It is now common knowledge that the key to good health is a solid, balanced diet and moderate exercise. People go through trendy diets and rigorous sessions of yoga, pilates or weights, a good hour of cardio and a salad as opposed to the burger and fries to reach or otherwise remain in a healthy state.
Pretty soon though, we may be able to get the benefits of a workout from a pill.
New data has found that short but intense exercise causes a series of molecular changes that influence many things in our bodies: changes in our energy metabolism, insulin sensitivity, heart strengthening, and, most obviously, weight loss. This new information is paving the way for the development of a pill that could emulate your workout.
The reports, published this Friday, argue that the dawn of the day where one would swallow a pill instead of heading to the gym may not be too far off. Both papers, published on Cell Press, focus on Cell Metabolism and Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, and constitute a blueprint to this possibility.
This Pill Would be More of A Supplement than A Substitute
Ismail Laher, professor at the pharmacology and therapeutics department at University of British Columbia and co-author of the second paper, reveals a comparison between the exercise pill and a vitamin supplement. Vitamin supplements are not nearly as beneficial as a dose fruits and healthy greens. However, there are groups of people that have no other option but to take supplements, just like there are groups of people that cannot exercise for many different reasons.
There is no pill that can replace actual exercise. But for people who are otherwise physically impeded, the possibility of this pill may help give them a better quality of life.
How the Studies Were Conducted
The Cell Metabolism study was conducted by researchers and the Universities of Sydney, Australia, and Copenhagen, Denmark. It analyzed skeletal muscle biopsies from four healthy men after having undergone an intense ten minute workout with the use of mass spectrometry. Results found that the exercise triggered over a thousand changes in their bodies, most of which had not been connected to exercise before.
Nolan Hoffman, of the University of Sydney team, reveals in a statement that this is a major breakthrough. The new data allows scientists to use this information to mirror these new effects in a drug.
The second report reveals a series of compounds that are currently under review for use in the development of exercise pills. Among theses compounds are synthetic molecules such as the one developed by the Scripps Research Institute in 2012, as well as naturally found substances like flavonoid, which is commonly found in cocoa, tea and grapes, and resveratrol, found in red wine and blueberries.
Laher goes on to say that the journey ahead is long for researchers, but experiments have proven to be promising in cell culture and animals, so hopefully their journey will be worthwhile.
Your Workout Could Come in a Pill
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