My mother can't stand cooking, and she won't mind me saying so. In fact, she used to openly pine for a pill one could take in lieu of eating/cooking. It was a Brave New World fate that I—loving food far too much to forsake my taste buds—could never imagine.
Well, it seems my mom's wish is finally modern science's command.
9 Sneaky Ways To Lose Weight
There is a new pill in the works that acts as an "imaginary meal." Instead of suppressing appetite or speeding up metabolism, that created by dreamed up by researchers at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, actually sits in your gut, effectively "tricking" your body into thinking you've just enjoyed a good square meal.
In addition to having fewer side effects than other diet products, the new pill contains no calories and doesn't alter appetite.
Of course right now it has only been tested on mice. Yet the study results, currently published in the journal Nature Medicine, look promising: weight loss—check, lowered cholesterol—check, decreased inflammation—triple check.
How it works: the pill switches on the farensoid X receptor (FXR) in our intestines. The FXR protein releases bile acids that not only help us digest food but also burn fat and alter blood sugar levels. For some reason, the pill also boosted metabolism and improved the type of gut bacteria in the mice.
Skip The Scale: 7 Tips To Help You Become A Portion Control Pro
It's thought that having the FXR in the gut instead of directly the bloodstream makes it a safer bet than most other weight-loss drugs.
For some people this may well turn out to be the holy grail of weight loss. It's no substitute for good old-fashioned healthy eating and exercise, yet perhaps it may be a necessary starting point for the morbidly obese, and a kinder alternative than bariatric surgery.
Sorry, mom. Looks like you're not out of the woods (er, kitchen) just yet.
Printer-friendly version