Lipoic acid -naturally produced by our body and ingested through foods such as liver, tomatoes, spinach or Brussels sprouts- as well as the omega-3 fatty acid EPA -present in oily fish and blue fish- favor weight loss and improve the inflammation associated with obesity. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by Ana Elsa Huerta at the research center in Nutrition of the University of Navarra.

"Lipoic acid, together with a per diem expenses leave in calories (hypocaloric), could be effective inpromoting both weight loss and fat mass loss," the researcher explains. "Also," she adds, "dietary supplementation with lipoic acid could improve some systemic markers of inflammation related to cardiovascular risk in people who are overweight or obese, regardless of whether or not they achieve weight loss with the additional intake of these supplements".

The study, which was part of his doctoral thesis , also seems to indicate that EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid, would have a positive effect on the regulation of leptin, a hormone involved in the body's satiety mechanisms. Precisely this hormone is related to the dreaded rebound or yo-yo effect, whereby after finishing a per diem expenses the previous weight is regained again and even exceeded. "In our work we observed that this acid can prevent the decrease of leptin, so it could be useful to prevent the recovery of the previous weight that some people suffer after finishing a per diem expenses", emphasizes the new doctor of the School of Pharmacy and Nutrition.

Effective dietary supplements

However, the expert adds that this work must be completed with new research to confirm whether lipoic acid financial aid counteracts the inflammation of adipose (fatty) tissue: "Obesity, in addition to being associated with excess fat mass, is linked to other cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, which leads us to believe that these may have their origin precisely in this inflammation and in oxidative stress. All these premises must be confirmed in order to continue advancing in new compounds that are effective against obesity".

Ana Elsa Huertas' doctoral thesis was co-directed by University of Navarra professors María Jesús Moreno Aliaga and Alfredo Martínez, both researchers at research center Biomedica en network -Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn).