Satiety: Fat Chance

This article is a part of a larger feature: Satiety:Feeling Full and Satisfied.

If slowing down the flow of food through the gastrointestinal (GI) system helps promote the feeling of prolonged fullness, dietary fats can really put on the brakes—literally. While dietary fat is often digested in the duodenum (first section of small intestines), fat that makes it farther down to the ileum is digested during what is called the ileal brake, the slowing of digestion resulting in increased signaling by satiety hormones.

The satiety researchers at University of Maastricht are hot on this trail, reporting on a recent study in 2009 that assessed the effect of ileal fat emulsions with differing degrees of fatty acid saturation on satiety, food intake and the gut peptides CCK and PYY.¹ Of the fats tested, only safflower oil and canola oil emulsions increased CCK and fullness, and decreased hunger. They concluded triacylglycerols with unsaturated fatty acids increase satiety, but triacylglycerols with saturated fatty acids do not.

A few unpublished trials on a patent-protected combination of oat and palm oils (as Olibra®, now Fabuless™, from DSM Food Specialties) focused on this ileal brake mechanism of satiety. University of Ulster, Ireland, studied the effects of 200 g of yogurt (5 g Fabuless and 1 g milk fat) in both men and women. Mean energy intakes were significantly lower after the test yogurt compared with the control yogurt in both studies. Similar reductions were recorded for fat, protein and carbohydrate intakes in both studies. Researchers concluded small amounts of fat, especially as Fabuless, can affect short-term satiety. The Ulster team published a subsequent study, using 200 g of yogurt containing Fabuless, producing effective results on satiety in obese men and women.²

Maastricht researchers weighed in on Fabuless, reporting their trial on overweight women (aged 18 to 55) showed reduced appetite and weight gain after six weeks of weight loss and 18 weeks of Fabuless supplementation, compared to placebo.³ In fact, those taking Fabuless experienced no regain in body weight, maintained BMI and reported decreased appetite, compared to those on placebo.

Nut oil is another source of fat used to combat hunger via improved satiety. Korean pine nut oil is rich in long-chain fatty acids, such as pinolenic acid, which has been found to suppress appetite via hormone regulation. Proprietary research showed 3 g/d of pinolenic acid (as PinnoThin™, from Lipid Nutrition) controlled hunger by stimulating the release of the hormones CCK and GLP1. In 2006, published research on overweight women (BMI = 25 to 30) receiving capsules with 3 g of PinnoThin or olive oil (placebo) in combination with a light breakfast revealed the intervention significantly induced CCK after 30 minutes and GLP-1 after 60 minutes, relative to placebo.⁴ Researchers noted at 30 minutes the "desire to eat" and the "prospective food intake" scores were 29- and 36-percent lower relative to placebo, respectively.

References on the next page...

References for "Satiety: Fat Chance"

1. Maljaars J et al. "Effect of fat saturation on satiety, hormone release, and food intake." Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Apr;89(4):1019-24.

2. Burns AA et al. "The effects of yoghurt containing a novel fat emulsion on energy and macronutrient intakes in non-overweight, overweight and obese subjects." Int J Obesity. 2001; 25(10):1487-95.  

3. Burns AA et al. "Short-term effects of yoghurt containing a novel fat emulsion on energy and macronutrient intakes in non-obese subjects." Int. J Obesity. 2000; 24(11):1419-25.

4. Einerhand AW et al. "Korean pine nut fatty acids affect appetite sensations, plasma CCK and GLP1 in overweight subjects." FASEB Journal. 2006;20:A829.