Wonder pill to reduce fat from chips, burgers

London, Jan 13 (UNI) Eat burgers and pizzas without plugging your arteries full of fat, a latest study says.

Doctors are creating a wonder drug that lets you eat burgers and chips without putting on too much weight, research said.

Its creator Dr Joseph Kanner said, ''A lentil burger doesn't always have the same appeal as a beefburger, this pill will allow you to eat more of your favourite foods without becoming as fat as you would without it.

''Ideally, we should eat fruit and vegetables all the time, but it is a shame not to indulge in our favourite foods when we want to,'' he added.

As a side-effect, the pill would cut the risk of developing cancer by mopping up free radicals, the substances that damage body cells. The pill contains polyphenol chemicals, which Dr Kanner has shown reduces the amount of fat absorbed into the blood.

Nutritionists said last night that the pill could prove a groundbreaking step in the battle against obesity.

Dr Kanner, a food-science researcher for the Israeli government, found that if polyphenols were taken with a meal, some of the fats eaten were not absorbed into the blood but discarded as waste.

Polyphenols were also found in red wine, fruit and vegetables, and Dr Kanner said, ''Some people already take enough with their food to reduce their fat uptake. However, others need help to get their fill. This pill would allow us to indulge in something that would normally be bad for us,'' he added.

Dr Kanner claimed the effects of his pill would be immediate and he is now working with a manufacturer to produce it.

Dr Kanner's research was published in journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, whose editor-in-chief Gerald Weissmann said, ''This study suggests that the time will come soon where people can eat their French fries without plugging their arteries full of fat.'' A British Nutrition Foundation spokeswoman admitted ''It could stop people putting on too much weight'' but added, ''We would not want to see such people give up fruit and vegetables totally.'' ''It is feasible to get such a pill into the shops within a year if it is marketed as a supplement, like a vitamin C tablet rather than as medication, which would require lots of stringent testing,'' she added.

Dr Kanner admitted his pill would not reduce all fats but would limit oxidised fats being absorbed. Oxidised fats, which damage our bodies, are found in all meats.

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