According to the latest study, phenylalanine - an amino acid produced by the digestion of protein - enhances the levels of hormone that indicates when are full, and not requiring any further food intake.
Previous studies have revealed that a high protein diet consisting of foods such as milk, eggs, poultry, and fish can help lower the body weight by curbing hunger and appetite.
According to food experts, it’s not always possible to adhere to a high-protein diet, but stripping the mechanisms by which protein reduces appetite could lead to considerable weight-loss strategies.
How phenylalanine leads to weight loss:
Recently, a number of experiments have been conducted on rodents in order to test the effects of phenylalanine.
This amino acid is normally produced in the gut after the intake of foods containing protein.
Firstly, a single dose of phenylalanine has been applied on 10 mice and rats and then they have been compared with rodents that did not receive the enzyme.
The result revealed that the mice and rats give phenylalanine showed increased levels of hormone GLP -1 which reduces appetite, but reduced levels of the hormone ghreline, which boosts hunger.
Moreover, the researchers also observed that phenylalanine curbed the rodent’s food consumption and contributed to weight loss. Rodents that were given the amino acid also moved around more, which the researchers observe may have increased their weight loss.
Next, the research team applied regular doses of phenylalanine to mice with diet-induced obesity over a 7-day period.
Compared with mice that were not given the enzyme, those that were not treated with the amino acid showed a reduction in weight, observed the team of researchers.
Phenylalanine Boosts CASR receptor to curb appetite:
In the final experiment, the team of researchers strove to have a better understanding of the mechanism by which phenylalanine reduces levels of GLP - 1 and ghreline.
Upon treating the hut cells with phenylalanine in a petri dish, the researchers found that the amino acid targets the receptor, known as the calcium-sensing receptor (CASR), and it is this receptor that boosts GLP-1 levels and reduces levels of ghreline.
Obesity is a most common public health concern not only in the United States but many corners of the world. The dynamic lifestyle, bad food habit, and many other factors remarkably lead to developing obesity in recent times. According to latest report, around 2 in 3 adults and 1 in 6 children and adolescents are suffering from obesity, being exposed to greater risk of health condition such as heath disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer.
According the team of researchers, their latest discovery might effectively improve the much needed new strategies to fight against the obesity epidemic.
The researchers also feel that focus must be made on further studies to pinpoint the exact mechanisms by that allows phenylalanine to reduce hunger and contribute to weight loss. They want more research in future to assess the function of amino acid and its appetitive suppressive effects in humans as in rodents.
Joe Kikuchi, based in the USA, is a passionate food lover. He has traveled across the USA and tasted variety of foods. He has penned down a number of articles on food, health and lifestyle. You can read more of him by visiting his social profile. Read out his blogs and learn more of him.
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