Adding mussels to obesogenic diet prevents weight gain, lowers cholesterol

A study published in the journal Nutrition Research revealed that blue mussels may potentially lower cholesterol levels by inhibiting cholesterol synthesis. This, in turn, can protect against obesity and heart disease.

• Researchers from Memorial University in Canada hypothesized that dietary intake of blue mussels would prevent weight gain and improve lipid profiles of mice fed with a high-fat diet.
• Obesity is associated with health problems like cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and hypertension, while dyslipidemia in obesity is one of the major causes of health problems.
• In earlier lab studies, the Canadian researchers have found that blue mussels are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the heart, and induce anti-obesity and insulin-sensitizing effects.
• To test their hypothesis, the researchers fed mice with a high-fat diet supplemented with blue mussels for four weeks.
• Then, they switched the mice’s diet to a high-fat diet only for another four weeks.
• Results showed that mice fed with a high-fat diet supplemented with blue mussels exhibited significantly lower body weight gain and abdominal fat compared to those fed with a high-fat diet only.
• In addition, blue mussel supplementation significantly reduced blood and liver total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels.
• These results show that blue mussels reduce body weight gain in mice.

In conclusion, these findings indicate that adding blue mussels to diet may prevent obesity and heart disease by reducing weight gain and cholesterol levels.

To read more studies on fighting obesity with food, visit FightObesity.news.

Journal Reference:

Vaidya HB, Gangadaran S, Cheema SK. AN OBESOGENIC DIET ENRICHED WITH BLUE MUSSELS PROTECTS AGAINST WEIGHT GAIN AND LOWERS CHOLESTEROL LEVELS IN C57BL/6 MICE. Nutrition Research. October 2017; 46: 31-37. DOI: 10.1016/j.nutres.2017.07.004