Kelp with your cheeseburger?

Yes, Please!!

A key carbohydrate in kelp, alginate, can stop absorption of up to 75 percent of fat in a meal.

Alginate is a natural type of fiber, and in this case it is very effective at keeping the body from breaking down the fats in foods before sending them--and the calories they contain--on their merry way down the digestive tract and into the toilet.

This is how some weight-loss medications work, but not to the same extent. Alli, an over the counter weight loss drug, can block 25 percent of fat from being absorbed according to their website, www.myalli.com. The effective ingredient in Alli is orlistat, which is a drug, not a fiber like alginate.

Researchers Iain Brownlee and Jeff Pearson from Newcastle University tested dozens of fibers in a fake gut, and alginate came out on top in terms of fat-blocking potential.

The scientists suggested that shoving alginate in goodies and other food products might be a solution for some people who have trouble losing weight via diet and exercise--say 98 percent of the population.

Brownlee and Pearson went so far as to run some preliminary taste tests for alginate containing bread. The doctored dough was rated better than regular ole' white bread for texture and richness... no word on taste.

The next step will test alginates with human subjects to see how the fiber preforms in live bellies.