Higher Leucine Prevents Obesity

[Pianoman]

Researchers at the University of Illinois have conducted studies that examined weight loss diets that contained 10 g/day of leucine and 125 g total protein per day with a minimum of 2.5 g leucine at each meal. In two separate studies, this group demonstrated that the high leucine diets resulted in greater weight loss, greater fat loss, and better preservation of lean body mass. In these studies, the high leucine diets also resulted in better glucose control. A recent animal study provided some important details on the cellular mechanisms by which leucine regulated body fat. In this study animals that doubled their leucine intake were resistant to diet-induced obesity and improved a host of metabolic disturbances. The higher leucine intake caused an increase in energy expenditure and an increased expression of uncoupling protein 3, which causes energy to be given off as heat rather than stored as fat. These studies all support the use of high protein diets to maximize fat loss and spare muscle loss during weight loss.

Zhang Y, Guo K, LeBlanc RE, Loh D, Schwartz GJ, Yu YH. Increasing dietary leucine intake reduces diet-induced obesity and improves glucose and cholesterol metabolism in mice via multimechanisms. Diabetes. 2007 Jun;56(6):1647-54. Epub 2007 Mar 14.

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Leucine is one of the 8 essential amino acids, this essentially means it cannot be produced naturally within the body and hence must be ingested. All 8 of these amino's are critical so it is extremely important that your diet consists of foods that contain these essential amino's or at worst supplemented through synthetic means. All 8 essential amino's are useful in a variety of metabolic pathways and biological systems in our bodies.

One or more of the actions of some of these essential amino's are dependant upon the others or EFA's so ensure your getting them in adequete amounts. I think the results of the above study may be reliant on the fact Leucine promtoes growth hormone synthesis and this is were the fat loss component comes into play.

Foods rich in Leucine are fish, nuts, beef, eggs and especially soybean.