Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease caused by multiple factors and is considered to be a risk factor for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, elevated blood pressure, stroke and some forms of cancer. 

Although an important factor behind obesity is the relationship between calories required and calories consumed (as well as sedentary lfiestyle and lack of exercise), there are some other factors playing an important role such as

• Mechanisms regulating lipid and glucose metabolism (AMPK and PPAR signaling pathways within the cells)
• Cellular apoptosis and anti-oxidant regulation
• NF-κB signaling pathways
• Post-prandial hyperglycaemia
• Insulin resistance
• Post-prandial insulin spikes

There is mounting evidence that the above pathways are playing an important role in obesity and naturally occurring minerals, vitamins and flavonoids can interfere with those pathways and augment the dietary attempt of an individual in loosing weight. It has to be noted that any use of supplementation acts as an AUGMENTATION of a correct dietary approach and could only be effective once someone has a correct calorific intake.

 

Chromium

Chromium is a trace mineral that is found in the body and is believed to play a role in your body’s metabolism. Research shows that chromium can act as a co-factor for efficient insulin functioning in the body.

Amounting evidence shows that chromium could help with insulin resistance and also help in glucose regulation in people with Type 2 Diabetes. 

Side effects: Stomach pain and bloating. Additionally, there have been a few reports of kidney damage, liver damage, muscular problems and skin reactions following large doses, according to the National Center on Complementary and Integrative

Chromium is also said to suppress the appetite and stimulate the production of heat by the body, thus increasing energy expenditure. This may contribute to weight loss. Chromium picolinate is one of several forms chromium that could aid towards weight loss

 

Magnesium

Magnesium is an important mineral and is found in all necessary and essential bodily functions.

Magnesium deficiency is common worldwide and it is more prevalent in people who have diabetes, obesity & metabolic syndrome. This lack of magnesium has also been linked to chronic inflammation.

Just taking magnesium on its own does not help towards weight loss, however if taken in people with diabetes, obesity or magnesium deficiency, it did help with weight loss.

 

Hesperidin

Hesperidin is a naturally occurring extract from citrus fruits can be used for the treatment of obesity. It mainly regulates lipid metabolism and glucose metabolism, having an anti-lipase activity which can directly treat obesity directly or indirectly by reducing inflammation and apoptosis and also reducing new fat cell synthesis and lipid accumulation.

Additional effects of hesperidin include reduction of moisture and hence spleen protection, antioxidant effects, and lowering the liver lipid content, and could exert a hypoglycemic effect (3).

 

Naringin

Naringin is a citrus-flavonoid which has been shown to have positive metabolic and anti-inflammatory effects and it is a bioactive compound playing a part in many metabolic pathways:

• it may modulate multiple pathways indicated below (all of which promoting either obesity or the effects of obesity and weight gain):
  • Insulin Resistance
  • Oxidative stress
  • Inflammation
  • Macrophage infiltration
  • Dyslipidemia
  • Hepatic steatosis
  • Decreased adiposity
• It is further capable of modulating some peptides directly associated with the hunger–satiety pathways, such as ghrelin, cholecystokinin, insulin, adiponectin, and leptin

Therefore, sufficient evidence (1, 2) makes naringin an important molecule believed to have a positive effect on obesity by decreasing body weight, BMI, and improving the metabolic profile of the patient by contributing to the increase of serum adiponectin levels. It further improves the lipid profile in patients with dyslipidemia, with statistically significant decreases in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. 

Narinign supplementation could be implemented to prevent weight gain and can act as a therapeutic agent which may play an important role in the treatment of metabolic disorders.

 

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that you can mainly get through sun exposure and to a lesser extend from vitamin D-rich foods. Unfortunately, people around Mediterranean have unexpectedly low Vitamin D (a phenomenon described as the Mediterranean paradox).

 Vitamin D is essential for maintaining strong bones and teeth, keeping your immune system healthy and facilitating the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, however it has also been implicated in playing an important role in weight management as Vitamin D might be implicated in adipose tissue differentiation and growth leading to obesity either by regulation of gene expression or through modulation of parathyroid hormone, calcium, and leptin.

Some evidence suggests that getting enough vitamin D could enhance weight loss and decrease body fat. Vitamin D supplementation appears to potentiate the weight loss from a calorie-restricted diet (4).

Vitamin D could also be associated with a decrease in weight gain as having higher levels of Vitamin D appears to be linked to less weight gain in a 4.5 year study (5)

 

Other involved supplements

• Chitosam
  
• Carnitine
• Bitter Orange
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin C
  

 

References

• (1) Could Naringenin Participate as a Regulator of Obesity and Satiety?, Molecules. 2023 Feb 2;28(3):1450. doi: 10.3390
• (2) Naringin reduces body weight, plasma lipids and increases adiponectin levels in patients with dyslipidemia  (IMR Press, IJVNR, Volume 92, Issue 3-4, DOI: 10.1024/0300-9831/a000658)
• (3) Hesperidin: A Therapeutic Agent For Obesity, Drug Des Devel Ther. 2019 Nov 12;13:3855–3866. doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S227499
• (4) Vitamin D3 supplementation during weight loss: a double-blind randomized controlled trial, Randomized Controlled Trial  Am J Clin Nutr, 2014 May;99(5):1015-25. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.113.073734
• (5) Associations Between 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Weight Gain in Elderly Women, J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2012 Oct;21(10):1066–1073. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2012.3506