How Umami Or The 'Fifth Sense Of Taste' Can Help With Weight Loss And Appetite Control
How The Taste Of Umami Can Help With Weight Loss
PA/The Huffington Post UK
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Scientists claim the flavour that gives food its "deliciousness" could help with weight loss and regulating appetite.
Umami, which means delicious in Japanese, is recognised as the fifth sense of taste - the others being sweet, salty, sour and bitter - and helps people to fill full, according to new research from the University of Sussex.
It is the chemical glutamate, a protein found in meat and other savoury foods such as Marmite, parmesan and shiitake mushrooms, which gives food its tastiness, a spokeswoman said.
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Soy sauce - a staple umami foodstuff
Professor Martin Yeomans, who was involved in the study based on the psychology research of Dr Una Masic, said: "We know from past research, including previous work at Sussex, that foods with a high protein content tend to satisfy your appetite better than carbohydrate and fat-rich foods.
"So if protein is satisfying, and umami signals the presence of protein; in this study we asked whether the presence of the umami taste itself reduced subsequent appetite."
The research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at the effects of two common food additives on levels of hunger: monosodium glutamate (MSG) and inosine monophosphate (IMP), which are known to produce the flavour of umami.
Story continues below the slideshow:
What Is Umami?
The Name(01 of09)
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Umami has been translated from Japanese to mean 'yummy', 'deliciousness' or a 'pleasant savory taste'. Whatever the meaning, it sounds good to us. (credit:avlxyz/Flickr)
What Exactly Is It?(02 of09)
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Umami is the chemical glutamate, a protein found in meat, fish, dairy products and other savoury foods, which gives food its tastiness (credit:AJBeanster/Flickr)
Where Do You Find It?(03 of09)
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Anything that has been slow-cooked for a long time, such as soups and broths. Fermentation also frees the umami (soy sauce, cheese and cured meats) as well as mushrooms, petit pois, sweetcorn and cherry tomatoes. (credit:stu_spivack/Flickr)
The Discovery Of Umami(04 of09)
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Of course we had the taste receptors to recognise savoury taste, but it didn’t join the likes of sweet and salty until the 1990s. However, Japanese academics, chemists and chefs have been arguing since 1908 for the existence of umami. (credit:josewolff/Flickr)
Umami Meals(05 of09)
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When you combine ingredients containing umami-giving compounds, your dish will get some serious flavour points. A spagetti bolognese made of cooked beef, tomato and cheese, will give you a serious state of umami. (credit:dcmaster/Flickr)
Why We Love Umami(06 of09)
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Just as we crave sweet treats, our mouths have taste receptors for this moreish savoury taste too. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Chefs Table(07 of09)
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Hawksmoor is big on umami, with their Longhorn beef burger being constructed around the fifth taste. In addition, Heston Blumenthal redesigned British Airways' in-flight menu, increasing the around of umami in the food - as well as designing dishes around it at the Michelin stared Fat Duck. There are even numerous Umami Burger joins in LA. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
It's Good For Your(08 of09)
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Scientists claim that it could help with weigh loss and regulating your appetite too. Although more tests need to be carried out, umami rich foods could help strengthen and speed the recovery of malnourished patients too/ (credit:Shutterstock / Konstantin Chagin)
You Can Buy It(09 of09)
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Named Taste No 5, the supermarket puree will elevate your dishes to the dizzying heights of umami. (credit:pelican/Flickr)
They were added to both a low-energy version of a spiced carrot soup and the same soup with energy added covertly as a mixture of protein and carbohydrate.
Dr Masic then tested how hungry 26 healthy volunteers felt and how much they consumed at a later meal.
The soups enhanced with the umami-taste were found to reduce the amount subsequently eaten by participants when compared to the same soup without added umami, tests suggested.
Those who ate the umami soup also did not feel hungrier as a consequence of eating less, the university spokeswoman said.
The effects of umami proved stronger when consumed in the higher-energy soup which suggested that umami-enriched foods may help people with weight concerns to regulate their appetite.