Hungry? You probably are, because we eat more soft foods than ever before, meaning we feel satiated less often and want to eat more. Then we get fat.
No big deal. Science has a new solution in the form of a gel, derived from ingredients used in molecular gastronomy by a team of engineers from the University of Birmingham. Essentially, you eat two separate ingredients that combine in your belly and, thanks to your stomach acid, form a thick gel that’s difficult to break down. That means you feel full sooner and stay full longer. It’s sort of like a less invasive version of gastric bypass surgery.
OK, sure, it’s kind of gross — kind of like those images of dry grains of rice expanding in birds’ bellies after a wedding (often killing the animal). But it works in theory, and the scientists developing the gel say that it could be mixed harmlessly with pretty much any kind of food. There are similar products currently being peddled by scammy weight loss companies, but this new gel appears to be a scientific solution to a real world problem.
I’m not surprised. Gels can do pretty much anything, these days. [Telegraph]
Picture: Shutterstock / maradonna 8888