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By Lauri M. Aesoph, N.D.

If life were always fair, Mother Nature would have made it easy for all of us to maintain our ideal weight. But it's not, and she didn't. What she did do was provide us with plants, vitamins and minerals to help us manage body weight.

    Certain plants and nutrients help people lose weight by supporting physiological functions such as digestion and blood sugar control. When the body is working properly, it can shed weight more easily. Before starting any weight loss plan, discuss these alternatives and your particular health challenges with your health care practitioner. The information in this article isn't intended as medical advice.

Once an obscure fruit from India, Garcinia cambogia is rapidly becoming a prominent ingredient in commercial weight loss products. Garcinia, also known as Malabar tamarind or Gorikapuli, looks like a cross between an orange (in size and yellow color) and a deeply furrowed acorn squash.

    Garcinia is sold as a flavoring agent in southern India, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Burma. As a raw fruit, it's too acidic to eat. Cooks dry its thin rind and add it to curries or substitute it for lime. People who use garcinia say it makes their food more satisfying and filling.

    Although garcinia is used primarily as food, ayurvedic doctors have long recognized its value in obesity treatment. That knowledge has been rediscovered by modern researchers. Garcinia rinds contain hydroxycitric acid (HCA), a compound similar to the citric acid found in lemons, limes and other citrus fruit. Of the 200 species of garcinia, only a few contain HCA, and Garcinia cambogia contains the most.

    HCA decreases weight gain by inhibiting lipogenesis, the metabolic process that changes carbohydrate into fat, and instead changes carbohydrate into glycogen (the storage form of glucose). Another effect HCA has on the body is that it lowers blood lipid (fat) levels (Medical Hypothesis, 1988, vol. 27).

    In a study done on animals, HCA was fed to lean and fat rats and mice. Researchers found that both sets of rodents ate less and gained less weight (their diet was primarily sugar) when hydroxycitrate was included. The animals' body fat decreased, but their body protein was unaffected (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1977, vol. 30).

    HCA may help dieters lose weight by turning up thermogenesis, or body heat production, according to Daniel Sister, M.D., in his book Throw Away Your Scale! (Keats). Inefficient thermnogenesis can be corrected by increasing heat production in brown fat, a body fat that's colored by blood vessels and energy cells called mitochondria. Because brown fat burns "hotter" and produces more body heat than white fat, increasing thermogenesis in brown fat helps weight loss. Taking garcinia is one way to jump-start this process.

 Because garcinia has been eaten safely as a food for centuries, its nontoxic medicinal use is assured. Garcinia isn't a stimulant, so it doesn't promote weight loss by stimulating the central nervous system. Thus insomnia and irritability are avoided.

Gymnema sylvestris

Another ayurvedic herb that's caught the eye of weight loss specialists is Gymnema sylvestris. This tropical climbing plant found in Africa and India has been used by traditional Indian healers for two millennia as a diabetes treatment. The leaves were thought to temper a sweet tooth, decrease calorie intake and diminish high blood sugar.

    While known historically as a diabetes therapy, gymnema seems to benefit weight loss, too. This herb accomplishes this by increasing circulating insulin, the hormone secreted by the pancreas, thus helping your body use carbohydrates more efficiently. In addition, gymnema lowers cholesterol and triglyceride levels. When researchers isolated gurmarin, a polypeptide, from Gymnema sylvestris, they found this compound selectively suppressed the neural responses of rats to sweetness (Journal of Biomolecular NMR, 1995, vol. 5).

    Many other herbs can be used in a weight loss formula, alone or in combination. Each herb possesses different actions and so is included for different reasons. Dandelion promotes the production and secretion of bile, a greenish-brown liquid necessary for proper fat digestion. Dandelion also has beneficial effects on the liver. One of the liver's many functions is to maintain normal glucose levels. When people with a malfunctioning liver eat lots of carbohydrates, their blood glucose levels increase three times higher than someone with a normal liver. Unstable blood glucose may lead to erratic eating patterns and disturbing hypoglycemic symptoms such as fatigue and irritability.

    Several popular weight loss herbs are also common foods and spices. Rhubarb is a mild laxative, and along with oregano and sweet marjoram, aids digestion. Garlic, cayenne pepper and ginger have all been shown to increase thermogenesis in animals (The American Journal of Natural Medicine, 1995, vol. 2).

Chromium

Chromium, a trace mineral required in minute amounts for many body functions, has been studied closely to determine its usefulness in weight loss. Chromium seems to effect weight loss because of its relationship with insulin, the hormone released by the pancreas. Chromium is a cofactor of insulin; it helps insulin do its job more efficiently.

    One of the jobs insulin performs is metabolizing fat. Under normal circumstances, insulin promotes formation of fat cells containing small amounts of triglycerides, a storage form of fat. If the tissues are properly sensitive to insulin, only enough fat is deposited to insulate our organs and provide energy reserves, and normal blood levels of triglycerides are maintained. Sometimes, however, a person's cells become "insulin resistant"; that is, for reasons not completely understood, they put up insulin barriers, preventing the hormone from entering. The pancreas tries to make up for this by producing even more insulin, and high levels of insulin promote excess fat storage, leading to obesity. Chromium helps reduce insulin resistance by making the cells more receptive to this hormone, which in turn decreases fat storage and increases its metabolism, according to Jeffrey A. Fisher, M.D., in The Chromium Program (Harper & Row).

    Having too much insulin in your bloodstream can compromise your weight loss efforts, but having too little can also hamper your efforts. Insulin has a profound effect on your hypothalamus, or appetite-regulating gland. As you eat and your blood glucose (sugar) level rises, your pancreas secretes insulin to take care of the newly arrived glucose. As your insulin level increases, a portion of your hypothalamus, your appestat, or satiety center, is stimulated, and the hunger is satisfied.

    Insulin may work with chromium to metabolize body fat and build muscle mass at the same time—a boon to people trying to lose weight and get fit.

    Ninety percent of Americans fail to ingest the minimal amount of chromium required for proper body function. This is partly because of cooking and food processing. When germ and bran are removed from whole grains, chromium is lost. Converting raw sugar into white sugar washes chromium away in the discarded molasses. Exercise also depletes chromium.

    You can, however, boost your chromium level by reaching for chromium-rich foods such as brewer's yeast, whole wheat products, molasses, prunes, cheese and many spices including pepper and thyme, according to Fisher, who adds that chromium supplementation may help some dieters.

    Many health experts believe chromium picolinate may be the best form of chromium because it contains picolinic acid, which improves transport and absorption of chromium in humans. However, a study out of Dartmouth College and George Washington University Medical Center tested the effects of chromium picolinate on cells taken from the ovary of a hamster. "When exposed to reasonable doses of chromium picolinate, the cells suffered chromosomal damage that ranged from threefold to eighteenfold the amount that occurred in cells exposed to other chromium compounds. Such damage is considered an indicator of the substance's cancer-causing potential," according to the researchers.

Other Weight Loss Nutrients

Taking a vitamin pill won't make you shed weight. However, moderate dieting coupled with exercise tends to increase nutritional needs. So if you're on a weight loss plan, you might need to take a multivi tamin/mineral supplement. Also, you need certain nutrients for proper carbohydrate utilization. The B vitamins, for instance, play important roles in glucose metabolism. Magnesium helps direct glucose by modulating its transport across cell membranes and is a cofactor in various enzyme pathways key to glucose oxidation. Vitamin A regulates insulin secretion from the islet cells found in the pancreas.

Lauri M. Aesoph, N.D., a graduate of Bastyr University, is a medical writer and editor. She lives in Sioux Falls, S.D. For more information on a naturopathic physician in your area, call the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians at 206-323-7610.