Natural Fibre Oligo Fructose: Promising New Diet Product on Human Trial

Filed in archive Studies , Treatment on February 6, 2007

A University of Calgary, Faculty of Kinesiology research team led by Dr. Raylene Reimer may have found a new weapon against obesity in a natural fibre called oligo fructose.

Oligo fructose have already shown efficacy in genetic obese rats enough for Reimer and colleagues to launch the first human trials involving the fibre.

According to Dr. Reimer:

"It's not a chemical or a drug. In fact it's a food product that is already being used in things like yogurt, cereal and baby food. We have found in a previous study with rats that the fiber increases the levels of a satiety hormone called glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) in the body and increases a gene in the intestines that helps the body to create more GLP-1.

It may not be the magic bullet, but in all likelihood this will likely be one factor that people can change in their life to help achieve a healthy body weight. It won't cure obesity or cause people to drop half their body weight -- not even our strongest obesity drugs can do that -- but we believe it could help."

The research team is looking for 50 overweight, but otherwise healthy individuals living in Calgary, Canada who would be required to take a dietary supplement over a three-month period while making no other lifestyle changes.

Read the full report from the University of Calgary.