The keys to losing weight are physical exercise and the maintenance of a balance diet, in which food education is a key factor. These have been and continue to be the best tools we have for lose weight. However, we would all like to have a pill that would help us burn excess fat. There are already some attempts, both investigational and on the market, but they generally produce unwanted side effects. For this reason, it continues to be tested with options as curious as the silica obtained from purified sand.
Silica is known to be a good adsorbentthanks to your internal porosity. This means that it has the ability to trap certain atoms through the pores inside it. It is used, for example, to retain moisture on certain products. But that’s just a small sample of what it can do.
And it is that, According to a study recently published in pharmaceuticals by Irish and Australian scientists, could also be a good tool to lose weight, since it kidnaps some of the components that intervene in the release and subsequent storage of fats and sugars in our body. So far, most of the research has been carried out in simulated digestive systems and animal models. However, it is hoped that soon the human clinical trials.
slimming sand
The role of silica in the treatment of obesity has already been observed in previous studies. However, these had many gaps in how it would help the user to slim down.
Therefore, the authors of this new study obtained silica from the sand purification and they separated him into several groups, according to his size and shape. Next, they simulated digestion and observed how the silica nanoparticles interfered with the fat accumulation. Interestingly, the key seemed to be in the hijacking of enzymes involved in fat metabolism.
That is, when we digest a food, different reactions are carried out in which the nutrients that it contains are separated and either absorbed, passed into the blood, or accumulate in tissues. But all these reactions cannot be carried out just like that. They need the intervention of proteins called enzymes, which are specific for each type of reaction. If these are not present, the process cannot be carried out normally.
Therefore, if the silica obtained from purified sand sequesters part of the enzymes of the fat metabolism, it is prevented that it finally ends up accumulating in the tissues. Something similar also happened with the starch digestionin which a large amount of sugars are released.
Size does matter
The authors of this study found that the perfect silica particles were those whose pores had a width of between 6 and 10 nanometers. They were the ideal dimensions to optimize the process.
This was seen in the simulated digestive system, but has also been seen in numerous mouse studies. when they are made to eat porous silica particles from purified sand, gain less weight on a high-fat diet than those who do not eat this treatment. It has also been carried out a small trial with obese humans, in which it was possible to reduce the levels of glucose and cholesterol in the blood. But there were only ten people. It will be necessary to replicate the research with many more participants. And that is the wish of these scientists.
At the moment, it seems that you can get results with virtually no side effects. That’s the best part. But there is still much to investigate. In the meantime, we will have to continue with exercise and a healthy diet. After all, losing weight is just one of the many advantages of carrying out these habits. Not even sand or silica could make us abandon them.