URJAA HOMOEOPATHIC CENTRE

Did you take into account the satiety value of a low calorie diet for a non-compliance of a diet prescription?

It is a very common practice to prescribe a diet for weight loss with calculation of calories and a very little or no emphasis on the filling ability or the satiety of a meal.

Let us understand that a person gains weight due to consumption of calories more than the normal and he know the solution lies in decreasing the calories. Thus, he is well aware that he has to reduce calories consumed; he also knows about the foods which are high in calories. When it all seems so simple yet weight loss is not so easy because we hardly pay attention to the drive that governs eating. That is hunger, appetite and satiety.

Hunger is the physiological need for food. Numerous physiological cues tell us we are hungry, such as an empty or growling stomach, a decrease in blood glucose levels, and alterations in circulating hormones (e.g., increased glucagon and ghrelin and decreased insulin).

Appetite is the psychological desire to eat, and is associated with sensory experiences (palatability) or aspects of food such as the sight and smell of food, emotional cues, social situations, and cultural conventions.

Hunger acts as the more basic drive, while appetite is more of a reflection of eating experiences. At times we are not hungry but have an appetite (such as seeing a tempting desert after eating full meal) or may be hungry but have no appetite (such as when we are sick).

Both hunger and appetite determine what, when, and why we eat

The other side of hunger and appetite is satiety, which is the physiological and psychological experience of “fullness” that comes after consuming a meal. As was true for hunger and appetite, a number of factors influence the experience of satiety including gastric distention, elevations in blood glucose and alterations in circulating hormones (e.g., increased insulin and cholecystokinin, and decreased glucagon).

Satiation Vs Satiety

Satiation is your immediate reaction to the ingestion of food—the drive that causes you to stop eating. It is your body’s attempt to estimate future satiety via sensory input: smell, taste, texture, and stomach distention. Satiation is the process that ends an eating episode. It controls the meal size and duration.

Satiety, on the other hand, is a state of non-hunger and controls subsequent hunger and food intake.

In simple words a food which one has to chew a lot gives satiation and a food that remains in the stomach for a longer time gives satiety. Thus, a food may have a high satiating ability or a high satiety index or both. So eating a fruit is better than gulping a glass of fruit juice.

Satiety and its relation to weight management

Studies by researcher Dr. Susanna Holt and her associates at the University of Sydney have developed one of the most exciting diet concepts ever, called, the "Satiety Index," Holt's tool ranks different foods about 38 common foods on their ability to satisfy hunger and the work still continues. Choosing foods based on Satiety Index may help with weight management. Unfortunately, you won’t find SI rankings on food packages.

A high satiety food will satisfy hunger better and for a longer time than the same number of calories of a low satiety food.

So here are some reasonably simple meals which will keep you full and will help you in adhering to a meal pattern that allows only a given quantum of specific food.

1. Porridge/oatmeal with chopped fruits. The rating of porridge according to the index is 209%. If you have this for breakfast it will keep you full for a long time.

2. A piece of fish with boiled potatoes or mash and green peas. The rating of fish is 225% and of potatoes is 323%.

3. A potato with beans this is a delicious snack this will keep you full for a long time due to the high index rating of the potato and the amount of protein and fibre that is in the beans. The rating of potatoes is 323%.

4. A fruit salad made from the following ingredients; have bananas, grapes, apples and oranges. The rating of oranges which is the top ingredient in this meal is 202%

5. Baked beans on wholemeal bread sprinkled with some grated cheese; even though the rating of baked beans is relatively low wholemeal bread has a rating of 150%. When you add the cheese this will make it is that little bit better, the baked beans as we know are high in fibre and protein.

6. scrambled/poached egg on toast with wholemeal bread, another great combination due to the fact that the eggs have got a reasonable amount of protein in. The index value of wholemeal bread is 157% and eggs are 150%.

7. Whole grain/whole wheat pasta with tomato gravy. The SI value of whole grain or brown pasta being 188%

8. Dal soup along with various Indian spices added to it. The SI value of lentils 133%

9. Cheese on toast with tomatoes on wholemeal bread the value of cheese is 146% see above for the value of wholemeal bread.

10. White rice boiled with peas, chicken and spinach and add spices of your choice to add flavour. The value of rice is 138%.

Besides these suggestions listed above, here are a few rules of thumb for choosing foods that will help fill your body up without filling it out:

• Prepare healthy dishes that have high water content, like soups, stews and pasta dishes (using tomato vs. cream‐based sauces)

• Fill up on fruits, vegetables, low‐fat or nonfat dairy products and wholegrains

• Seek out unprocessed foods, which tend to have a low energy density or few calories per weight

• Get more fiber by eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans

• Choose lean protein sources like fish, poultry, lean meats and beans

• Monitor which foods make you feel particularly satiated

• Slow down when you eat to allow your stomach time to give a proper “gut check” report to the brain so it can register that you are full.

Weightloss is the process of reducing caloric intake without a significant change in the actual volume of food intake by taking care of caloric density of a meal and satiating ability of a meal.