Flavoring the Way to Weight Loss

New weight-loss crystals sprinkled on daily meals are promoted as being satiety superstars, but not all of the ingredients are known and some scientists are skeptical of the companys marketing claims. An article in the Daily Mail by Jaya Narain said Sensa Tastant crystals are supposed to enhance the flavor of food significantly thereby conning the body into thinking it has eaten more than it has. With all this satiety, the company says people eat less and lose weight.

And Sensa said it even has scientific evidence. It promotes initial trials involving 1,400 people that showed the flavor-enhancing crystals may act as an appetite suppressant. In one study, obese participants who used the flavorless, crystals lost an average of 30.5 pounds in six months; the control group lost an average of 2 pounds.

Dr. Alan Hirsch, a neurologist at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago developed the patent-pending technology used in the crystals. The Daily Mail said he found aroma makes up between 75 and 90 percent of what we experience as food taste. He said aromas act on an area of the brain that sends out signals that tell us when we are full. He called this phenomenon sensory-specific satiety. By enhancing smell, Sensa Tastants were designed to help speed up the process and trigger your I feel full signal, so you eat less and feel more satisfied," they quote him as saying.

He added Sensa Tastants may increase peoples likelihood of exercising. Exercise is the biggest tool for weight loss, but if you help people lose weight in the first place they automatically begin to take more exercise," he said.

The Daily Mail noted the recipe for the crystals is not known, but among its ingredients are maltodextrin, silica, tricalcium phosphate, and soy and milk ingredients. The makers say they are sodium-, sugar-, calorie- and gluten free, and contain no stimulants.

On the other side, the Daily Mail noted some British scientists who have studied the effect of aroma on appetite are skeptical about the new crystals. They spoke with Dominic Dwyer, a neuropsychologist from Cardiff University, who said the principle of increasing the intensity of a food taste or smell to effect feelings of satiety makes sense. However, he said it can also have an opposite effect. A mouthwatering smell from food can simply make us eat more," he said.