A Pill to Loss Weight and Gain Muscle
Studies have showed that age related muscle loss, called sarcopenia, is a natural part of aging. After age 30, you begin to lose as much as 3% to 5% per decade. Most men will lose about 30% of their muscle mass during their lifetimes. It may be faster in sedentary and obese individuals.
A recent research have discovered chemical compound that helped elderly mice with obesity lose fat and weight, add muscle and strength, reduce age-related inflammation and increase physical activity.
The study, published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, provides the first evidence that BAM15, a mitochondrial uncoupler, prevents muscle fat deposition, or age-related muscle loss accompanied by an increase in fat tissue. “Loss of muscle mass is typically not a concern in younger adults with obesity. However, as people age, that changes. Older adults with sarcopenic (muscle) obesity suffer accelerated muscle loss. They become less active. As a result, they are at high risk for falls, stroke, heart disease, poorer quality of life and premature death,” according to Christopher Axelrod, MS, Director of Pennington Biomedical Research Center‘s Integrated Physiology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory.
The weakness and frailty common to sarcopenic (muscle) obesity are offset in older mice—the equivalent of aged 60-65 in human years—given BAM15. The mice, all of whom had obesity, were fed high-fat diets. Despite that, the mice given BAM15 lost weight and got stronger and more active.
“Typically, when you lose weight, you also lose muscle, and in some circumstances, you can lose a lot of it,” Axelrod said. “In this study, the aged mice increased their muscle mass by an average of 8%, their strength by 40%, while they lost more than 20% of their fat.”
BAM15 works by making the mitochondria , the power plants of the cell, less efficient. The result is that the mitochondria burn more energy. At this point, the researchers are reluctant to describe BAM15 as a miracle drug. The result is that the mitochondria burn more energy. Researchers believe BAM15 could be used to treat a number of health conditions including diabetes, fatty liver disease and some forms of cancer. We will need more research to determine its effectiveness for people.
However, the findings about BAM15 have important implications for improving the quality of life for older adults, especially for the rapidly growing number of people with obesity. Preventing, delaying, or reversing the causes and consequences of sarcopenic obesity may allow people to live longer and healthier lives.
“These data highlight that mitochondrial uncouplers may play an important role in improving health span—the time a person enjoys good health—in advanced age,” said Pennington Biomedical Executive Director John Kirwan, PhD.
BAM15 improves many of the key determinants of health and aging, including:
- Removing damaged mitochondria
- Making more healthy mitochondria, and
- Reducing “inflammaging,” or age-related inflammation, linked to muscle loss
Can you regain muscle mass after 60 years of age with medications? “Our lab and others have shown repeatedly” that older muscles will grow and strengthen, says Marcas Bamman, the director of the UAB Center for Exercise Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. BAM15 reverses diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance in mice.
Obesity is a health problem affecting over 40% of US adults and 13% of the global population. Anti-obesity treatments, including diet, exercise, surgery and pharmacotherapies, have so far failed to reverse obesity incidence. We associate obesity with shortened lifespan and contribute to complications, including infertility, mental health problems and metabolic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, fatty liver disease, and at least 13 types of cancer. Identification of drugs that safely reverse obesity could increase healthspan and improve quality of life on a global scale.
As we all know, exercise and calorie restriction are effective anti-obesity interventions, but few patients adhere to the lifelong diet and exercise programs required, so BAM15 may be a welcome addition to treatment of obesity. BAM15 may help, but there is still a need to have an intentional lifestyle change to incorporate a healthy diet and exercise program. Obesity is a complex disorder that is difficult to overcome. Obesity is influenced by genetic, psychological and environmental factors that include basal metabolic rate, satiety, hormone balance, physical activity, and food choices.
Any loss of muscle matters because it lessens strength and mobility. Sarcopenia typically happens faster around age 75. But it may also speed up as early as 65 or as late as 80. It’s a factor in frailty and the likelihood of falls and fractures in older adults. According to the CDC, Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among adults age 65 and older, and the age-adjusted fall death rate is increasing. The age-adjusted fall death rate is 64 deaths per 100,000 older adults. Fall death rates among adults age 65 and older increased about 30% from 2009 to 2018.
These numbers reinforce the need to improve muscle mass and strength as one gets older. That is why physicians who specialized in geriatric medicine (care older adults 65 and up) asks their patient if they have had any falls since their last visit.After elderly folks sustains an injury that requires surgery, they usually undergo physical rehabilitation to improve their muscle strength and mobility. More important is to prevent these falls through exercise to improve muscle strength because, once a fracture occurs because of a fall, there is an increase in mortality.
There products of BAM 15 sold over counter, before using them the author strongly advise you to consult your physician.
Disclaimer: The author have no financial interest in any company that market the product.
