As I happen to be part of a very large Italian-American family, “hunger” and “necessity” are rarely the reasons I’m eating. Especially around the holidays, because my relatives storm in with enough meat and pies and pastries and chocolates to feed an NFL team (you know, just in case they stop by). That being said, I found this new edible gel developed by researchers from the University of Birmingham intriguing.
Headed by research fellow Jennifer Bradbeer, this team of Birmingham engineers has developed an edible gel that’s hard to digest, in effect making you feel fuller than you actually are. Created from two biopolymers, low acyl and high acyl gellan gum, the gel thickens soft foods in your stomach in order to help you fill fuller, longer. The gums are water-soluble, and are apparently derived from seaweed, starch and citrus peels.
This is gellan gum in chocolate. Its a common gelling agent
Once the gel hits your stomach (or a suitably acidic, stomach-like environment) it becomes more solid and then breaks down slowly. The UK team is looking into ways to combine their gel with starch or sugars, which will allow it to release more slowly and thus prolong its effect. Eventually, they want to put the gel into actual foods instead of having it just latch onto them in your stomach.
Further versions of the gel could make it a viable alternative to invasive weight loss surgery, though there is no word yet on when or if the gel is going to become consumer available. Further details about it can be found in the scientific journal Food Hydrocolloids, where Bradbeer and her team published their findings in the March issue.
Source Discovery News
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