2023-12-03 09:13:09
by Anna Fregonara
There are several “tricks” that work: changing the sequence of foods during meals, avoiding situations at risk of temptation or eating healthy nutrients before the main course. Tips that are easy to put into practice
Most of us know what we should eat to stay healthy, but when life gets busy, good eating habits fall by the wayside. Thus, we often eat more out of habit or boredom than out of true hunger. We see the clock indicate 1pm and, even if our body is not giving any signal of appetite, we stop what we are doing and eat something, be it a snack from the coffee machine or lunch. In fact, it is not at all certain that hunger is always the body’s signal indicating the need to eat.
Tame our appetite
What influences health and metabolism when we sit at the table is not only the type of foods we consume and the quantity, but also the order in which we eat them. And this is precisely one of the lines of research that is growing the most to help, among other things, dominate our appetite. “In this way you are not asked to fast, to skip meals or to avoid specific foods, but to eat better perhaps by anticipating one course before another”, explains Domenico Tricò, researcher in Internal Medicine at the University of Pisa and manager doctor at the Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition section of the Pisan University Hospital. Without any obsession because the pleasure of food is an important part of our life. «The idea of optimizing the sequence of nutrients (nutrient sequencing) in order to improve glycemic control and the general state of health is relatively recent and today is supported by various experimental evidence», specifies the expert.
Vegetables first
In a recent study on Nutrients, a group of researchers evaluated the effect on glycemic control of consuming vegetables before carbohydrates in people with type 2 diabetes. The simple nutritional education of reversing the order of the dishes helped to obtain a good control of sugar levels after a period of five years. «A practical and easy example of nutrient sequencing is eating a plate of vegetables seasoned with a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil before the main course which could be, for example, a pizza, a typical dish with a high glycemic index. This inversion can help fight hunger, fill the stomach without adding too many calories and, above all, counteract glycemic peaks”, suggests Tricò.
How come you get hungry after eating
«In fact, one of the ways to regulate appetite that emerges from scientific research is the control of glycemic peaks. The consumption of foods, such as sweets and refined cereals, with a high glycemic index, i.e. capable of determining a marked increase in blood glucose levels after their intake, is associated with the activation of mesolimbic areas of the brain, which contribute to increasing the feeling of hunger and to encourage the intake of more palatable and high-calorie foods. Postprandial hyperglycemia also activates the release of large quantities of insulin from the pancreas which can consequently lead to a sharp reduction in glycemic levels after a meal. When it occurs, this condition, called postprandial hypoglycemia, translates into a recurrent feeling of urgent need to consume food between one main meal and another and can lead to a significant increase in daily calorie consumption” specifies the specialist. «To mitigate the effects of glycemic peaks» continues Tricò, «another nutrient sequencing tip is to eat dried fruit, such as almonds and walnuts before meals. It is rich in beneficial substances such as monounsaturated fatty acids, proteins and soluble fibre, and is relatively low in carbohydrates. The consumption of modest quantities (20-25 g) of neither toasted nor salted dried fruit has been associated with lower food intake during the following meal.”
Balance carbohydrates
How the sequence of meals can influence the sense of satiety also emerges from the investigations of the endocrinologist Daisuke Yabe of the Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, in Japan, who examined, as we read in the journal Diabetologia, what happened when healthy adults with type 2 diabetes ate meals of white rice, fish and meat but in different orders. When rice was at the end of meals people produced higher levels of satiety hormones and had smaller spikes in blood sugar levels. «The ingestion of proteins, fats and fibers has an effect on enhancing the secretion of intestinal hormones capable of reducing hunger and stimulating the release of insulin», comments Tricò. «Moreover, foods with a high fat content, such as dried fruit, slow down gastric emptying, inducing an early sense of satiety and reducing the speed with which nutrients can reach the intestinal lumen to be digested and absorbed. The combined effect of these actions promotes better control of body weight as well as the maintenance of glycemic homeostasis, i.e. blood glucose values within physiological limits. It is clear, therefore, why the absence of significant quantities of fats, proteins and fibers makes the consumption of bread and jam or cereals with skimmed milk as a hunger breaker counterproductive.”
Food everywhere
In addition to boredom, habit and blood sugar spikes, our impulse to eat can be triggered by events outside of us, such as the presence of food in the surrounding environment. «Let’s imagine, for example, a buffet in which there are foods that we like and that we consume even if we have recently eaten», explains Carol Coricelli, researcher in the department of Neuroscience and Nutrition at the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam-Rebrücke. «Furthermore, all the food signals that surround us, photos, advertisements, bars and restaurants on every corner, perfumes, put a strain on our reward system which predicts the pleasantness of consuming such foods and ignores the physiological signals of satiety. Especially when we are in a hurry, or pay less attention like when we eat while on our cell phone.” In fact, the researchers of a study that appeared in Current Addiction Reports have shown how mindfulness, therefore paying attention to what you are doing at a specific moment, can help reduce reactivity to environmental signals of food: for this reason we talk about «mindful eating», i.e. mindfulness applied to food.
Friends and temptations
Another factor that influences our urge to eat is social interactions, as described by Suzanne Higgs and Helen Ruddock in Social influences on eating, in Handbook of Eating and Drinking. «It has been shown how people imitate each other’s eating behaviors, copying the type of food eaten by those around them during a meal together», explains Coricelli. If we surround ourselves with people inclined to exaggerate, therefore, the probability that we do so also increases. The research provides, in addition to the suggestion of the sequence of ingredients, other easy indications for regulating hunger, as researcher Tricò illustrates below.
Practical advice
The first tip is to eat more fiber.
«The daily intake of a correct dose of fibre, especially if soluble and viscous, can stimulate the sense of satiety and reduce appetite by slowing down the speed of stomach emptying, increasing the digestion and absorption times of food and modulating the composition of the intestinal microbiota with local and systemic beneficial effects. Foods rich in soluble fiber are legumes, fresh fruit and some types of vegetables such as carrots and broccoli.” «Without complicating your life too much, it is sufficient to follow the indications of the guidelines which invite you to ensure the presence of five portions of seasonal vegetables and fruit per day as part of a varied and balanced diet».
Sleep well.
«Epidemiological evidence demonstrates the association between short-term or poor-quality sleep and the presence of obesity. Sleep deprivation reduces the activity of cortical areas that inhibit appetite and increases that of areas connected to emotional hunger, such as the amygdala, stimulating the desire and consumption of high-calorie foods.”
Hydrate.
«Drinking water before the three main meals could help reduce subsequent food consumption by helping to stimulate a sense of fullness and early satiety. In any case, it is essential to maintain adequate hydration throughout the day. The indicative formula for calculating how much to drink in a day is the following: body weight x 3/100″.
Exercise.
«It is important because it helps burn calories and because it reduces appetite by improving the ratio of the ghrelin-leptin hormones, protagonists of the sense of hunger and satiety. Physical exercise, for example, immediately lowers circulating levels of ghrelin and increases levels of hunger-busting hormones.”
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December 3, 2023 (modified December 3, 2023 | 08:12)
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