Use of nondigestible nonfibrous volumizer of meal content as a method for increasing feeling of satiety

Abstract

A method for increasing satiety from food via use of a nondigestible nonfibrous physical volumizer. Distention of the stomach reduces hunger and increases food satiety. The invention increases volume of the mass being ingested without increasing the caloric value of the ingested quantity. This is achieved by use of a volumizing substance that is not metabolized by the body. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is one material that could be used as a meal-content volumizing substance.

Claims

1. A product of food for human consumption, comprising a meal, the meal comprising polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) wherein the weight ratio of PTFE to food is 1:1.

2. The product of claim 1 wherein satiation occurs in its consumption.

3. A product of food for human consumption comprising bulk amounts of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

4. The product of claim 3 wherein the amount of bulk PTFE increases the volume of the product to an extent that distends the stomach of a human ingester.

5. The product of claim 4 wherein satiation occurs.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND BEST MODE OF IMPLEMENTATION

[0011] The present invention claims the use of a nondigestible nonfibrous volumizing substance for ingestion as or within food or drinks, for the purpose of reducing appetite due to gastric distention. A reduction to practice of such a volumizing substance could be a synthetic substance that is safe for human ingestion and would be easily excreted during defecation, since it would not be absorbed and thus persist until the feces. Such a substance could be designed to not detract from the eating experience, such as by being flavor-less and texture-less. Further, the chosen substance would be resistant to acid as to not be degraded by the acidic environment of the gastrointestinal tract. It may also be designed at the appropriate size and in the appropriate shape to not injure the cells of the gastrointestinal tract nor to be taken-up by these cells (e.g. enterocytes). Additionally, the material may be chosen for cost-effectiveness, to enable mass-production and wide incorporation into commercial food products (e.g. fast-food hamburgers, which are important in the obesity epidemic).

[0012] Compounds meeting the above requirements exist but are used for commercial applications very different than as nondigestible volumizers for meal content. An example of one such material is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a synthetic material used in numerous applications, for instance as a non-stick surface in household cookware (e.g. brandname Teflon). PTFE is very non-reactive and chemically inert. It is approved by the FDA for use in surgical vascular graft implants. It is heat resistant and can be made into powder form, making it particularly suitable for mixing with raw ground meat during production of hamburgers and other foods. It has a very low friction coefficient so it does not scratch the gastrointestinal tract. It is highly resistant to acid, and indeed one existing application of PTFE is as containers for storage of strong acids. It is relatively cheap, which enables some of its existing applications, such as being used in large-scale roofing construction. Therefore, due to these properties, PTFE can be used to increase a meal's volume significantly without increasing caloric intake. PTFE, or an alternative chosen material, could also be ingested by itself without food or drink to achieve the same satiety effect.

[0013] Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention, which is not to be limited except by the following claims.