YOUR BRAIN IS TELLING YOU TO
STOP EATING
HELLOOOOO – R U LISTENING???
More nourishing protein dense foods and complex carbohydrates will
leave you feeling fuller for longer than high sugar processed foods choc full of empty
calories. It’s not always easy to resist
these kinds of foods, but it may not be so difficult to manage if you end a
meal feeling satiated.
Believe it or not, there is such a thing as ‘The Satiety Index’
developed in Australia. This charts
which types of foods possess appetite suppressive effects.
In tests they found that potatoes came out top of the list. This discovery was quite surprising as protein
rich foods are usually associated with being extremely satisfying. Processed white bread gets a bad press and
that’s largely because there’s a lot going on in there, but not much of it is
nutritionally of very much complexity.
Fruits and vegetables, which we’re encouraged to eat have a high water
content and not only does this go a long way in helping us to feel full but
they are also abundant in those all important vitamins, minerals and
antioxidants.
Fibre has an appetite suppressing effect. Soluble fibre, which is fibre found in the
flesh of fruit and veg, rather than its skin, not only slows down the digestive
process, because it causes the stomach to empty more slowly but it also draws
water into the intestines, again giving the effect of being satiated. Fibre, soluble and non-soluble has other
benefits and did you know fibre contains no calories.
When we eat foods that are rich sources of protein a trigger is
actually activated in the brain telling us to stop eating as we’re full. That's why eggs, fish and meat will always rank
highly on the ‘The Satiety Index’. So
it’s a good idea to include protein at every meal. And don’t forget that vegetarian sources of
protein such as pulses, beans and lentils are also high in fibre while many
processed foods have much of the fibre removed.
Providing a nourishing diet does often take a little advance
planning. It’s easy to grab a lunchtime
sandwich but switch that to a nourishing soup and you’ll probably feel more
satisfied and work better but to enjoy soup you’d need to have somewhere to
store it, heat it and eat it, but there are usually facilities in most
workplaces. An apple will feel more
filling as a snack because it contains fibre, water and pectin. Nuts are a delicious and handy standby and
lots of retailers now have snacking seed mixes available at the till.
So if you are trying to maintain a healthy weight it’s better to end a
meal feeling satiated because that will help resist temptation and you won’t be
reaching for a sugary treat mid-afternoon.
Get Fit
Get the Facts
Facts that Fit
FIT FACTS
No comments:
Post a Comment