Eat sand and lose weight, have you ever thought about it? Did you ever imagine that grains of sand would become the next anti-obesity treatment? It seems this could be an option, because new research from the University of South Australia shows that porous silica can inhibit the absorption of fats and carbohydrates in the body.
The research, published in the journal “Pharmaceutics”, was conducted in a laboratory and has not yet been tested on animals and humans. The researchers used engineered silica particles made from pure sand, with a high surface area that allows it to absorb large amounts of digestive enzymes, fats and sugars within the digestive system.
This is the first study that investigated the ability of porous silica particles to inhibit digestion processes and stop the absorption of fats and sugar. Lead researcher Dr Paul Joyce of the University of South Australia says the discovery could change the health of obese people.
He adds that “obesity is a global problem that affects more than 1.9 billion people worldwide”, but “however, there is currently a lack of effective treatments without harmful effects, such as diarrhea, bloating and abdominal pain, which often prevent people from starting treatment” .
He explains that “porous silica has received increasing attention for its ability to fight obesity, as trials have shown it to be a safe treatment. However, the exact way it works has eluded researchers, until now.”
“Our research demonstrates how porous silica increases its anti-obesity effect by acting locally in the gut to reduce the digestion and absorption of fats and carbohydrates,” Joyce added.
The in vitro study tested multiple samples of silica under simulated conditions that mimic the gastrointestinal environment during the digestion of a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal.
He found that porous silica particles, whose pore widths ranged from 6 to 10 nm, were ideal for creating an inhibitory response to both lipids and sugars.
The next steps are to validate these results with animal models of obesity, so that scientists can identify any differences for optimal conditions to fight obesity.
What is obesity? According to the World Health Organization, overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may harm health.
BMI is a simple weight-for-height indicator commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. The BMI is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters (kg/square meter). Obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or more.
What is overweight? Overweight is defined as having a BMI of 25 or higher.