High-protein diets boost hunger-taming hormone

Eating protein appears to boost blood concentrations of a hormone recently found to restrict appetite, researchers report. The findings could explain the success of popular high-protein diets.

Four years ago, Rachel L. Batterham of University College London and her colleagues found that injecting a hormone called peptide YY (PYY) into both normal-weight and obese people reduced their food intake by about a third and dampened hunger.