Protein Sweeteners?

[lpetrich]

In the Future, Your Food Will Be Sweetened With Protein

When we wonder what our lives will be like in the future — if we’ll be playing tennis against robots, say, or wearing self-driving jetpacks to commute — chances are few of us are imagining that we’re going to be any skinnier. Almost 40 percent of Americans are now obese, with more than 35 percent of people in seven states being chronically overweight. To put this in context: In 1985, no state had an adult obesity rate higher than 15 percent. Globally, the World Health Organization says obesity has almost tripled since 1975.

Yet one pioneering Israeli startup believes that this tide could easily be reversed. In a modest lab located in a Tel Aviv suburb, scientists at food tech outfit Amai Proteins are creating protein molecules out of a rare tropical plant that can taste thousands of times sweeter than sugar. The company claims that by fermenting these proteins in microorganisms, such as yeast, it can produce a brand-new sugar substitute without the side effects of existing alternative sweeteners, some of which have been shown to be carcinogenic or cause weight gain.

I must say that I'll believe it when I see it -- and taste it. But if they succeed in making a good fake sugar, it could be great.

A nice thing about proteins is that they get digested just like any other protein. They aren't some small compound that can get into the blood, and they aren't some oddball compound that our bodies are not adapted to handling.

Amai isn’t the only Israeli startup developing innovative alternative sweeteners. Of the country’s 270 food tech startups, at least a dozen are working on sugar replacements — and all have big ambitions. Rehovot-based Unavoo Food Technologies, for instance, has created a product called Heylo, which laces a soluble dietary fiber from the acacia tree with stevia. ...

Another startup, A1C Foods, in nearby Ramat Gan, actually uses small amounts of regular sugar in its chocolates and ice creams but adds a patent-pending blend that lowers their glycemic index.

Let's see what they come up with.

 

[untermensche]

In the future the few remaining humans will ride horses and live in tents without electricity.

 

[poster]

Seems rather strange to me. Protein, as I understand it keeps insulin in check once it enters the bloodstream and gets to the pancreas, however, the insulin is released by the mere sweet taste of sugar, not requiring the time it takes to get through the system. Muting of the taste buds while allowing the time required for the protein to regulate the pancreas is usually what needs to happen. And it isn't a once and done process either. It normally takes about 72 hours of disaplined eating to get the process working correctly.

This is why using sugar substitutes can cause weight gain. The sweet taste itself, not the sugar per se. The insulin will convert to sugar once it sees there is, in fact, no sugar to be had. So there's no fooling the system.

 

[4321lynx]

In the future the few remaining humans will ride horses and live in tents without electricity.

More likely ride donkeys and mules, horses may not survive in sufficient numbers, or be as fit for hard conditions, to be used for anything but breeding mules.