Milk ingredient for overweight and diabetes

A special ingredient in the milk can protect against overweight

06/06/2012

In milk, the active substance is nicotinamide riboside. This could increase fat burning at higher doses and also improve endurance, as researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne discovered in the course of a study. In diabetes, the intake of insulin could be saved.

The nicotine amide riboside (NR) ingredient in cow's milk can stimulate digestion in a high dose and accelerate fat burning. In addition, the natural substance is said to increase endurance during exercise significantly. That could be „be found a natural substance that protects against obesity“, reports the research team. At least in mice, corresponding effects could be achieved in the experiment.

In the experiment, mice were given the nutripriate nicotinamide riboside, which was split off from the milk. Although the animals were given a high calorie diet, they did not gain body weight. In a further experimental setup it was found that the endurance in the impeller was significantly increased compared to the comparison group, which did not receive any additional substance with the feeding. „It was possible to achieve an improved oxidative metabolism as well as an effective protection of the metabolism by induced disorders of high-fat diet.“, sums up study author Carles Cantó from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

Blood lipid levels stabilized
In the laboratory, the researchers were able to prove that no high blood sugar was detectable by the fat diet. On the contrary, the blood sugar level could be stabilized by the additive. Disadvantage of the diet was that a positive effect could be achieved only at higher doses. The usual dose in commercial milk „Not enough to achieve targeted results“, so the scientists. Perspectively, however, the lactose nicotinamide riboside as a dietary supplement could help to treat chronic metabolic diseases such as diabetes supportive, as the research team write in the journal "Cell Metabolism". The insulin level could be reduced by NR sustainably.

Good compatibility and no side effects
A major advantage of the natural substance is, according to the researchers, the good tolerability. A similar but weaker substance called niacin may provoke redness and hot flushes as a side effect. Niacin is used today in many medicines for high blood lipid levels. The team was unable to identify those unwanted symptoms during the study. Even at high doses, rodents showed no negative effects. However, it is not yet clear how the human organism reacts to the milk substance. It is not proven whether the modes of action also occur, nor can it be ruled out whether side effects or interactions occur. For this purpose, only humane studies should be carried out, as the scientists emphasize.

For the study, the scientists had formed two equally sized groups of mice. Over a period of several weeks, a group receiving 400 milligrams per kilo of body weight NR daily was added to the diet. Some of the animals got normal and the second group a high-fat diet. In normal-fed mice, no effects were seen. "Nicotinamide riboside had no significant effect on the body weight of normally fed mice," explains Cantó. The mice that ate high-fat foods consumed significantly less body fat with NR than the control group that did not receive any additive. An appetite loss could not be achieved. The mice ate more rather than those without milk ingredient. Nevertheless, the mice were slimmer with the fat than the animals without active ingredient. Blood lipid levels also dropped and oxygen consumption increased. This is a sign that an increased metabolism was initiated, the researchers said.

The substance nicotinamide riboside was first discovered in 2004. Because of its molecular structure, even then experts suspect that the substance in the body can influence specific metabolic processes. The former evidence could now be confirmed for the first time with the present study.

Additional therapeutic benefit in diabetes
The researchers also found that NR can not only prevent the onset of obesity, but also provide benefits in the treatment of diabetes. In the animals, which were given NR over a longer period of several weeks every day, the sugar metabolism has improved significantly. The type II diabetes mice would need significantly less insulin to keep their blood sugar levels stable. It then indicates, „Cantó writes that the nicotinamide riboside has again increased the insulin sensitivity of the tissues. "In the study report, the authors cite the drug as „vitamin“, according to them, NR is one „indispensable part of the daily diet“.

Nicotinamide riboside is found in milk or dairy products, „we needed the stuff for our lives, which we eat every day“, Head of Studies Johan Auwerx from the École Polytechnique Fédérale argues. Thus, NR is a natural substance for humans and probably contribute with many other substances to regulate the metabolism. (Sb)

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Picture: Almotti