We all know how tough dieting can be.
And if it was not tough enough, dieting gets even harder as you age. That is because your resting energy expenditure decreases significantly as you get older.
Simply put, you burn less calories on a daily basis than your younger counterparts.
The good news is new research shows that a very unlikely supplement can naturally “boost” you resting metabolic rate – increasing the dialy number of calories (and the amount of fat) you burn, even at rest.
It is a seaweed extract called fucoxanthin (pronounced fyoo-koh-zan-thin).
Its fat burning powers were discovered by accident, when Japanese marine biologists were studying the effects of fucoxanthin on animals.
They found that mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (USP1) was expressed in white adipose (fat) tissue.
Translation: fucoxanthin can “switch on” the fat-burning potential of white fat. That means you can safely increase your metabolic rate and enhance your body’s fat-burning ability.
Your body has two kinds of fat – white fat and brown fat. Brown fat is used to generate body heat. It actually uses your body’s energy stores to create heat by “burning” the energy stores (thermogenesis).
It is found in big quantities in newborns and is rare in adults. It serves as a mechanism against getting too cold, by heating up the body without having to move or exercise.
White fat, on the other hand, has only one purpose: to store energy. The reason why the researchers were so surprised is that fucoxanthin appears to make white fat act significantly like brown fat – something previously thought highly unlikely.
The end result of white fat acting like brown fat is your body will burn off more fat stores (and calories) through thermogenesis.
And while is did this in animals, researchers wanted to find out if fucoxanthin did the same thing in humans. Early studies suggest it does – really well.
The study, published in the January 2010 issue of the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, found that fucoxanthin is remarkable when it comes to weight loss.
Obese, non-diabetic women who took fucoxanthin for 16 weeks (with a controlled, 1,800 calorie diet) dropped an average of 15 pounds.
The placebo group (also on a controlled, 1,800 calorie diet) only dropped three!
Fucoxanthin is showing promising results as a safe, natural fat-burner. You can find it in supplement form at most health food stores.
Remember, nothing should ever take the place of a solid weight training/ cardio program, combined with proper nutrition.
Fucoxanthin should only be used in addition to these healthy habits to boost your fat loss efforts.
Stay Strong and Healthy,
Peter Holmes
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