Healthy fats are filling - study

File image

File image

Published Jun 28, 2017

Share

INDIVIDUALS who regularly consume walnuts, salmon and canola oil - rich in polyunsaturated fats (Pufas) - are likely to experience hormonal changes that can control appetite and make them feel less hungry, a study has shown.

The study found that consuming a diet high in Pufas caused a significant decrease in fasting ghrelin - a hormone that increases hunger.

Further, a Pufa-rich diet also caused significant increase in peptide YY (PYY) - a hormone that increases satiety.

“Appetite hormones play an important role in regulating how much we eat,” said lead researcher Jamie A. Cooper, from the University of Georgia.

“These findings tell us that eating foods rich in Pufas, like those found in walnuts, may favourably change appetite hormones, so we can feel fuller for longer,” Cooper added.

For the study, detailed in the journal Nutrition, the team enrolled 26 healthy men and women (ages 18 to 35) who were placed on a seven-day diet high in Pufas or a control diet consisting of a typical US eating pattern.

The control diet was comprised of 7% polyunsaturated fat, 15% mono- unsaturated fat and 13% saturated fat, compared to the Pufa-rich diet, which was 21% polyunsaturated fat, 9% monounsaturated fat and 5% saturated fat.

The participants experienced increases in PYY while fasting and after consuming a meal. - IANS

Related Topics: