".....having one in your bedroom would cut down on the birth rate too"
Posted on 05/17/2012 10:56:25 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A naturally occurring compound in the saliva of the Gila monster lizard helps reduce food cravings, by downgrading how rewarding a sweet treat is to rats, new research suggests.
After ingesting the compound, called exendin-4, the rats lost their cravings for both food and chocolate, the researchers said. Their study will be published in the April 4th issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
"The implications of the findings are significant," study researcher Suzanne Dickson, of the University of Gothenburg, said in a statement. "Most dieting fails because we are obsessed with the desire to eat, especially tempting foods like sweets. As exendin-4 suppresses the cravings for food, it can help obese people to take control of their weight."
In the study they found that the compound makes eating less rewarding in the brain, a reaction that can get out of control in obese people, who keep eating in search of more rewarding activity in the brain and often become addicted to eating.
"This is both unknown and quite unexpected effect," study researcher Karolina Skibicka, also of the University of Gothenburg, said in a statement. "Our decision to eat is linked to the same mechanisms in the brain which control addictive behaviors. We have shown that exendin-4 affects the reward and motivation regions of the brain."
Research on exendin-4 also gives hope for new ways to treat eating disorders, for example, compulsive overeating. They also think that exendin-4 may be used to reduce alcohol or drug cravings, Skibicka said: "It is the same brain regions which are involved in food cravings and alcohol cravings, so it would be very interesting to test whether exendin-4 also reduces the cravings for alcohol."
A synthetic version of exendin-4is currently available (it's called Exenatide), and is used by type2diabetics to help control blood sugar levels.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Then how the hell does it ever eat???!?
I mean, DUH.....
Suffering succotash!. :-)
“Gila Monster Saliva Reduces Food Cravings”
Now who doesn’t know that! I mean, really.
Thxs, for the thread.. is there a reptile ping list?
".....having one in your bedroom would cut down on the birth rate too"
Gila Monster venom reduces food craving huh? So does rattler venom, cobra venom, arsenic, .45 cal slugs, grizzly bear attacks,,,etc.
I’ve got it. When a Gila Monster locks onto your arm and your can’t get its jaws to release, the last thing you’ll be thinking about is food.
Makes sense to me /s
ping.
First it was toad-licking....
I can only imagine what this will lead to. :p
Why do you think Gila monsters all live in the desert?
It tightens up the stomach. A few years back my doctor got on a kick of trying all the new stuff for diabetes, and he put me on it, a shot before the evening meal. The problem is that I don’t eat much as it is, and it was making me too sick to eat my second meal. It wasn’t worth the $50 bucks a month.
Sounds like something that goes into witches’ brew, while they chant:
Saliva of monster,
eye of Newt,
Give up donuts,
Eat more fruit!
ummmmm......no thanks, I’m good.
I knew Helen Thomas and Joyce Behar were good for something.
So I wonder what made then want to investigate the saliva of a gila monster?
And who the heck would ever want to test this?
I gotta admit the thought of drinking Gila monster spit doesn’t do much for my appetite...
Yep, get your own Gila monster and give it a big ole sloppy kiss! No more sppetite.
Having a Gila monster spit on my food, does reduce my appetite.
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