(16-March-2005) Chemists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture have identified a form of soluble cellulose that, if added to high-fat food items, appears to slow down fat absorption to a healthier rate and reduce the likelihood of developing insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.

The cellulose-derivative Called HPMC (hydroxypropylmethylcellulose), may reduce the chances that obese people will develop diabetes and its deadly complications, particularly heart disease.

The team led by Wallace H. Yokoyama fed a group of hamsters a high-fat diet - about 38 percent of calories derived from fat. Results were then compared to a group of animals that were fed a low-fat (11 percent fat-derived calories) diet.

Those who were fed the high-fat diets developed insulin resistance, but the animals fed the low-fat diet did not. But when soluble cellulose in the form of HPMC was substituted for the insoluble fiber normally found in the high-fat diets and then fed to another group of test animals over the same period, it prevented insulin resistance.

HPMC acts as a fat regulator and slows down the absorption of fats - either in the stomach, small intestine, or both - preventing high fat levels from overwhelming the digestive system. (ANI)