The green melanocortin molecules have red centers when activated to trigger satiety. This causes free radical damage. Credit: Tomas Horvath, Yale University
A new study just out from Yale University talks about the “catch 22″ of free radicals and appetite suppressant. The study has some major implications for how we eat, what we eat, and what this means for how we age.
The research suggests the molecules that are responsible for releasing satiety cues to our body telling us to stop eating become inflamed from free radicals during the process. Over time the system gradually breaks down and we don’t become as good as telling ourselves we’re full. This triggers even more free radicals to fire off, which ultimately causes us to age faster.
This is absolutely fascinating to me. Is this the kernel that explains why obesity is related to so many causes of death?
This also triggers an avalanche of questions for me. All the measurements were taken on lab rats with obesity-inducing diets (i.e., a typical American diet). Can we manipulate the response of the cells if we feed it better food? If we focus on free radical nutralizing foods, such as colorful fruits and vegetables, will that help? If feeling full triggers the response, then should we follow the old Japanese adage of eating until we’re “80% full?”
I suspect the answer to these questions are yes, but we’ll need more studies to find out. I really think this is an important wake up call here.
The American diet is setting up what could literally be a “death spiral.” Some bad greasy fries here, a little more death to the cells there … do it enough times and bingo, welcome to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc.
What do you think of this tidbit of information? How important do you think food content is to aging? Does this make you want to have a salad for lunch?
Lisa
