Appetite-controlling brain cells activated by amino acids

You've likely heard that eating protein

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can fill you up faster than eating simple carbs like bread and pasta. Now, researchers at the University of Warwick (UW) in England have figured out just why that is, and they've identified the specific foods that satisfy hunger the quickest. Their findings could put a serious dent in the obesity epidemic and may even lead to treatments that make us feel fuller without having to eat a lot of food to get there.

The researchers pinpointed brain cells called tanycytes. These cells are located in the wall that lines the third ventricle of the brain. They are thought to transfer information between the brain and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and are known to sense glucose in CSF. The new research indicates that they're also quite adept at sensing amino acids as well.

After exposing tanycytes from the brain tissue of mice to the amino acids lysine and arginine they discovered that these cells released signals to the brain indicating satiety within 30 seconds. What's more, they determined that the tanycytes were activated when taste receptors in the mouth detected certain umami foods. Along with sweet, sour, bitter and salty, umami is one of the five basic taste receptors and is often described as an earthy or meaty flavor.

http://newatlas.com/amino-acids-activate-satiety-response/51526/