Thunder God Vine – Weight Loss Potential Finally Has Scientists’ Attention
There is a growing problem in America – literally – and it’s our waistlines. Theories as to why abound. It could be the quality of the food we are eating. It could be the increase in processed food – unstudied side effects from more and more gmo and synthetic ingredients. It could be because Americans sit longer and do less every year thanks to technology – jobs, smart phones, fingertip entertainment that allows us to remain sedentary most of the day.
Diabetes is in the rise. Gastric bypass surgery is on the rise.
America is in trouble. We get fatter every year, and we get sicker every year because of it.
Of course, sickness is a billion dollar industry. Treating the symptoms of sickness, like diabetes, high cholesterol, heart problems and so on – all related to obesity, lines the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies.
Here, there is not a lot of money put into studies on natural cures. Since big pharma can’t patent a plant, they don’t make money from its sale, and therefore it’s not high on a list of priorities. And the FDA doesn’t allow “claims” of a medical nature on any kind of supplement or herbal cure because by and large, they have not been, and will not be studies extensively enough for the FDA to say “this supplement treats this disease”, which medications created synthetically are pushed through all the time, then recalled later for unforeseen side effects from lack of pertinent study. Kind of … hypocritical in my opinion.
However, there is at least SOME study being done on herbs. Mainly outside the US, which doesn’t hold much sway to the powers that be in the US, but nonetheless, intelligent people can see the validity of the research and make decisions on their own.
The thunder god vine is one such plant. Widely used in the orient for hundreds of years, this plant has received little acclaim in the US. Thunder god vine root extract works in fighting obesity by increasing sensitivity to Leptin – a hormone that creates a feeling satiation when eating. If you are insensitive to Leptin, which most obese individuals are, when the hormone is released to tell your brain that you are full – its ignored because you can’t “feel it”. So you overeat.
In lab mice, in a study done by Dr. Ozcan on the effects of thunder god vine on weight loss, obese mice actually ate up to 80% less when treated with Celastrol, and active compound in the Thunder god vine root extract. 80 PERCENT! That’s huge – and the authors of the study believe it is simply an INCREASE in sensitivity to leptin, caused by the compounds in the thunder god vine root extract.
I personally take 200mg 2x a day, and for the first time in years, I am actually losing weight. (It helps my RA pain, which was the original reason I started it.) I feel full faster than I used to, and I notice it. Now, it’s not like just turning off a switch for me – overeating is also a HABIT, and I am an emotional and boredom eater as well. So, when I notice I feel full now, I still have to make the physical CHOICE to stop eating. But I am able to do that more and more, and as I make that choice to stop on a more consistent basis, I lose more weight. I also have to make the choice to not eat when I am not hungry.
References
Ozcan, Umut, Liu, et. al. “Treatment of Obesity with Celastrol” Cell, DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2015.05.011. Supported by Boston Children’s Hospital, the National Institutes of Health, the American Diabetes Association, and the Fidelity Biosciences Research Initiative.
