Lactoferrin Can Help Shrink a Fat Stomach

A double-blind, placebo controlled study showed that individuals with abdominal obesity who took 300 mg of lactoferrin per day¹ for eight weeks had a significant reduction in abdominal fat, body weight, BMI Body Mass Index. BMI is a statistical measurement of body weight based on the person's height and weight. It does not actually measure the body fat percentage but provides an estimation of a healthy body weight. Normal BMI for adults ranges from 18.5-24.9, and hip circumference. Those who took lactoferrin lost 1.79 inches from their waistlines, compared to subjects in the control group who lost 0.35 inches. .

Lactoferrin naturally occurs in breast milk and may be one reason why infants who are not breastfed are more likely to gain weight.

In obese adults² lactoferrin levels are low, and then decrease even further when a high fat meal is consumed. This research also showed that when lactoferrin is low, free radical damage and inflammation are higher ( C-reactive protein CRP C-reactive protein. It is an acute phase protein that increases during systemic inflammation. It is a general way to assess cardiovascular disease risk. A more sensitive test for heart disease risk is hs-CRP, highly sensitive CRP. . It is an acute phase protein that increases during systemic inflammation. It is a general way to assess cardiovascular disease risk. A more sensitive test for heart disease risk is hs- CRP C-reactive protein. It is an acute phase protein that increases during systemic inflammation. It is a general way to assess cardiovascular disease risk. A more sensitive test for heart disease risk is hs-CRP, highly sensitive CRP. , highly sensitive CRP C-reactive protein. It is an acute phase protein that increases during systemic inflammation. It is a general way to assess cardiovascular disease risk. A more sensitive test for heart disease risk is hs-CRP, highly sensitive CRP. . or CRP C-reactive protein. It is an acute phase protein that increases during systemic inflammation. It is a general way to assess cardiovascular disease risk. A more sensitive test for heart disease risk is hs-CRP, highly sensitive CRP. ). A year earlier this same research team showed that lactoferrin is low in individuals with insulin resistance.³ When immune cells that naturally produce lactoferrin as part of the immune response were challenged, they were unable to produce the normal amount of lactoferrin. Again, this second study showed that low lactoferrin was associated with chronic low-grade inflammation.

While lactoferrin is naturally made in the human body it appears that being overweight may suppress its production and further contribute to metabolic malfunction. Supplemental lactoferrin at the dose of 300 mg per day may help correct this problem. This may also be one reason why overweight individuals tend to have compromised ability to fight the flu or other infections, since lactoferrin is a key part of the natural immune defense.