There is a major race between three drug companies to release their new weight loss drug to the market. All three new potential diet drugs are showing good results in tests. It is being reported now that these diet drugs are also showing promise to help with other health issues such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and blood-sugar control.

Studies done with laboratory rats suggest that supplementation of their diet with lipoic acid had a significant effect in lowering triglycerides, which along with cholesterol levels and blood pressure are one of the key risk factors in cardiovascular disease.

A genetic variant found almost exclusively in individuals of Asian descent increases the risk of elevated triglycerides over four-fold, reports a comprehensive study in the August Journal of Lipid Research.