A bowl of high-fat rice pudding, with fewer calories is more satiating than the same size bowl of a high-carbohydrate rice pudding, so fill up on fats…

You’re weight watching – so you NEED to control how much you eat. Ideally you want to eat just enough, to be satisfied, but not too much, that you end up eating “too many calories”.

So, what determines FULLNESS ?

Volume of food, most definitely. The more you eat, the more distended your stomach becomes, necessitating the opening of a button or two.

Officially you’re FULL

The distended stomach, ends up taking up MORE SPACE, as it stretches, bigger and bigger. Since space in the body cavity is limited – the brain “intervenes” when the stomach reaches the tipping point. You stop eating, when there is NO MORE ROOM.

Unfortunately, the “I AM FULL MESSAGE” can be slow to arrive.

Minor delays, can have major consequences. Short-term, it can bring on a serious case of indigestion and necessitate a helping or two, of ENOS. Long-term, it can bring on extra layers.

Eish !

So what can you do ?

The stomach is clueless

The stomach itself, although the driving force behind HUNGER PAINS, actually is not terribly conscious of what you had for dinner.

But, the lower regions of the digestive tract are.

It’s a job requirement.

You can’t process and package the nutrients, without this kind of information.   Since the processing and packaging does not happen quietly, the brain is kept abreast of the situation, through digestive feedback.

And, the brain, being a good leader…………… probably keeps the stomach, in the loop.

Eaves dropping on digestive chatter

Researchers from the University of Nottingham, wondered if what was on the dinner plate, impacted stomach fullness.

So…………… they invited young health adults to a rice pudding dinner, on two separate occasions.

The “dinner”, was designed to taste GOOD. It needed to………….. because this dinner, ended up being a 6½ hour ordeal. The eating part was quick-quick. The follow up, involved multiple MRI scans to track just how long the GREAT TASTING dinner, stayed in the stomach.

Racing down the track

The two versions of dinner were pretty much identical in size :

• The high carb version – had extra sugar added.
• The high fat version – had dollop of cream added.

The researchers discovered, the high fat version, which actually had less calories than the high carb version, raced down the track.

What about fullness ?

Despite the increased calorie count in the high-carb pudding, it had 18 % more calories, the high fat pudding, was ALWAYS more FILLING.

NOTE : The team measured fullness, with the help of a 100 mm long visual scale, one end was labelled “NOT FILLING” and the other end, “EXTREMELY FULL”.

How could less calories make you MORE FULL ?

The digestive banter

Since the fat moved through quicker, the fat digesting “players” went to work first.

Now digesting fat – is complicated, because fat molecules, stick together. They first have to be teased apart, with the help of bile acids and then they need to be broken down by enzymes. Cholecystokinin, CCK for short, manages this processes………….

And, it happily reminds the brain that to do a good job, they need TIME, so it would be prudent, to STOP EATING.

The brain obliges, by hitting the off switch.

To stop the munchies….

Eat more fat.

I know, it almost sounds like heresy, but it works.   The fat might have more calories, but you eat less. And eating less, means there are less excess calories requiring storage.

PS. As an added bonus, the fat calories are easier to handle, leading to less oxidative stress.

Further reading

Fizzing up the water flattens your appetite Start your dinner by downing a bottle of carbonated water. The gas bubbles zooting around your stomach will make you FEEL FULLER so you’ll end up eating less.

Strapping on a pair of red ears is all it takes to lose weight effortless A group of North Korean researchers have verified, ear acupuncture can be used to lose weight.  you may look like a dork, but you will be SIGNIFICANTLY THINNER.

Maybe it’s time to invest in appetite suppressing glasses Avoiding eye contact with chocolate fudge sundae, is helpful,  but there is more to “watching” than meets the eye.  Appetite control begins with the eyes.

Interested in learning more about the chemistry behind those extra fat layers ?

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