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The problem of overeating -

For people who struggle with obesity or being overweight, keeping food consumption to an acceptable level can be a daily struggle.

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Calorie control -

One of the ways that people seek to keep their calorie count under control is to opt for foods that claim to "keep you fuller for longer."

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Marketing strategy -

This is a claim that we see often in the supermarket, branded across products ranging from cereals to green tea.

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Too good to be true -

If you have ever looked at one of these slogans and thought, "That sounds too good to be true," unfortunately, you are probably right.

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Nice thought -

While we might like to believe that there are certain ingredients with appetite-suppressing properties, there is very little evidence to suggest this is actually the case.

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Case in point -

Take chili, for example. There has been research in the past that showed consuming chili peppers may make us feel less hungry afterwards.

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Original research -

However, the studies that came to this conclusion tended to use large quantities of food and tested their effects on animals, rather than humans.

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New research -

Indeed, when the appetite-suppressing properties of chili peppers were tested using quantities that more closely resemble normal human consumption, the results were very different.

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Conclusion -

The experiment, conducted at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, showed that consuming chili has no long-lasting effect on appetite at all.

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Further example -

Another example is coffee. You have probably heard rumors that drinking coffee is a good way to stave off hunger.

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Reality -

Again, however, there are no studies that show how drinking coffee might suppress our appetite physiologically.

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Macronutrients -

You might be thinking, "But what about macronutrients? Surely fiber does actually keep me feeling fuller for longer?"

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No clear consensus -

There has been a lot of research looking at whether certain macronutrients are better at keeping us feeling full. At the moment, however, there is no clear answer.

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Example of protein -

Eating more protein, for example, has been found to help decrease appetite, but this finding was only made in a very small trial.

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Drinking water -

According to the experts, the best way to stave off hunger is to make sure you are drinking enough water.

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Pausing appetite -

According to Martin Kohlmeier, professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, drinking enough water briefly pauses appetite.

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Supporting evidence -

Indeed, research shows that people who drink two glasses of water before eating tend to end up eating less than those who don’t.

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The bottom line -

Even then, the appetite changes on a physiological level will be small and short lived. It doesn’t make sense from an evolutionary perspective that food would suppress appetite.

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Evolutionary perspective -

As experts are quick to point out, it’s only in recent years that we’ve had excess food in Western society.

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The reason for appetite -

Throughout our evolution as a species, food has generally been scarce. Our physiology is therefore designed to drive us to eat.

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The reason for appetite -

It therefore makes sense that if there were a food component that suppresses appetite, we would have to completely avoid it.

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Suppressing appetite -

So you might be wondering whether it is ever possible to suppress your appetite. There is in fact one tip that is perhaps not surprising: eat a balanced diet.

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Avoid nutrient deficiency -

Studies show there are certain nutrients that will drive appetite if our body is deficient in them.

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Balanced diet -

To manage appetite, then, we should make sure to eat a balanced diet so our bodies do not try to compensate for deficiencies.

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Mind tricks -

It may also be possible to suppress appetite psychologically. Indeed, research shows that food has the biggest impact on appetite when we expect that it will make us full.

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Mind tricks -

In practice, this means that we eat less after what we perceive as a big meal, as compared to what we eat after what we see as a small one.

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Filling vs. light -

There was one study that found labeling a meal as "filling" influences us to eat less than a meal labeled as "light."

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All in all -

It seems, therefore, that we cannot fight our body’s physiological processes. All we can do is eat a balanced diet in a bid not to stoke up any unnecessary appetite.

Sources: (BBC)

See also: Foods that shouldn't be kept for too long in your pantry

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