A BREAKTHROUGH new pill could mimic the health benefits of running - but you don't even have to leave the sofa. Scientists at Aarhus University in Denmark developed a drug that they claim can replicate the impact of jogging at high speed for 10 kilometres. The pill contains a molecule called LaKe that can mimic the effect of exercise on the body's metabolism after fasting - the practice of abstaining from food or drink for a period of time.
Exercise and skipping meals can make your heart stronger and reduces fat levels in the blood, researchers said. Working out helps to increase levels of lactates and ketones in the body, chemicals which our body's cells use for fuel. This in turn can increase the production of appetite-suppressing hormones while bringing down levels of fat in the blood.
Read more on running LaKe contains a chemical fusion of of lactate and ketones. Prof Thomas Poulsen, from the Department of Chemistry at Aarhus University, said: "We've developed a molecule that can mimic the body's natural metabolic response to strenuous exercise and fasting . "In practice, the molecule brings the body into a metabolic state corresponding to running 10 kilometers at high speed on an empty stomach," he explained.
"When lactate and ketone levels in the blood increase, the production of an appetite-suppressing hormone increases and the level of free fatty acids in the blood decreases. Most read in Health "This has a number of health benefits , for example reducing the risk of .
