After many a weekend filled with over-indulgence, (as in only the top part of the food pyramid you’re warned to avoid) I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished for the anti-weight genies to grant me the impossible. You know, things like a patch that causes you to avoid fat/calories no matter how much you consume. Or perhaps a shot of elixir that automatically flushes out fat cells and leaves you looking like Gisele. Oooh, or how about an anti-fat vaccine that decreases food intake and increases calorie burn?
Well, the impossible might just become possible as that last one is actually in the works and showing promising results. Portuguese researchers have discovered an anti-hunger vaccine that reduces food intake in mice. In short, the vaccine produces antibodies against the so-called hunger hormone ghrelin. (This hormone is what causes you to be ravenous, especially if you’re dramatically reducing your calories for that evil four-letter word: diet.) So, could a vaccine really allow one to eat less without feeling hungry? Well, the mice in the study evidently did. After being vaccinated, they consumed 50 percent fewer calories. (Ahhh, what I wouldn’t give to consume 50 percent few calories in the desserts and libations department. Why can’t cheesecake and martinis be healthy food sources, dang it?)
Of course studies on humans are a long way off (read: by the time it’s on the market, our tushes will have spread faster than runny pancake batter). Alas, instead of dreaming of genies and weight-loss shots, looks like I’ll have to continue settling for good, old-fashioned clean eating and regular trips to the gym. No guts, no glory…right?
What do you think, CCC readers? Would you try a weight-loss shot?
