A vitamin found in milk cures obesity and diabetes

With the help of the vitamin contained in milk, you can control the work of mitochondria so that you can live without obesity, diabetes and in excellent physical shape.

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne report the amazing properties of nicotinamide riboside, which can be found in a variety of products, from milk to beer. This modification of the vitamin nicotinamide has long been known, and there is evidence that it affects mitochondrial activity. But no one has undertaken more detailed studies of this substance.

In an article published in the journal Cell Metabolism, the Swiss describe the beneficial effects that nicotinamide riboside had on mice. First, the animals that were kept on fatty food weighed 60% less if this substance was mixed into their food. Moreover, riboside protected against diabetes, which developed in mice with obesity. And even in animals that were on a normal, low-fat diet, the drug increased tissue sensitivity to insulin. Second, the substance increases muscle strength: mice that received riboside became more resilient and generally acquired better physical shape. Third, after eight weeks of taking nicotinamide riboside, the animals' thermoregulation improved.

All this, according to scientists, occurs due to the effect of riboside on mitochondria. Many metabolic pathways converge on mitochondria: the rate of fat breakdown and the level of oxidative stress depend on them. Those who learn to control mitochondria will receive the key to a “long and happy life,” and researchers around the world are trying to find means that would influence these organelles in the right way.

Nicotinamide riboside may be one of the favorites: the authors of the study believe that it can also help extend life; at least, this is what the results of some experiments conducted on nematodes suggest. As for biochemical details, the riboside increases the level of NAD, one of the most important coenzymes in energy-producing reactions. It also stimulates the activity of sirtuins, enzymes involved in regulating mitochondria and which many call longevity molecules.

Another thing that speaks in favor of the new wonder vitamin is that it seems to have no side effects. The researchers increased the dose of riboside 10 times higher than that needed for therapeutic action - and the mice did not experience any negative symptoms. Probably, the cells turn to it as needed, and the excess amounts are simply stored, without undergoing any dangerous transformations.

But there is one problem with riboside, a purely technical one. It is very difficult to synthesize, and there is very little of it in natural products. It is known that riboside is found in milk, but its concentration there has not yet been determined. The same is true for other products: it is most likely there, but in what quantities?

In general, we drink milk and hope that scientists will be able to quickly and cheaply synthesize nicotinamide riboside.