British scientists have found that overweight people took almost 15% less food from the buffet when they were given food additives with propionate. According to the researchers, this additive can be an effective tool in the fight against overeating.
Scientists from the UK have discovered a food additive, which causes prolonged satiety and suppresses hunger spasms when added to bread and smoothies. This is a specific ingredient called propionate, which is produced in a natural way in the intestines during the digestion of dietary fiber by bacteria.
Propionate stimulates the intestines to produce hormones that affect the brain. As a result, the feeling of satiety comes quickly and lasts much longer. During the experiment, a group of overweight people treated with propionate were compared with a similar group of volunteers receiving natural polysaccharide called inulin. It turned out that propionate was more effective in the fight against overeating. Also, the people who were given this additive had less fat on the abdomen and in their liver. As scientists believe, propionate will soon be added to bread and smoothies to effectively deal with the epidemic of obesity.
According to study author Professor Gary Frost from Imperial College London, adults are known to gain from 300 to 800 grams of extra weight per year, so there is a real need to develop new strategies to prevent this. The molecules like propionate stimulate the production of hormones in the intestines to control appetite. But we need to eat a lot of fiber in order to achieve a noticeable effect. A more effective way to deliver propionate to the intestines is to be found. This is why food additives were used.
