Chemicals found in pumpkin, cow peas and amaranth have been found to be effective at helping to reduce weight, a new study shows. 

Researchers from two Kenyan universities say the traditional vegetables, which are on a comeback among most urban families, fight obesity and overweight through three mechanisms. 

“Extracts from the vegetables decrease body mass, lower food intake and burns fats in blood,” the study shows. “We have confirmed scientifically that these vegetables contain chemicals that fight obesity,” says lead investigator, Kathryn Nderitu. 

Shedding that extra fat, Nderitu tells the Saturday Standard, can keep away heart diseases, sleep problems, diabetes and early death. The researchers from Kenyatta and Eldoret universities had fed extracts from the vegetables to fattened mice and now report dramatic results. 

The experiments carried out at Kenyatta University involved 45 female mice, some fattened with the drug, Depo Provera, which is used as an injectable birth control by women. When the fattened mice were treated with extracts from the leaves of pumpkin, pigweed and cow pea they were confirmed to shed weight.