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Component of Grapefruit Fights Fat

by Rajashri on Jul 15 2009 12:28 AM

University of Western Ontario researchers have revealed that a component found in grapefruit is a fat buster. These findings were revealed after they conducted a mice study.

The substance called naringenin is found in citrus fruits and is particularly abundant in grapefruit. In the mice study, the researchers found it can decrease accumulation of lipids, tryglycerides and cholesterol in the body,

"In a nutshell, it (naringenin) switches the liver away from fat calories and speeds up the metabolism of glucose," said researcher Murray Huff of UWO's Robarts Research Institute. "It reduces the liver's ability to process and store fats."

The study involved 200 mice over 18 months. It found that the mice in naringenin group were able to metabolize glucose faster and also had lower levels of fats in the body.

"The next step is to find out if naringenin prevents heart disease in animals and to explore the feasibility of clinical trials to determine its safety and effectiveness in humans," said Huff.

The details of the study appear in the current edition of the online journal, Diabetes.


Source-Medindia
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