Fucoxanthin
Monday, November 10th, 2008Background
Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid, with formula C42H58O6. Metabolic and nutritional studies carried out on rats and mice at Hokkaido University indicate that fucoxanthin promotes fat burning within fat cells in white adipose tissue by increasing the expression of thermogenin (used to generate heat). Through an extraction process, Fucoxanthin is available in pill form and available as a dietary supplement. Say goodbye to fat, forever!
What is Fucoxanthin?
Fucoxanthin is an all natural ingredient found in edible seaweed which possesses strong thermogenic effects without affecting your central nervous system, so it doesn’t give you the jitters or affect your sleep. Fucoxanthin actually boosts your metabolism, breaking down and accelerating fat loss.
Although brown seaweed is the richest source of fucoxanthin, you would have to eat an unrealistic amount of it daily to get fucoxanthin levels close to those used in research studies.
Why Do People Use Fucoxanthin?
Weight Loss
Fucoxanthin is being explored for weight loss. So far, only animal studies have been done. Japanese researchers have found that fucoxanthin (isolated from wakame) promotes the loss of abdominal fat in obese mice and rats. Animals lost 5 to 10% of their body weight.
Although it’s not fully understood how fucoxanthin works, it appears to target a protein called UCP1 that increases the rate at which abdominal fat is burned. Abdominal fat is the kind of fat that surrounds our organs and is linked to heart disease and diabetes. Fucoxanthin also appears to stimulate the production of DHA, one of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish such as salmon.
Fucozanthin is a promising and popular nutritional supplement. Researchers are confident that it will work in humans the same way it has worked in animals. If it does prove to be effective, fucoxanthin could be developed into a diet pill for obesity.
Diabetes
Fucoxanthin has also been found in animal studies to decrease insulin and blood glucose levels. Researchers hypothesize that fucoxanthin anti-diabetes effect may be because fucoxanthin appears to promote the formation of DHA (the omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oil). DHA is thought to increase insulin sensitivity, improve triglycerides and reduce LDL (”bad”) cholesterol.
Cancer
Preliminary research in test tubes suggests that fucoxanthin may have anti-tumor effects. No studies have looked at whether this holds true in humans or if taken orally. It’s far too early for fucoxanthin to be used as a complementary treatment for cancer.
Side Effects
Because there hasn’t been research on fucoxanthin in humans, the possible side effects aren’t well known.
People shouldn’t consume large amounts of wakame or other types of seaweed as a source of fucoxanthin. Seaweed is rich in iodine and excessive consumption may result in iodine poisoning. High levels of iodine can interfere with the function of the thyroid gland. Also, consuming excess amounts of iodine-rich foods isn’t recommended if there is a known allergy or hypersensitivity to iodine.