Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
|
|
||||||||
04.11.2015 |
|
A year on melatonin: a couple of kilos less fat and a couple of kilos more lean body mass
Long-term supplementation with a low dose of melatonin reduces fat reserves by a couple of kilograms and increases lean body mass by almost the same amount. Endocrinologists at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark discovered this after getting women aged 56-73 to take 1 or 3 mg melatonin every evening for a year.
Melatonin
As more and more people are becoming obese, the Danes were particularly interested in the effects of melatonin on fat mass. It's not precisely known how melatonin inhibits the growth of fat tissue, but in-vitro research has shown that melatonin decreases the activity of the fat receptor PPAR-gamma in fat cells, so they grow less fast. [J Pineal Res. 2010 Nov;49(4):364-72.] [J Pineal Res. 2009 Oct;47(3):221-7.] Melatonin also seems to play an important role in the regulation of the glucose/insulin balance. [Eur J Pharmacol. 2009;606(1-3):61-71.]
Study
All of the women were showing the first signs of osteoporosis and were taking a daily dose of 800 mg calcium and 20 mcg vitamin D3. The researchers also wondered whether melatonin can help strengthen bones.
Resultaten
The researchers discovered that melatonin supplementation made the women's bodies more sensitive to insulin. The higher the women's BMI, the stronger the effect, as is shown in the figure below.
The increase in insulin sensitivity may have been due to the increase in secretion of adiponectin by the fat cells. Conclusion
"Our findings may be explained by a melatonin-driven increase in osteogenesis resulting in decreased adipogenesis. On the basis of our study, melatonin may be an interesting therapeutic agent for future treatment strategies against osteoporosis and age-related changes in body composition."
Source:
More:
Archives:
|
|