New Supplement ‘IPE’ Reduces Food Cravings and Boosts Fat Burning After Exercise
Researchers have discovered a dietary protein supplement that could help you lose weight in two different ways. In a small study published this week, a supplement called inulin-propionate ester (IPE) was found to curb food cravings and increase fat oxidation without caloric restrictions.
Researchers published their findings in the journal, Metabolism. with a title of “Moderate intensity exercise training combined with inulin-propionate ester supplementation increases whole body resting fat oxidation in overweight women“. The small study was led by the University of Glasgow in partnership with researchers from Imperial College London. In the study, 20 healthy volunteers (overweight women between ages 25 and 45) were asked to follow an exercise routine for four weeks.
During the study, women maintained their usual diets. However, the women were told to take regular supplements: either inulin-propionate ester or a placebo. By the end of the study, researchers noticed some surprising results from the IPE group.
First, researchers found that the IPE group burned significantly more fat. IPE significantly raised the rate of fat burning. Women in the IPE group also continued burning fat seven hours after taking the supplement. IPE not only increased how much fat was burned, but it also helped the women burn fat for longer.
The rate of fat burning in the placebo group, meanwhile, remained unchanged. The women taking the placebo were following the same exercise routine but not experiencing the same fat-burning benefits.
Researchers also found that inulin-propionate ester suppressed appetite. Women in the IPE group ate less. They felt fuller, so they naturally consumed fewer calories. Professor Gray Frost, Chair in Nutrition and Dietetics at Imperial College London, which partnered with the University of Glasgow for the study, explained,
“These results are encouraging in that they show this potential food supplement when combined with exercise, can help people burn through their fat stores faster, decreases appetite and could in the long term help to achieve a healthy weight.”
“We’re interested to explore this further in larger and more varied groups of people and see whether the effects are short-lived or if they last over time.”
Researchers also praised IPE for having no adverse side effects. However, researchers also cautioned that this was a small study over a short period of time. Dr. Dalia Malkova, senior lecturer in medicine at the University of Glasgow School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing and co-author of the study, explains,
“While these initial results are promising, we should stress that there are limitations to this study, which was conducted with a small group over just four weeks.”
“For example, we can’t yet draw any conclusions about how the increased fat oxidation, combined with exercise, might affect participants’ body composition and body mass.”
“However, the results are encouraging enough that we’re looking to secure funding for a longer study with a larger group of volunteers. This will allow us to draw more detailed conclusions on how IPE might affect body fat stores and body weight.”
Moderate Exercise Doesn’t Always Lead to Significant Fat Burning
Are you frustrated with your weight loss progress? Do you feel like you’ve been exercising and eating right, but the pounds aren’t coming off? You’re not alone. In fact, there’s a reason for it. Dr. Douglas Morrison of the Scottish Universities Environment Research Centre, who co-authored the study, explained to Medicalxpress,
“Adding moderate exercise to your daily routine is a good thing for your cardiovascular and general health, but the effects it has on the amount of fat which you burn while at rest and after a meal can be inconsistent and these effects don’t easily translate enough to changes in body composition and body mass.”
“That’s backed up by the results from the placebo group in this test, but it’s interesting that those who took the IPE supplement saw a significant and long-lasting boost to the rate which they burned fat.”
What is IPE?
Inulin-propionate ester, or IPE, is a supplement that could have a significant impact on how your body burns fat. Propionate is found naturally in the human gut. Your body produces propionate when you eat food. As the dietary fiber of that food is broken down by gut microbes, propionate is released.
Propionate sends a signal to your brain that the stomach is full and that no more food is required. It literally makes you feel full. Researchers created inulin-propionate ester as a food supplement targeted towards people who wanted to lose weight.
Researchers believe that by providing your body with a much larger dose of propionate than you would normally receive, your body can feel fuller more quickly, helping you naturally eat less. It tricks your body into thinking that you just consumed a large meal when in reality, you just took a simple supplement.
Inulin is a fiber. Scientists bound the propionate to inulin to strengthen its effects. This is the same fiber found in garlic, Jerusalem artichoke, chicory, and onion. By chemically binding inulin to propionate, scientists created IPE.
There has been previous insights into oral inulin propionate ester (IPE) supplementation and its benefits of lowering intra-abdominal fat, preventing weight gain and boosting the resting fat burning process.
The IPE dietary protein supplement study concluded by saying this in regards to the results experienced during the research:
“Moderate intensity exercise training programmes when combined with daily oral IPE supplementation may help overweight women to achieve increase in fat oxidation.”
There is now an ongoing study registered on the US National Library of Medicine's ClinicalTrials.gov website where they will be further analyzing the impact of exercise and inulin propionate ester for weight loss, gut hormones and resting whole body fat oxidation.
How to Get IPE
IPE is not currently available. The supplement is still making its way through the regulatory system. You cannot buy it over-the-counter anywhere in the world. However, as more positive studies on IPE like this one get released, we expect to see more inulin propionate ester supplements on store shelves in the future.
The fact that IPE was shown effective in this latest study is promising. It’s also promising that the latest study was on humans instead of animal models. Plus, IPE was shown to be safe with no adverse side effects which strengthens the likelihood that we’ll see it on store shelves sometime in the future.
While it may sound like a modern miracle to have gut bacteria create an appetite suppressant, there are still many frontiers to explore within the human body and its fascinating inner workings. While an inulin-propionate ester (IPE) dietary protein supplement for weight loss may not be here today, watch out tomorrow as science, technology and innovation continue to expand upon the realm of possibilities of advanced living.
