Scientists from Texas have discovered a way to eat anything and not get fat

Researchers reprogrammed mitochondria for a ‘Western diet’

Starting a powerful metabolism that allows you to eat as much sweet and fatty as you like without getting fat, researchers from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio, with the assistance of several US Department of Defense National Institutes of Health, managed to start. The new method has been tested on laboratory mice. Russian scientist, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexei Moskalev commented on the discovery.

The essence of the new idea, published in the journal Cell Reports, is to limit the transport of magnesium into cellular “power plants” called mitochondria. The calculation was that this would interrupt their usual, measured rhythm and force them to work twice as actively, burning additional fat reserves in the body.

It all started with an experiment on the process of metabolism, that is, the production and consumption of energy in cells. As we know, energy is produced in the “energy stations” of our cells – mitochondria. Absorbing carbohydrates and fats, the mitochondrion produces the main energy substrate of our body – ATP (adenosine triphosphate acid). ATP is formed due to the timely entry of magnesium into the same mitochondria.

But the researchers decided to test what would change if they “played” with the amount of magnesium. They reduced its entry into the mitochondria by deleting the MRS2 gene from the mouse, and this increased the efficiency of sugar and fat metabolism in the cellular power plant. As a result, no matter how much later the genetically modified mice were fed with sugar and fatty foods, they remained “lean and healthy,” stopping the MRS2 gene prevented their weight gain and adverse liver changes even after prolonged consumption of “bad foods”.

The next step was to create a drug that the researchers call CPACC (it is still being tested). It helps to achieve the same effect as the “turned off” gene: it limits the amount of magnesium in the “power plant”, and in mice, after taking it, against the background of eating sweet and fatty foods, neither obesity nor type 2 diabetes occurs.

“When we give this drug to mice for a short time, they start to lose weight. They all become slim,” says Madesh Muniswami, MD, professor of medicine at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine (USA, Texas).

According to the authors of the work, if the drug passes all the necessary tests, it can enable a person to “sit” for life on a “Western” high-fat diet without health consequences.

How this can work in practice, Doctor of Biology Alexey Moskalev explained to MK:

– Magnesium plays a key role in the synthesis of ATP in mitochondria. By limiting its intake, scientists have achieved the effect of harmony in experimental rodents due to the mechanism of separation of the processes of oxidation of food components and ATP synthesis. With such an impact (the authors call it “metabolism programming”), the cell burns the incoming fuel, but the amount of energy at the same time (due to the lack of magnesium) does not increase enough. Therefore, the cell begins to “throw into the furnace” even more fat reserves that store the maximum amount of energy.

The main question is: is it good for energy-consuming organs – the brain, heart, muscles, kidneys, liver … After all, magnesium is considered a powerful cardio- and neuroprotector because it helps these organs successfully replenish energy costs. It would be interesting to know how long the mice lived in the experiment compared to the controls. Not everything that allows you to lose weight quickly is conducive to long-term health and active longevity.

Help “MK” Magnesium is the fourth most abundant element in the body after calcium, potassium, and sodium and plays an important role in maintaining health, including regulating blood sugar, blood pressure, and bone formation.