Hot sauce ingredient could be key to less invasive weight loss surgery

The ingredient that makes hot sauce hot could be the key to weight loss. A new study examines whether two surgeries, called vagal de-afferentation and vagotomy, can achieve weight loss and the reduction of obesity-related illnesses as alternatives to bariatric surgery. Vagotomy involves removing the vagus nerve, which sends signals from the gut to the brain and vice versa. Vagal de-afferentation uses capsaicin, the component responsible for the burn of chili peppers, to destroy the fibers of the vagal nerve that take signals from the gut to the brain, leaving the fibers that carry signals from the brain to the gut. In the study, both surgeries were found to significantly reduce total body fat and visceral abdominal fat, the fat that pads the abdominal organs and is a marker of obesity-related diseases such as diabetes. While vagotomy was found more effective at reducing fat, vagal de-afferentation is less invasive and associated with fewer side effects.