Have you ever gone on a diet and lost the weight – only to have it all come back soon after you went off the diet? I have. More than once. Now, however, science has discovered what might be called a fat-burning switch in the brain that could potentially end this frustrating, disappointing yo-yo situation…
Throw away the Yo-Yo! Maybe. If Carnitine supplements work as well as
their boosters claim. There is now scientific evidence that the
substance can aid in fighting post-diet weight regain…
I’ve been through at least four yo-yo cycles in my adult life. They were what physicists call long-period cycles, taking years to swing from fat to thin to fat again. I’m currently on my way down again, from my size 18 extreme to my ‘natural’ size 12. I can almost get into the size 14 jeans I bought last time I was gaining weight. They’re so old, now, you could consider them ‘retro’. But I’m veering off topic.
The theory…
When we diet, the body is forced to consume stored fat to keep functioning. But when food becomes available after a spell or dieting, a built-in function in the brain begins storing away fat for the next ‘rainy day’. The body is furiously trying to make up for the fat it burned while dieting (‘starving’), and that’s why we gain the weight back again so quickly.
Researchers at Monash University say they’ve definitively linked a protein called carnitine acetyltransferase (Crat) to the mechanism in our brains that controls whether we burn or store fat. Mice whose CRAT protein was genetically turned off burned fat at at a higher rate regardless of whether they were feasting or fasting. If it works in humans, this effect could end our yo-yo weight scenarios once and for all.
“Manipulating this protein offers the opportunity to trick the brain and not replace the lost weight through increased appetite and storage of fat,” study spokesperson Associate Professor Zane Andrews said. “By regulating this protein we can ensure that diet-induced weight loss stays off rather than sneaking back on.”
Body Builders may be way ahead of us…
Carnitine supplements are already on the market, usually found among the protein products body builders use to shed fat and increase muscle. These supplements are apparently used in a number of contexts, of which weight loss/control is a minor one. If taking this stuff can keep me from yo-yoing, I’m interested. But I won’t start on it without talking to my doctor, first.
~ Maggie J.