Fake Fat? Fail!

Nerd Herder and Nutritionist Extraordinaire Ani sent me this bit o' scientific scallywaggery today. It's from a symposium held at the Institute of Food Technologists 2011 Annual Meeting. (Don't freak out if this reads like Swahili. Translation to follow.)

The brain areas that represent taste including the primary taste cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex also provide a representation of oral texture. Fat texture is represented by neurons independently of viscosity: some neurons respond to fat independently of viscosity, and other neurons encode viscosity. The neurons that respond to fat also respond to silicone and paraffin oil, indicating that the sensing is texture-specific not chemo-specific. This fat sensing is not related to free fatty acids such as linoleic acid, and a few other neurons that respond to free fatty acids typically do not respond to fat in the mouth. Complementary human functional neuroimaging studies show that the pleasantness of food texture is represented in the orbitofrontal cortex. These findings have implications for the design of foods that mimic the pleasant texture of fat in the mouth but have low energy content, and thus for the prevention and treatment of obesity.

Translation: Scientists are hard at work developing delicious fake fats made of sand and petroleum products that trick the brain so that overweight people can gorge on without worrying about moderation of self control. 


Here's that abstract again run through a Swahili translator. If you're anything like me, you'll find it much less baffling.

Maeneo ya ubongo kwamba kuwakilisha ladha ikiwa ni pamoja na gamba msingi ladha na gamba orbitofrontal pia kutoa uwakilishi wa texture mdomo. Texture mafuta ni kuwakilishwa na neurons kujitegemea wa mnato baadhi neurons kukabiliana na mafuta kujitegemea wa mnato, na wengine neurons encode mnato. neurons kwamba kukabiliana na mafuta pia kujibu Silicone na mafuta ya taa, kuonyesha kwamba kuhisi ni texture maalum si chemo maalum. Kuhisi hii mafuta si kuhusiana na asidi bure mafuta kama vile asidi linoleic, na wachache neurons mengine ambayo kukabiliana na asidi bure fatty kawaida wala kujibu kwa mafuta katika kinywa. Fomu za binadamu kazi neuroimaging tafiti zinaonyesha kuwa utamu wa texture chakula ni kuwakilishwa katika gamba orbitofrontal. Matokeo haya ya kuwa na athari kwa mpangilio wa vyakula mimic texture mazuri ya mafuta katika kinywa lakini kuwa na nishati Asili maudhui, na hivyo kwa ajili ya kuzuia na matibabu ya fetma.

Why am I baffled? It's not the part where science is hard at work developing willpower-and-personal-accountability-free obesity-fighting techniques. From Slimming Belts to Diet Coke to Liposuction to Lap Bands, I'm used to that. No, I'm baffled because scientists, by definition, are smart people, yet they're apparently naive enough to think that they understand the complexities of the human brain so well that they can trick it without some kind of backlash. 

Case in point, artificial sweeteners. There's a growing body of research indicating that tricking the mind into thinking it's getting a sugar hit may impair the body's ability to regulate food. Here's a study summary from WebMD.

In the study, published in the July issue of the International Journal of Obesity, two groups of rats were fed either a mix of high-calorie, sugar-sweetened, and low-calorie, artificially sweetened liquids; or sugar-sweetened liquids alone. This was fed to the rats in addition their regular diet.  

After 10 days, they were offered a high-calorie, chocolate-flavored snack. The study showed that rats fed the mixed liquids ate more of their regular chow after the sweet snack than those who had been fed sugar-sweetened liquids alone.  

Researchers say the results show that the experience of drinking artificially sweetened, low-calorie liquids had damaged the rats' natural ability to compensate for the calories in the snack.

If you think this study doesn't apply because humans, unlike rats, have the conscious ability to control what they eat, you're wrong. If that were the case, we wouldn't have invented artificial sweeteners in the first place.


Of course, this isn't the first time that food scientists have tried to develop Frankenfat. Back in the 90s, Procter and Gamble's Olestra was supposed to be a game changer. It never took off, perhaps because of this required label:


A moderate amount of fat is good for you. It's an energy source and an important part of every cell in your body. Eat some today, and enjoy it. And if you still feel the desire for some fake fat, go rent a Martin Lawrence movie.