help them shed pounds. Apparently his most famous mistress Nell Gwyn used it frequently.

Recently a number of researchers have been toying with the possibility of adapting and evolving this medieval remedy into a modern weight loss remedy which could be used by people trying to lose weight all over the United Kingdom.

Since the eighteenth century the herb has largely been forgotten but a certain Sir Robert Sibbald whom lived in the 1700’s and who founded the College of Physicians in Edinburgh and the Botanic Gardens called it the “miraculous Scottish herb” and expounded on its properties to curb hunger.

The Heath Pea which goes by the Latin and scientific name of Lathyrus linifolius could be the answer to the obesity problem in the UK. The plant is easy and cheap to grow and therefore could be worth millions of pounds to a company that would be willing to develop it.

It is possible that while a huge industry of weight loss and obesity research all around the world continues to flourish that the answer to the problem is quite simply sitting on our doorstep and that we have failed to notice it by pushing ahead and striving for the future without paying sufficient attention to the past.