I know, you’ve seen it all before: spam emails trying to sell you expensive supplements that ‘melt fat off your body’; or machines that dissolve your spare tyre while you watch TV; or meal replacement shakes with a ‘secret fat-destroying ingredient’. Ho hum.
But what if there really were compounds that selectively starve your fat cells of the blood supply they need in order to expand and multiply? And what if they didn’t come in an expensive (and potentially dangerous) pill, but instead, in foods that you can buy at your local supermarket or fruit and vegetable shop. Interested now?
These ‘magical’ compounds are called angiogenesis inhibitors. I know, it’s not a very sexy name, but what it means is quite straightforward: angiogenesis is the process by which new blood vessels are formed from existing ones – like new branches developing from old branches on a tree. And inhibitors stop something from happening. So an angiogenesis inhibitor stops or slows down the formation of new blood vessels.
Now, angiogenesis doesn’t happen randomly. New blood vessels don’t start sprouting from old ones until the endothelial cells lining the blood vessel receive a signal from cells in the neighbourhood. Those signals are normally sent when we suffer an injury, and extra blood vessels are required to send more nutrients to, and remove waste products from, the damaged tissue.
They’re also sent when a woman becomes pregnant, and she needs an additional blood supply to grown an entirely new organ – the placenta – to nourish her growing baby. But in both these cases, the need for angiogenesis is temporary, and the new blood vessels break down when they are no longer required.
There are several conditions, however, in which abnormal angiogenesis occurs – particular cells continuously bombard the endothelial cells with growth messages that increase those cells blood supply, allowing them to replicate themselves and expand the tissue that they’re part of. Cancer, endometriosis and macular degeneration all involve abnormal angiogenesis… and so does obesity.
It works like this: fat cells, or adipocytes, when they’re too full to store any more fat, release angiogenesis-promoting chemicals that stimulate the proliferation of nearby endothelial cells. These form new offshoots of blood vessels that grow into the fat tissue. With a better blood supply, that fat cells can multiply, increasing their ability to store fat. It’s a good solution for cells whose job is to warehouse fat, but for the owner of those cells, it’s an unmitigated disaster.
You see, the endothelial cells, in turn, secrete a chemical that causes a particular type of stem cell, which has the capacity to become either bone or fat, to differentiate into fat. Just what you need: more fat cells, lined up and ready to suck in more fat to expand your waistline!
But here’s where our wonderful angiogenesis inhibitors can come to our rescue. By blocking the signals sent by overstuffed fat cells, these compounds starve fat tissue of its blood supply. When fat cells lose access to nourishment, they begin to apoptose, or commit suicide. The fat they’ve been storing is released into the blood stream were it can be used as fuel by working muscles and other active cells.t to expand through cell division. More fat cells means a greater capacity to store fat.
Many plant foods contain angiogenesis inhibitors, but 5 food groups – green leafy vegetables, legumes (dried beans, peas and lentils), onion family members (including garlic, leeks, shallots and chives), mushrooms and berries – are particularly rich sources.
Incorporating these foods, which also happen to be nutrient powerhouses with low caloric density, into your daily diet is a superb strategy for boosting weight loss.
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