Food products that function like exercise

THE Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences is leading a study that could someday pave the way for the development of food and nutritional products that are as beneficial as physical exercise. According to researchers, these products will operate by the same cellular mechanisms that are triggered by exercise in balancing nutrients.

While exercise is a necessary part of well-being, certain people such as the elderly, disabled or diseased can only perform few activities. They are to benefit most from these products, as will those with metabolic problems such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

The energy balance of the body is regulated by the enzyme AMPK. “AMPK is a key protein in every single cell in your body and is naturally activated by exercise. It monitors your energy status, like a fuel gauge in a car, and tells you to fill up when your energy is low,” said Prof Kei Sakamoto, head of Diabetes and Circadian Rhythms at the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, in a Nestlé report.

Scientists said they are now trying to find natural substances that could unlock this master molecule.

“Our research has revealed new knowledge about this master switch. In some conditions, such as diabetes, the body doesn’t respond properly to insulin and muscle cells reject the message about their need to take up glucose. However, even under such medical conditions, AMPK can find an alternative way and take up glucose in muscle,” according to Prof Sakamoto.

“Ideally, we’ll be able to develop products that will help promote and augment the effects of exercise,” he said, but these products are not a substitute for physical exercise.

"Exercise has so many different effects – a cognitive role and physiological function – we’ll never be able to mimic all those effects in a single product,” he said.