Even men face the battle with the bulge. Fortunately, it looks like there's a solution for it: the love hormone.
Oxytocin is popularly called in the medical community as the love hormone since it's usually secreted by the pituitary gland when a person is engaged in cuddling, kissing, or having sex. Women tend to produce it in significant quantities when they are giving birth (especially during contractions) and breast-feeding.
As for men, a new study points out that it helps them reduce weight by reducing the calories they consume.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School exposed around 25 men with 27 years old as their average age to a nasal spray filled with synthetic oxytocin. Around 13 of these men were healthy while the rest were considered as overweight or obese.
They were also divided into two groups, with some receiving placebo while the others having the spray. After they were sprayed, an hour after, they then picked their breakfast meals straight from the menu. Upon analysis of their calorie intake, most of those who were sprayed with synthetic oxytocin consumed fewer calories.
The researchers, however, agree that more studies need to be undertaken to learn more about how the hormone can help in the weight loss. They also need to test the same in women. Needless to say, the results are very promising.
The love hormone has been a subject to other types of studies. One of these is its effectiveness in preventing drunkenness or hangover since it tends to block the effects of the alcohol from reaching the brain. The research conducted by Germany's University of Regensburg and University of Sydney suggested rats that received the hormone turned out less drunk than those that didn't even though all test mice received booze.
Another study also suggests that oxytocin may promote anti-aging by preventing sarcopenia or the wasting away of muscles.