Want To Feel More Full While Eating Less?

Do you want to feel full while eating less? Everyone does because it allows you to lose weight without being hungry. Well, researchers have just discovered that eating a meal with a low GI (glycaemic index) increases gut hormone production which leads to suppression of appetite and the feeling of fullness. Many people already know that low GI meals make you feel fuller, but now researchers have discovered WHY. The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high GI are those that are rapidly digested and absorbed, and result in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have proven benefits for health.

In a new study, author Dr. Reza Noroury concluded, “Our results show for the first time the direct effect of a single GI meal on gut hormone levels. We already know that the hormone GLP-1 and a low GI meal independently lead to suppression of appetite. This study builds on these findings by providing a physiological mechanism to explain how a low GI meal makes you feel fuller than a high GI meal. GLP-1 is one of the most potent hormones for suppressing appetite. Our results suggest that low GI meals lead to a feeling of fullness because of increased levels of GLP-1 in the bloodstream. This is an exciting result [that] provides further clues about how our appetite is regulated, and offers an insight into how a low GI diet produces satiety. This is a preliminary study that only involved a small number of people. We now need to expand these findings and look at the effects of low versus high GI meals in a larger cohort of people.”

Do You Feel Less Hungry Because You Think You Ate More Than You Actually Did?

New research done by the Nutrition and Behaviour Unit, School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom, has come to a surprising and possible useful conclusion. In the study, subjects had the amount of soup they ate secretly altered through a special pump hooked up to their soup bowl during lunch. Basically, one group thought they ate more than they actually did.

According to the study, immediately after lunch, participants reported the degree to which they were still hungry. Their scores aligned with the actual amount of soup they ate, not the perceived amount. However, 2-3 hours later, the opposite was true and hunger scores correlated with how much soup they perceived they ate. Researchers believe this may prove memory is an important and independent part of satiety.

A very wise man once said, “Thoughts become things.” It sounds like he was somewhat correct, at least for hunger.