Newcastle University scientists have said that research indicates that seaweed could be a powerful tool in the fight against obesity.
They have discovered that the fibre found in sea kelp, alginate, can reduce the update of fat by the body by up to 75%. The scientists created an ‘articifical gut’, which was used as a tool to test how 60 different natural fibres affected the digestion of fat.
Alginate is already used in foods in small quantities as a thickener. Dr. Iain Brownlee, who headed the research, said that their findings suggested that if the seaweed product was added to commonly eaten foods, such as bread, biscuits and yoghurts, three quarters of the fat content in the meal could just pass through the body.
He added that when his team added alginate to bread, initial taste tests were encouraging and that they were agreed clinical trials were now needed to see how effective alginate is when eaten as part of a normal diet.
He added that many slimming pills sold over the counter made claims for miracle weight loss, but only a few had gone through clinical trials to gain scientific evidence to back them up.
One pill already uses alginate as the key ingredient, Goldshield’s APPEsat. Clinical trials showed the pill reduces appetite, though this is thought to be due to the seaweed expanding in the stomach and sending messages to the brain relating to satiety and how full the belly is.
Obesity charity The National Obesity Forum greeted the Newcastle team’s findings cautiously. Dr. David Haslam, chair of the organisation, told the BBC that the findings looked interesting but that they could only recommend it if there were positive results from vigorous trials.