Researchers have found a pill that has been shown to stop people piling on the pounds after a diet. Alpha-lipoic acid, a dietary supplement widely sold in health food shops, also has an anti-ageing effect.
If you take the pill with a normal diet, nothing obvious happens, but if scientists say that it can “lock in” the benefits of a six-month weight loss programme if taken afterwards.
However, don’t head down to the shops just yet: the research has divided the medical community as to whether the pill – which was tested on rats – will actually work on humans.
Study leader Dr Malcolm Goyns, scientific research firm in Stockton-on-Tees, was so convinced, he tried the approach himself.
“It seems that alphalipoic-acid fools the body into behaving as if it was still on whatever diet it was following before the supplement was added. We found there was an anti-obesity effect,” he said
“Although weight does rise when you come off the restricted diet, if you take alpha-lipoic acid, even though you are eating normally again, you still have reduced weight.”
The study also found that eating a restricted number of calories can extend your lifespan.
“Our discovery indicates that by following a calorie restriction diet for six months and then taking alpha-lipoic acid while eating normally, the same life extension effects will be experienced,” Dr Goyns added.
In the study, researchers found that giving the rats the supplement when they returned to normal eating extended the benefits of the low calorie diet.
“These observations provide exciting opportunities for anyone who wants a longer, healthier life,” Dr Goyns concluded.
Brian Merry, of the School of Biological Sciences at Liverpool University, which carried out the study, said: “If you put animals on a restricted diet they would normally go on to an extended survival trajectory.
“When they were switched to a normal diet, this compound seemed to lock them into the benefits of the pre-existing diet. It is an unusual and interesting finding and it needs repeating in further research.
“That was as far as I was prepared to go, but Malcolm Goyns wanted to apply it to humans. I said I didn’t agree with his interpretation and we had to wait for further studies.”
