As with many of our bodily functions, the process in which our body tells us we're well fed, full and no longer hungry can be surprisingly complex. There are a number of processes which take place to control our appetite. I will be exploring a few of these processes, the mental, the physical, and the hormonal.
Ever wonder why our body craves fatty, sweet, and rich foods? The answer is likely because of evolution. Because food was once scarce, we would struggle to get sufficient energy. As a hunter gatherer species, we required a lot more calories to function than in today's times. This constant struggle to get food led our body to evolve to crave things that are high in calories. Fruit, which is obviously very sweet, rich fat loaded with calories, (bacon anyone?) turn on our pleasure response and release dopamine. This response is what makes us feel good after a great meal. It tells us we did a job well done in up taking energy. Unfortunately this very mechanism which advanced our species to what it is today is in turn destroying us. People get the dopamine response after their pizza and burger binge, they crave the sweet fatty treats. This leads to massive over consumption. As we keep flooding our brains with dopamine, we get less sensitive to this feel good response. This leads us to crave even more the next time. It is the same paradox that we see with drug abuse. Science has tried to find ways to curb this with artificial sweeteners, and reduced fat, this however, doesn't fool our bodies. Once we consume a "false sugar" void of the calories our body expects, it just leads to a bigger craving. The same principal goes for fat.
Now that I have explored how we are set up for failure on a mental and evolutionary standpoint let's consider the physical aspects. We have all heard before that it takes 20 minutes for our stomach to recognize that we're full, but mechanism for this is less understood. In our stomach we have what are called stretch receptors. These relay the information to our brain about how much our stomach has expanded. The delay of information may be another one of those evolutionary paradoxes. When food was plenty, we could pack a lot more in without feeling the fullness effect until a little later. Unfortunately, food is very plenty today and we often forget to slow down and actually enjoy our food. People eat quickly, and ignore how much they're eating until they feel full. This is what leads to the bloated, "food comma" people often experience. I admit this is a major problem of mine so before I extol all of you, I will confess that I am still working on this one.
The third, is our hormonal reaction to food. I will exclusively focus on one hormone which plays a large role in telling us we feel satisfied and full, leptin. Leptin is released when our body is nourished and our stomach is full. It tells us that we are properly energized and we need not more. It reduces the appetite but it's function isn't mainly for appetite and satiatey Leptin levels fall as we begin to get very hungry or reduce our calories over a long term period. This reduction tells our metabolic rate to slow, we reduce the amount of energy we expend, and we conserve energy. This is the dieters paradox, we begin to lose weight and eventually we get to a point where our body slows down the metabolism because it believes it's starving. This is also why when dieters return to a normal diet, they regain weight faster than they lost. Letptin is a tricky hormone, research has shown that levels are very high in obese individuals but their receptors seem to be resistant to the effects of feeling full. It seems as if high circulating levels of this hormone lead to resistance, or that a high level of stored body fat trigger our body to ignore leptin as a means of telling us we've had enough.
How do we regulate these systems? We seem to be set up for failure. Originally, these mechanisms evolved to keep us alive, it's why our species survived and has developed into what we are today. The trouble is, our innovation vastly outpaces our evolution. We simply can feed ourselves as much as we want whenever we want and our body hasn't caught up. Here are some of my basic recommendation.
1. Use full fat, but use it sparingly. We are designed to crave the fatty oily feel of rich meats, they are ok to eat but like everything else in moderation. A slice of bacon can go a long way, full fat yogurt should be used as a condiment rather than base, and butter as flavor enhancement. Use proper judgement.
2.My second recommendation to get the most out of your food is to slow down, enjoy it, and mindfully experience every flavor, texture, and arroma. Limit the distractions as you eat. Take a small break between bites, and chew food thoroughly. This not only enhances digestion but, you'll be much more satisfied, you'll eat less, and the feel good brain chemicals will be extended through a greater period of time, leaving you with a long lasting effect.
3.Third, forget about snacking all the time. We have been told time and time again, keep small frequent meals. This isn't always the case, as we can see from the leptin paradox, the high levels circulating because we're always full seem to make us resistant to its fullness feeling effects. There are certainly exceptions to this, if you're active on a hike, bike ride, or working all day it is important to be fed. However, most of us aren't doing this day in and day out. Get the most out of your three daily meals, eat a robust breakfast, moderate lunch, and healthy dinner. Skip the convinience foods, the processed carbs and you will feel much better. Eat big at these times and use snacks to your advantage, a pre-workout shake, a post workout bowl of quick carbs and protein are ways to enjoy a quick snack.
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