Scientists Found Supplement That Can Curb Junk Food Cravings

Scientists in the United Kingdom may just have the ultimate cure to suppress junk food cravings. They have designed a food supplement that could curb one's desire for junk foods, and could even make people eat in small portions.

According to Nature World News, the research team tested the new supplement called inulin-propionate ester with the volunteers for the study and found that it resulted in not only making the volunteers crave for junk food less, but also made them eat in small proportions.

Inulin is a type of dietary fiber that makes the bacteria in the stomach increase their production of the molecule, propionate. This molecule is produced when a person is stuffed. The brain is then told that the person already had enough to eat.

Science Alert reported that the researchers from the Imperial College in London and the University of Glasgow altered inulin for it to also contain propionate, producing a compound called inulin-propionate ester. The compound is responsible for triggering gut bacteria to produce up to 2.5 times more propionate.

For the study, the researchers selected 20 volunteers to test how the compound can affect the volunteers' appetite. The team handed the volunteers either a milkshake which had 10 grams of inulin propionate ester, or regular inulin on its own, which acted as the control.

After that, different pictures of low or high calorie foods like salad and fish, or chocolate and cake was shown to each subject while they were on an MRI scanner. The researchers were paying close attention to the caudate and the nucleus accumbens - the reward regions of the brain believed to be linked to the motivation to want food.

Sea.askmen.com reported the results revealed those who had inulin propionate ester in their drink showed less activity in the reward area of the brain when looking at high calorie foods. These are the same subjects who felt less excited by the sight of chocolate and donuts.

For the second part of the test, volunteers were given as much pasta and sauce they wanted. The researchers found that those who had drunk the inulin propionate milkshake ate 10 percent less than the others.

The results made researchers conclude that inulin propionate ester does not only suppress junk food cravings, but also help people consume fewer calories,

Lead researcher Gary Frost explained that results of their previous study showed that people who included this ingredient in their food had less weight but they didn't know why. "This study is filling in a missing bit of the jigsaw - and shows that this supplement can decrease activity in brain areas associated with food reward at the same time as reducing the amount of food they eat."

The scientists also said that some people's gut bacteria naturally produce more propionate than other explaining why some people find it easier to stay slim while others put on weight so easily. Since the study is relatively small, scientists need to replicate their results and further analyze the link between cravings and inulin-propionate ester. However, the researchers are already looking for ways so the society could benefit from it as a supplement.

"If we add this to foods it could reduce the urge to consume high calorie foods," said one of the researchers involved, Clair Byrne.