Nine proven food that can help calm hunger qualms

For those of us who definitely must count every calorie for any chance of maintaining a semblance of some healthy weight, the idea of snacking in between meal is kind of a bit repulsive even if our body definitely gags for some.

For the present writer, snacking generally means that she just have to forgo one of her main meals or to spend some extra time sweating profusely under the guise of working out just to get rid of the extra calories from the snacks. And should I say that I enjoy it, I wouldn’t be exactly saying the whole truth. Of course, I understand the enormous benefits that come with regular exercise, but I don’t appreciate the fact that I must necessarily exercise every day, especially when I snack between meals. That’s the only way I can maintain a healthy weight range, a healthy weight being defined as a healthy BMI. That’s because, at 1300 calories, my daily basal metabolic energy requirement is low, significantly lower than the average 2,000 calories recommended for women. So yes, if I want to ‘eat’, I must, of necessity, include exercise as a daily routine. Not funny, believe me. Snacking is, therefore, almost anathema to me unless I’m prepared to skip (again) the next meal or exercise longer than usual. No, I don’t (always) enjoy it.

The only good thing about this is that it has given me an opportunity to learn more about food and their nutritional contents. But it also means that I spend an inordinate amount of time studying the nutritional information on packaged labels. And if you live in Nigeria, you already know that most food packages don’t even come with nutritional information and your best bet is your guesswork. God help you with that. However, there are instances where a manufacturer makes an attempt to provide some nutritional information but the details are incomplete. I mean what use is the fact that a 100g of some biscuit contains, say, 435 calories, but there is no detail on the calorie content of each piece of the biscuit, nor the total weight of the biscuits in a pack? I guess the manufacturer want buyers to haul out their scale and weigh the biscuits? I find that frustrating, to say the least. And to be brutally honest, I have actually done that on occasions. What that means is, I’ll say that I have a pretty good idea of the nutritional content of things I commonly eat. I am also in a position to make better choices with regards to my food. And I’m continually learning. But manufacturers can make things easier by providing such basic information to consumers.

Rant over.

Imagine my delight when I discovered this article on TIME of some “science-backed appetite appeasers” that can help one to control hunger even when consumed in “small doses.” Can we say goodbye to in-between-meal snacking?

For me personally, I’m especially delighted that most of the items can easily be obtained from the stores, are easy to prepare and can be incorporated into main meals as well. And even on their own, they do not taste bad (at all). What is there not to like? So, if you’re like me and worried you might be consuming too many calories, I hope this article will be of some benefit to you as it has been for me.

So here we go:

Nine snacks that will prevent you from overeating

1. Sauerkraut

For those who are not aware of what the food is, it’s actually fermented cabbage in brine. This link takes you to an easy-to-follow recipe from the BBC Good Food that you can use to make some at home.

A pile of research suggests fermented foods support your gut’s microbiotic health. In particular, a type of bacteria called Lactobacillus-often used to make the fermented cabbage dish sauerkraut-can help quiet your appetite and may also improve your body’s ability to regulate blood sugar. Just be sure the sauerkraut you pick up isn’t loaded with sugar.

2. Pistachios

In both healthy adults and those suffering from metabolic diseases like diabetes, eating pistachios helps knock down hunger while supporting healthy post-meal insulin responses. One 2015 study found people who added pistachios to their diets for 10 weeks had healthier levels of blood fatty acids. The authors of that 2015 credit a pistachio’s monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids for the nut’s health perks.

3. Chickpeas

Crack open the hummus and grab some falafel! Adding chickpeas and other legumes (such as beans) to a meal or snack can help you feel up to 31 per cent fuller, research shows. (How do they measure this stuff?) Gut health and bowel function also improve among regular chickpea eaters, found a recent study from Australia.

4. Spinach

It isn’t the sexiest snack food. But spinach and other leafy greens (such as ugu) are packed with plant membranes called thylakoids that increase fullness and cut your cravings for sweet treats, according to a 2015 study from Swedish researchers. Just don’t boil your spinach; you’ll knock out three-quarters of its nutrient content.

5. Ginger

There’s far, far too much talk these days about foods that can ‘rev your metabolism.’ But there’s some strong data to suggest certain compounds in ginger-much like the capsaicin found in spicy peppers-can increase your body’s metabolic rate while simultaneously reducing your appetite. Try grating some fresh ginger onto your spinach or beans.

6. Eggs

A hardboiled egg might be the most filling snack on the planet. Eggs are a complete source of protein amino acids. They also quiet down the gut hormone ghrelin, which triggers hunger and cravings. Yes, it’s okay to eat egg yolks again, experts now say.

7. Beans

Loaded with digestion-slowing fibre and satisfying protein, beans are one of the first foods dieticians mention when asked about ultra-filling foods that can help curb your hunger. Even among those not trying to lose weight, adding beans to their diets resulted in lost pounds, found a 2016 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

8. Popcorn

Believe it or not, popcorn is an antioxidant-rich, stomach-filling whole grain. Even though a small bowl of it is mostly air, the sight of it helps fool your brain into believing you’ve had a big snack, which helps quell your appetite. Just prepare your own air-popped kernels on the stove; the pre-bagged microwave varieties tend to come coated with all kinds of unhealthy chemicals, experts warn.

9. Coffee

It’s probably not the first thing you’d reach for when hunger comes calling. But drinking brewed coffee can lower your gut’s levels of the appetite-fueling hormone ghrelin, according to a recent study from German and Austrian researchers. More research has linked coffee to lower body weights and longer lives.