Yahoo Lifestyle Study finds 'fifth taste' may help you stay trim
Ever wondered what makes bacon so delicious?
Or why a childhood of vegemite toast was so satisfying? It's all down to umami, the Japanese word for the fifth basic sense of taste, and it can help you keep your waistline slim.
Never heard of the fifth taste? That's not surprising. Although umami has been well-known in the East for over 100 years, it is still a relatively new revelation in the West.
Best translated as 'deliciousness' or 'savoury', umami is a glutamate and is the reason why monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG, is often used to enhance the flavour of food.
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Umami is found in foods like tomato, parmesan cheese, beef, Vegemite, soy sauce, oyster sauce, wine, tomato sauce and meat stocks - and although this doesn't sound like an ideal shopping list for weight loss, umami foods can actually help you manage your weight.
A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that umami flavors such as MSG can make food taste better and leave a person feeling more satiated.
"Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been shown to increase satiety when combined with protein," the study authors, from the University of Sussex, noted.
The study asked 27 people to eat the same breakfast, then split them into two groups, giving one group a soup containing MSG and another umami flavour booster called inosine monophosphate. The second group received soup without these flavour enhancers.
Later, when the two groups were given an identical lunch, researchers found that those who'd consumed the soup with MSG consumed less of their lunch, but said they felt satisfied - suggesting that foods with the umami taste can help control appetite.
