Hello. I'm a pharmacist Jinny.
Do you know about lactoferrin, which has recently become popular as a diet food? It is the most commonly found substance in human and cow colostrum, and it is also a functional ingredient that has been recognized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for its ability to help reduce body fat. But did you know that lactoferrin is an antiviral and antimicrobial substance?
Lactoferrin easily binds and separates from iron, so when lactoferrin is ingested, the iron necessary for bacterial reproduction is first combined with lactoferrin, which inhibits bacterial growth and has antibacterial effects in the body.
Today, we're going to take a closer look at the benefits of taking lactoferrin with me in a paper.
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1. Visceral fat reduction
Fats are broadly categorized into subcutaneous fat, which accumulates outside the abdominal cavity, just below the skin, and visceral fat, which accumulates in the abdominal cavity around organs such as the liver and stomach. Subcutaneous fat tends to be aesthetically unpleasing, but it does not cause much harm to health. On the other hand, visceral fat produces inflammatory cytokines, which reduce the efficiency of insulin, which increases the risk of various diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease when accumulated in excess.
Therefore, it is important to effectively reduce visceral fat for good health. Lactoferrin is involved in the direct cause of visceral fat. In order to grow, fat cells that make up visceral fat need to make new blood vessels in the blood vessels to receive nutrients such as iron. Lactoferrin prevents fat cells from proliferating by preventing them from forming new blood vessels, and the fat cells that have already been produced are burned and converted into energy in the body.
In a 2010 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, 26 adults with abdominal obesity were asked to take 300 mg of lactoferrin daily for 8 weeks. When they checked the results one month later, they reported a 12.4% reduction in visceral fat [1]. |
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2. Boosts immunity
Our immune system is divided into innate immunity and adaptive immunity depending on the type. Innate immunity is the first immune response when a pathogen invades, attacking the pathogen without discriminating between its species. On the other hand, adaptive immunity is an immune response that responds to pathogens that the innate immunity cannot cope with, and it is characterized by responding according to the characteristics of the pathogen species.
Lactoferrin enhances immunity by activating immune cells involved in innate and adaptive immunity. A 2006 study in the Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research reported that lactoferrin intake increased and activated the number of natural killer cells involved in innate immunity [2].
In 2008, the international journal Nutrition Research published a clinical study that evaluated the effects of lactoferrin on T cells involved in adaptive immunity. Studies have shown that lactoferrin increases T cell activity [3]. |
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3. Helicobacter pylori eradication effect
Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that lives between the gastric mucosa and mucus, causing various diseases such as chronic indigestion, gastritis, stomach ulcers, and stomach cancer. In particular, it is one of the main causes of gastric cancer, and the risk of developing gastric cancer increases by more than three times when it is reduced [4]. For this reason, it was designated as a class 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization in 1994.
Koreans have a high rate of Helicobacter pylori infection due to their unique eating habits of sharing food when eating. According to the National Cancer Information Center, 6 out of 10 Korean adults are infected with Helicobacter bacteria [5]. The high incidence of stomach cancer among Koreans is not unrelated to this. Patients who are found to be infected with Helicobacter pylori are treated with eradication immediately, but the treatment is not so simple because the drug is difficult to reach the gastric mucosa and gastric mucus where Helicobacter pylori lives.
The antibacterial effect of lactoferrin may be helpful in such eradication treatment. Lactoferrin binds to iron in the body, cutting off the supply of iron needed for bacteria to function and destabilizing cell walls, preventing bacteria from active and multiplying. In fact, a 2006 study published in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics showed that lactoferrin was better when treated with Helicobacter pylori [6]. |
Today, we took a closer look at the benefits of lactoferrin, which is attracting attention as a diet food. As can be seen from the papers introduced in this article, lactoferrin contributes to strengthening the immune system by blocking the supply of nutrients to fat cells so that they cannot proliferate, reducing visceral fat by burning fat, and activating natural killer cells and T cells involved in the body's immune response. In addition, it can serve as an adjuvant to help effectively eliminate Helicobacter pylori, which is a major risk factor for gastric cancer and is difficult to treat.
Lactoferrin, which has such a wide range of benefits, is relatively safe with few side effects, but it is not recommended to consume it because it contains lactose isolated from milk, so it can cause abdominal pain and diarrhea for those who cannot eat milk due to lactose intolerance. In addition, since it increases the bioavailability of iron, it can cause constipation, so it is recommended to be careful when consuming it.
I hope you have a healthy day in body and mind. It was Jinny.
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