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Chili
peppers may help fight fat
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Chili peppers contain an ingredient that may
cause weight loss and fight fat, scientists have reported.
According to boffins, capsaicin, the stuff that gives chili peppers their kick,
may cause weight loss and fight fat buildup by triggering certain beneficial
protein changes in the body.
The study, which could lead to new treatments for obesity, appears in ACS'
monthly Journal of Proteome Research .
Jong Won Yun and colleagues point out that obesity is a major public health
threat worldwide, linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and
other health problems. Laboratory studies have hinted that capsaicin may help
fight obesity by decreasing calorie intake, shrinking fat tissue, and lowering
fat levels in the blood. Nobody, however, knows exactly how capsaicin might
trigger such beneficial effects.
In an effort to find out, the scientists fed high-fat diets with or without
capsaicin to lab rats used to study obesity. The capsaicin-treated rats lost 8
percent of their body weight and showed changes in levels of at least 20 key
proteins found in fat. The altered proteins work to break down fats.
"These changes provide valuable new molecular insights into the mechanism of the
antiobesity effects of capsaicin," the scientists say.
Courtesy: ANI / Times of India
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