Eating Disorders Blog

This week a Texas AgriLife Research scientist discovered that an amino acid (amino acids are the building blocks of proteins) may help fight obesity. Arginine, the amino acid in question, was shown to reduce fat mass in obese laboratory rats. Researchers found that supplementing the rats' diet with arginine over a 12-week period decreased the body fat gains of both low-fat fed rats and high-fat fed rats by more than 60 percent.

Arginine naturally occurs in various foods, with particularly high levels in seafood, watermelon juice, nuts, seeds, algae, and meats. The research also indicates that arginine may increase lean tissue growth. Dr. Guoyao Wu, an AgriLife Research animal nutritionist in College Station and Senior Faculty Fellow in the department of animal science at Texas A&M University, commented on the findings:

"Given the current epidemic of obesity in the U.S. and worldwide, our finding is very important. ... This finding could be directly translated into fighting human obesity. ... At this time, arginine has not been incorporated into our food (but could in the future)."(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: nutrition, diet, protein

Posted By: Aspen Education Group