Seaweed Reverses Metabolic Syndrome

Too good to be true? When rats ate a small amount of seaweed on a junk food diet; no metabolic syndrome. It was if they were eating normal food. Seaweed negated a junk food diet. Professor Brown was astonished.

Rats fed seaweed reverses metabolic syndrome caused by a junk food diet. Sounds too good to be true? Professor Brown was astonished. This animal study was published in 2017 but few seem to understand the ramifications. You can negate a junk food diet with seaweed. Alternatively, you will be able to reverse the ill-health effects of a bad diet.

The Trial

Professor Lindsay Brown University of Southern Queensland supervised this PhD study along with Dr Sunil Pachal at the University of Southern Queensland. The paper is listed below.

They took rats and fed some of them on an junk food (extra sugar + fat) diet. Just like in the movie Super Size Me, a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock. Spurlock’s film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003, during which he ate only McDonald’s food. The film documents this lifestyle’s drastic effect on Spurlock’s physical and psychological well-being. If you want to see what a human on junk food diet looks like. Or not.

Professor Brown’s trial had 3 groups of 10 rats each. Group 1 had normal rat diet. Group 2 had a Junk food diet. Group 3 had the junk food diet plus some seaweed (Kappaphycus sp) . The trial went for 8 weeks.

Outcomes

This data is taken directly from the peer reviewed published paper, and highlights a few key metrics. There are other more complicated conclusions as well.

Seaweed Reverses Metabolic Syndrome:Weight

	Normal	Supersize	Supersize+ Seaweed
Final Weight g	350	431	348
Energy Intake kJ/day	38	23	21
Feed conversion efficiency g/Kj	0.04	0.2	0.03

Fatness

Indicator	Normal	Supersize	Supersize+ Seaweed
Circumference cm	18.4	20.5	18.9
Abdominal Fat mg/mm	342	632	337
Total Fat Mass Times	49	98	53

Bone Density

Indicator	Normal	Supersize	Supersize+ Seaweed
Bone Mineral Density g/cm2	10	12	10

Blood Measures

Indicator	Normal	Supersize	Supersize+ Seaweed
Basal Blood Glucose mmol/L	3.7	4.7	3.6
Total Glucose mmol/L.min	650	800	753
Triglycerides mmol/L	0.6	1.7	1.3
Systolic Blood Pressure mm	120	136	127

NO WEIGHT GAIN. WHY NOT?

From Wanyonyi 2017. The rats on the junk food + seaweed were no different in weight than the standard diet, in contrast to rats on a junk food diet.

BLOOD GLUCOSE BACK TO NORMAL

From Wanyonyi 2017. Blood glucose controlled with seaweed provided as a dietary supplement.

Additional Measures

Gut microbiota diversification profiling
Metal and metalloid liver analysis
Histology
Organ weights
Body composition
Fatty liver disease reversal
Gut microbiome reverts to normal
Gut inflammation eliminated.
Damage to the heart was reversed.

BLOOD PRESSURE. NO HYPERTENSION

From du Preez 2020. Seaweed markedly reduces liver inflammatory cells in less than 8 weeks. The damage is completely mitigated by the seaweed.

GUT MICROBIOME CHANGES

Figure from Waynonyi 2017. The microbiome was radically changed with the introduction of Kappaphycus alvarezii to the diets of the junk food animals.

Conclusion

Professor Brown was astonished. The introduction of seaweed did not reduce the symptoms a little. The seaweed had such a dramatic effect it was if these rats had not eaten the junk food diet. What was going on?

References

[1] Wanyonyi, S; du Preez, R; Brown, L; Paul, N; Panchal, S 2017 Kappaphycus alvarezii as a Food Supplement Prevents Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in Rats. Nutrients (9) 11 DOI:10.3390/nu9111261 (Click for Abstract) (Click to download full paper)

Next Read: Seaweed reduces obesity? Will it save Queensland's Fattest City? »

animal studiesblood pressureclinical evidencemetabolic syndromemicrobiomeobesity