'A fat found in olive oil, nuts and avocados could help naturally curb weight gain,' the Daily Mail reported. It said that scientists have found that the fat - oleic acid - triggers a reaction in the body that staves off hunger pangs, telling the brain that the body is no longer hungry. The newspaper said the study, on rats, found that oleic acid is converted into a fatty lipid hormone in the body, and it is this that increases feelings of fullness. It said the discovery could lead to new anti-obesity drugs.
The newspaper report is based on preliminary research in animals. Although the study provides more detail on the processes linking fat intake with sensations of hunger, it did not look at how it could affect weight. There is a long way to go before research in this area might provide new dietary or drug treatments for obesity in humans. Nuts, avocados and olive oil are energy-dense foods, and therefore high in calories. At present there are no suggested methods to eat them to gain any sort of weight loss. Anyone considering experimenting on their own diet would be well advised to consider the total calorie intake as well as the specific food (nuts) and nutrient (fat) components.
Where did the story come from?
This study was carried out by Dr Gary J. Schwartz from the Diabetes Research Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York, with colleagues from Universities and Institutes in California and Italy. The research was supported by the National Institute of Health, the Skirball Institute, the New Work Obesity Research Center and the Italian Ministry of Research. The study was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, Cell Metabolism.
What kind of scientific study was this?
In this animal study, the researchers investigated the association between fat consumption and obesity. They used rats and mice to identify the chemical messengers within the body that signal or control the animals fat intake.
The researchers say that previous studies have shown that the act of eating can cause the lining of the small-intestine to produce a type of fat (lipid) messenger called oleoylethanolamide (OEA). When this chemical is given to animals as a drug, it reduces the number or frequency of meals that they take. This is known as a satiety response , and suggests that an animal is no longer hungry.
At a molecular level, when this response occurs, the chemical OEA binds with (instructs) receptors (peroxisome proliferator activated receptors-alpha [PPAR- ]), and these regulate the absorption, storage and use of dietary fat.
In this study, the researchers infused a lipid solution of oleic acid (a substance found in olive oil) into part of the small intestine of rats, and looked at whether it stimulated the release of OEA.
