Supplements Slow Weight Gain
Reported April 6, 2005
SEATTLE (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) — The dreaded middle-aged pounds have a new enemy … Well, four to be exact. New research shows some common supplements can keep that weight from building up as you get older.
Dawn Jones reaches for a balance between mind and body to get rid of unhealthy anxiety. It’s a balance that includes vitamin B supplements. “I’ve noticed definite changes in my stress levels,” she says. “My stress levels are way lower than they used to be.”
While the B vitamins are known to lower stress, scientists have discovered a new benefit. Vitamins B6 and B12 may slow down that middle-aged weight gain. The same goes for multivitamins and chromium.
Jennifer Lovejoy, Ph.D., a nutrition research scientist at Bastyr University in Seattle, says, “One of the things that chromium does and perhaps some of the B vitamins do is help to stabilize your blood sugar so you don’t get the big fluctuations in insulin and maybe have less hunger.”
The new study also finds the four supplements have the most benefit for people who are overweight or obese when they’re 45 years old. That may be because they tend to have lower levels of these vitamins.
“It’s hard to know which is coming first. Is it the deficiency causing the obesity, or does the obesity and the associated poor eating habits actually cause the lower levels of the vitamins?” Lovejoy tells Ivanhoe.
Avoiding that extra weight is just another part of the balance Jones wants for her body. She says, “Of course as we all age it’s a huge concern, gaining weight. It gets harder and harder to keep the pounds off.” And this new research simply gives her one more reason to take her vitamins.
Researchers warn that no supplement is a weight-+loss “magic bullet.” It takes fewer calories to maintain our body weight as we age, that means compensating by eating less and exercising more.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Kathleen Warren
Director of Medical Community Relations
Bastyr University
14500 Juanita Dr. NE
Kenmore, WA 98028-4966
(425) 602-3103
[email protected]
