Foods That Help Control Your Appetite

We’ve all hit that mid-day slump where you feel like we could eat an entire pantry worth of snacks. Sometimes, our bodies are actually hungry and we should eat a proper meal. Other times though we are just in need of an effective snack that will keep us full and keep our appetite at bay. That’s why being smart with what you choose to snack on is so important to keep on track with your healthy eating. 

In fact, there are some foods known as “appetite suppressants” that are your best to keeping you full and helping avoid binging indulgent snacks. Essentially appetite suppressants are substances, such as foods or supplements, that inhibits your hunger sensations. 

Here is a list of some of the best appetite suppressants that you can incorporate into your diet daily! Some of them may be foods that you already love, so it could be as easy as packing a light snack to curb those nasty mid-day cravings. 

Chia Seeds 

Even as small as they may appear, chia seeds have nutrient-laden properties that give them their appetite suppressing capabilities. These tiny munchies contain the best source of plant-based Omega-3 fatty acids. They also contain impressively high levels of soluble fiber. Fiber slows down digestion keeping one full for longer periods. 

Chia seeds can also absorb water of up to 10 times their normal weight. With that, chia seeds absorb high amounts of water which essentially fills you up. Furthermore, they slow down calorie absorption into the body prolonging the whole digestive process. Chia seeds are indeed incredibly powerful natural appetite suppressants even in the smallest of amounts. 

Nuts 

Eating nuts can really help keep your appetite in control because all that natural healthy fat in them will keep you full for long periods of time. When you get hungry, you can snack on a few nuts, or add nuts to your meals so that you don’t have to eat in between two meals. You can also add a few nuts in smoothies to make them more filling.

Research published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found people who added 1.5 ounces of almonds to their diet every day reported being less hungry. What’s more, since nuts are high in calories, participants were mindful and ate less at other times of the day. Walnuts and pine nuts are also loaded with healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which can promote satiety. 

Apple Cider Vinegar 

Vinegar, more specifically Apple Cider Vinegar, has for a long time been used for weight loss purposes. ACV slows down digestion which, inevitably, keeps you full longer.

ACV is made by crushing apples and mixing it with yeast to ferment the sugars into alcohol, which is then fermented into vinegar. ACV also slows down the body’s blood sugar levels reaction to food leading to a diminished urge to eat. Studies have shown that ACV may suppress centers in your brain responsible for increasing appetite. Other studies have also shown that people who consumed apple cider vinegar with a meal reported feeling twice as full than those who didn’t.

You can easily incorporate AVC into salad dressings or dilute some into a glass of water. Some people even start their day off with a shot of the stuff. Word of warning though, that is not for the faint of heart and making sure you can stomach that much ACV is important to know before you try it out. 

Avocado 

Avocado is high in monosaturated fat and fibers and due to that is one of the most powerful natural appetite suppressants. Unsaturated fats, like oleic acid found in avocados, trigger your small intestine to produce a compound called oleoylethanolamide, according to research from the University of California. This compound regulates hunger by communicating with your nerve endings; it triggers a brain circuit that increases feelings of fullness, which can help you maintain healthy body weight.

Cinnamon 

One of the most powerful spices you can eat, cinnamon serves as an appetite suppressant by stabilizing blood sugar levels and delaying gastric emptying (when nutrients from your stomach pass into the upper intestine to be absorbed). Because of this cinnamon can actually trick your brain into thinking that you are full when you haven’t even eaten anything as per researchers published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Cinnamon is easy to add to meals and smoothies. One of our favorites is to sprinkle some on a bowl of sliced apples. Apple pie without the guilt! You can use it daily to keep your appetite in control.

Green Tea 

Want to fight midday munchies? Make a mug of green tea or stir a couple of spoonfuls of matcha (ground up green tea leaves) into hot water; the caffeine can help curb your appetite. Plus, you’ll enjoy a mild metabolism boost since green tea has fat-burning properties.

People who drank four to five cups of green tea every day, and broke a sweat at least 180 minutes per week, lost more stomach fat and total-body weight after 3 months than those who exercised alone, per research published in The Journal of Nutrition. 

Oats 

One way of keeping yourself satiated until your lunch break is by starting your day with a bowl of thick, nutritious oatmeal. Being a whole grain, oats are fibre-packed; this allows for their slow breakdown through the gut. Also, this maintains a steady fullness feeling. Dressing oatmeal with additional ingredients such as milk and nuts only adds to its protein and fat levels making the meal all the more nutritious. 

Peppermint 

That’s right, peppermint is a surprisingly handy option when it comes to hunger suppression and control. Peppermint has long been used in essential oils for stress relief, but the scent can also help curb hunger.

Drinking peppermint tea not only helps control cravings, it also fires up your metabolism and betters food processing too. Research from the Wheeling Jesuit University found when people sniffed peppermint every two hours for five days, they ate 2,800 fewer calories in a week. A little bit of a quirky study, no? Nonetheless, the findings to back up the theory that incorporating peppermint into your diet could be a nice way to bolster your weight loss.

Another study from the University of Rhode Island found chewing gum can also reduce calorie intake and increase energy expenditure.

Water 

The most basic, most readily available natural appetite suppressant is water. That’s right, sometimes it is just as simple as sipping some cold water. More often than not, when the body gets dehydrated, one can easily mistake thirst for hunger. To avoid this false hunger pangs, constant water intake is essential.

What’s more, water helps keep the stomach full enough in between meals. This goes a long way in avoiding mindless snacking and in suppressing unnecessary cravings. For bonus benefits, take your water as cold as possible; this helps kick up the body’s metabolism levels thus increasing calories burned. 

Spicy Foods 

From peppers to hot sauce to a little bit of spicy seasoning. Any of these foods will not only curb your appetite, but they’ll also supercharge your body’s ability to burn fat (thank you, capsaicin). According to one study, researchers found hot chili peppers activate a nerve in the stomach that signals to your body that it’s full.  

It’s also thought super-spicy foods and sauces slow down how quickly you are eating your food. Mostly because your mouth is so hot that you can’t eat your food as quickly, allowing your brain to register you’ve had enough to eat, preventing overindulgence.

Another great spicy natural appetite suppressant and fat burner is piperine, which is known as black pepper. You know, the stuff that comes out of the mill. It is known to improve digestion and by doing so allows your metabolism to break down fat more efficiently. 

Dark Chocolate

Everyone’s got a sweet tooth and kicking sugar is one of the hardest things to do. However, you don’t have to cut sweets completely out of your life. In fact, incorporating chocolate that is 70% and above dark chocolate is beneficial for your health.

Dark chocolate is high in good fat and flavonoids which is a type of nourishing phytonutrient. One study, published in Nutrition & Diabetes, found 100g of dark chocolate promoted satiety in men. Also, it lowered their impulse to chow down on junk food. So its a win-win for everyone. 

Coffee 

A good number of people cannot imagine a life without coffee. Fortunately for the many coffee fanatics out there, this drink helps control your food intake by keeping you full longer. According to research, the caffeine in coffee not only boosts your metabolism, but it also helps keep your stomach full reducing the need to grab a snack.

However, this does not mean pumping yourself up wit coffee all day. Excessive consumption of caffeine, which coffee contains in large amount, can get dangerous resulting in side effects such as anxiety, hypertension, and nervousness.