One of the side effects holiday season fun times is increased weight gain. In addition to calorie restriction and exercise several new exciting supplements are being studied that could help accelerate weight loss.
In addition to overindulgence a major contributor to abdominal fat accumulation is the age-related decline in AMPK, a master regulator of cellular energy expenditure.
As we age levels of intracellular AMPK decrease. This important enzyme is major contributor to energy metabolism and regulation within each cell. Researchers studying AMPK noticed an interesting side effect-increasing AMPK levels led to a reduction of test subjects abdominal fat.
Gymnostemma Pentaphyllum, also known as jiaogulan, is an herb found throughout Asia and studied to increase intracellular levels of AMPK. A member of the cucumber and gourd family this herb is also highly anti-inflammatory and adaptgenic.
In a recent human trial daily doses of 450mg Gymnostemma Pentaphyllum for 12 weeks led to a decrease in abdominal body fat of 11% as compared to placebo.
