Thursday, October 19, 2006

Ultra-thin Rob

Coming this January, and just in time to shed off the extra turkey weight from Christmas, is a new calorie burning Coke product . Knowing Rob's love of Coca-Cola products, does this mean we're going to watch him waste away in the new year?
The funny thing is Wired magazine predicted this soft-drink development a few months ago in their Found: Aritifacts from the Future column.

The main active ingredient in the weight-loss drink is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a green tea extract that, according to Coke, increases metabolism and by extension burns calories. I don't know about weight-loss activities, but EGCG has been shown to have neuroprotective effects in ALS, have anti-cancer effects and be anti-diabetic (possibly by acting as an insulin mimetic) -- among other effects. It makes you wonder at what point these 'natural' compounds will begin being regulated as drugs, especially when they have such wide-ranging and varied effects and are being used as additives in products that will almost certainly be abused.

As an aside, here's an interesting list of weight-loss drugs and their side effects.


3 comments:

Bayman said...

Who needs calorie-burning coke? We already have cigarettes to make you thin.

Rob said...

Are you calling me fat?
A coke a day keeps me awake in the bay.

Kamel said...

But unlike cigarettes, this is slimming AND cures cancer!