The University of Warwick has for the first time identified the cells in the brain - called tanycytes - which detect nutrients in food and help trigger feelings of satiety.
Crucially some foods contain types of amino acids which stimulate the tanycytes more than others.
Pork shoulder, beef sirloin steak, chicken, mackerel, plums, apricots, avocados, lentils and almonds were all found to contain amino acids that activate tanycytes and therefore make people feel fuller quicker.
Dr Nicholas Dale, Professor of Neuroscience at Warwick, said: "Amino acid levels in blood and brain following a meal are a very important signal that imparts the sensation of feeling full.
"Finding that tancytes, located at the centre of the brain region that controls body weight, directly sense amino acids has very significant implications for coming up with new ways to help people to control their body weight within healthy bounds."
The researchers made their discovery by adding concentrated amounts of amino acids into brain cells.
They found that within thirty seconds, the tanycytes detected and responded to the amino acids, releasing information to the part of the brain that controls appetite and body weight.
This discovery not only opens up new possibilities for creating more effective diets but could also lead to drugs for to suppress appetite by directly activating the brain's tanycytes without needing food.
Comment: Rather than taking drugs which usually trigger a number of unintended side-effects, switching to a diet that is high in saturated fat and low in carbohydrates will also help to curb your appetite and keep you feeling full much longer:
- The science of hunger and how to control cravings
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- Fat does not make you fat: It actually improves your metabolic health
Nearly two thirds of the UK population is overweight or obese and the figure is expected to rise in the coming decades.
Excess weight elevates the risk of premature death and a range of illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke, which greatly reduce quality of life.
The researchers say that a new understanding of how appetite functions could curb the growing obesity crisis.
The research was published in the journal Molecular Metabolism.
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