Developed countries spend a lot of money on treating obesity and related diseases. According to
Probiotics for Weight Management
Large-scale study of Danish and Finnish scientistsin 2019 proved that probiotics and prebiotics in the process of life release several enzymes that help break down fats and complex carbohydrates. This has a positive effect on maintaining a normal body mass index of a person.
In 2021, the patent office registered three patents related to probiotics:
- A new strain of lactic acid bacteria whose enzymes prevent the formation of new fat cells and help break down fat into glycerin and fatty acids.
- Another new probiotic strain that lowers sugar levels and helps break down glucose, as well as preventing the formation of fat cells.
- A combination of probiotics and chlorogenic acid, as a drug to reduce the absorption of sugars and improve metabolism.
Two of the three patents are in Korean.This should not be surprising: South Korea is the undisputed leader in this area. In 2021, 297 patents have already been registered, which deal with solving the problem of obesity in the world. For comparison, the Swiss company Nestlé has registered only 35 developments in this area - and this is almost all US patents.
This market consists not only of certainfood products and dietary supplements that are sold in stores and pharmacies. Other products appear on the market, for example, a variety of drinks, cereals and jellies. And further research into prebiotics and probiotics will allow for more effective supplements in the future.
Plant-based foods for weight maintenance
There is another promising area whereactive research. Here, researchers come to the attention of not only rare and specific plants, but also quite common ones, familiar to millions of consumers.
For example, the Korean ResearchThe Food Institute in 2021 investigated the health benefits of common hot pepper leaves. It turned out that the extract from them has beneficial properties: it reduces the rate of accumulation of fat and the formation of fat cells, reduces the level of cholesterol and triglycerides, and also significantly reduces the risk of obesity and associated health problems.
The study turned out to be so promising that scientists immediately registered a patent for the technology. And in the foreseeable future they are going to put it into production.
A few numbers to understand the prospects:in the world annually grow about 68.3 million tons of hot pepper. Leaves are not used in production - most often they are used as animal feed or used as a natural fertilizer. Raw materials even in one small country are enough to bring the additive to the international level.
Herbal weight control products can last much longer than probiotic products, greatly simplifying logistics, expanding markets and making the product more affordable for the consumer.
There are already many herbal products on the marketorigin, the use of which allows you to control weight. For example, kombucha (a generalized name for several varieties of symbiosis of a yeast fungus with a bacterium, known from childhood as kombucha). It contains many B vitamins, antioxidants and probiotics that tone the body and have a positive effect on the body mass index.
Two more significant patents were registered in 2021.
- The Korean company Well Fine Co has proven thatChokeberry drinks are rich in antioxidants that help scavenge free radicals and are a good supplement for dieting and weight loss. Research is still ongoing, but this patent could restore the popularity of chokeberry cosmetics and food products.
- Obesity helps prevent even suchplants like wormwood and dandelion. As active ingredients in nutritional supplements, the combination of these plants lowers the level of cholesterol, triglycerides and the ALT enzyme in the blood, which indirectly reduces the percentage of body fat. The study was published by scientists from the United States and Korea.
Low-calorie counterparts
People often try to replace sugar on purpose.developed products for patients with diabetes mellitus. For example, if you eat candy with fructose, then this will not lead to obesity. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.
Fructose and glucose contain the same amountcalories. However, it negatively affects the metabolism and may contribute to the increased formation of fat cells. Therefore, fructose is not recommended for overweight or obese people.
Big business pays special attention to research and novelties in this area. And the following inventions can be considered the most promising this year:
- Rye yogurt.At Hebei University of Technology (Korea)created a new technology for the production of yoghurt using rye flour, chicory powder and stevia. The patent states that the cooking technology preserves the prebiotics and health benefits of yoghurt, and also helps maintain normal blood pressure and blood sugar.
- Cookies for weight loss.Yes, this is how they position their inventionspecialists from Chonkin University. It contains a fiber powder that satisfies hunger without excessive calories. And instead of sugar in cookies, xylitol (or xylitol - colorless, hygroscopic crystals of a sweet taste, soluble in water, alcohol, glycols, acetic acid and pyridine), so it is ideal as a snack between meals. And we believe that we will see products based on this technology on store shelves pretty soon.
- Artificial riceYamasato Co has patented the technologyproduction of rice substitute. Pseudo rice has much less calories and at the same time it helps the body regulate blood sugar levels, which is extremely useful for treating obesity.
It’s not even the technologies themselves that are remarkable, butconstant attempts by scientists to improve modern food, make it healthier and safer. Companies and investors are investing huge amounts of money in the development of the food industry, and big business is immediately trying to put innovation into practice.
Along with the popularization of sports and productionaffordable healthy food, innovative products are becoming a real solution to the world's obesity problem. Of course, statistically significant development results will be noticeable only in many years, but they can already reduce the problem of overweight around the world.
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