Viagra is well-known as a medication that helps treat erectile dysfunction. Millions of men have used it since it hit the market in 1998, and Viagra has proven that ED patients don’t necessarily need to undergo unpleasant procedures, such as penile surgery or injections. However, it seems like there is one more benefit to Viagra that remained well-hidden from its users, because according to most recent research, it could help you lose weight. A statement like this probably seems far-fetched, but consider this: during an experiment in China, mice that received a dose of sildenafil (the main active component in Viagra) didn’t become obese, even if they were fed high-fat food.
How Can Viagra Possibly Contribute to Weight Loss?
The exact answer to this question is still unknown, but scientists are currently trying to figure out an explanation for the phenomenon that was observed in mice. They hypothesize that Viagra contributes to turning white body fat into brown (a process known as “browning”). Brown fat is used by the human organism to heat itself, and it is most common in babies. When a person grows up, he/she doesn’t need a lot of brown fat anymore, so it is converted into white fat, which is used by the body to store extra energy. It is estimated that the weight of an average adult can consist of up to twenty-five percent white fat and only three to five percent brown fat, which is mostly located in the shoulders and neck area. White fat is hard to get rid of, but it can be converted into brown fat if the organism is exposed to low temperatures.
It seems that Viagra is capable of turning unhealthy white fat into “beige” fat, which can be burned to maintain the body’s temperature in cold places. In a way, the medication melts the white fat cells, gradually reducing their number. Scientists are still not sure as to how exactly Viagra triggers such changes. One version suggests that Viagra boosts the amounts of cGMP, a chemical that is responsible for signal transmission between the cells. It is also thought to have an impact on metabolism, eventually speeding up the white fat conversion. Other scientists theorize that Viagra contributes to an increase in the amount of a specific protein that is found in brown fat and is capable of stimulating the melting of white fat. This particular protein is only present in small quantities in obese people whose body mass index exceeds thirty.
At the moment, researchers are trying to determine whether the result they received with mice will be the same with humans. To do that, they are going to study two groups of healthy men. Men from the first group will have to take pills containing sildenafil on a daily basis for a week, while the participants from the second group receive placebos. Members of both groups have to undergo a set of tests before, during and after the experiment. Among other values, weight, blood pressure and cGMP levels of the study participants will be measured. If the obtained results are similar to those shown by mice, Viagra might become a new page in the book of weight loss.
Should I Try Viagra to See If It Helps Lose Extra Weight?
Obviously, you are free to experiment with your own health but is highly inadvisable that you rush to get a Viagra prescription after reading this article. The ability of sildenafil to melt the extra fat is currently only a hypothesis that might need years to be proven or dismissed as a false assumption. If you already are on a prescription for Viagra because you suffer from erectile difficulties, you might relish the thought that it brings you that extra benefit of keeping the white fat under control. Still, for now, nothing is more effective than a healthy lifestyle with lots of physical activity and a balanced diet.
