What are Appetite Suppressants and do you Need Them?

You may be thinking since we are in a new year and summer is just around the corner, it may be wise to intuitively nurture your health by developing your eating habits for the better. Whenever we hear the word “diet”, we think of restrictions and undereating. However, there are actually ways where you can adopt better eating regimes without having to be too harsh with the way you go about it. The key here is to evolve your eating habits to nourish yourself and only heighten your health and well-being.

FYI – There are natural appetite suppressants too, if you prefer to embrace the all-natural, but we will get into more detail about that, later on.

What do appetite suppressants do?

It says what it does on the tin! Meaning appetite suppressant supplements will minimise your hunger and appetite and you will feel the feeling of fullness (satiety) for longer. Appetite suppressants first and foremost will shorten your calorie eating window, meaning you will therefore eat less than what you would usually do. If you are on an eating regime, that would certainly help you to stop the cravings and the option of quick-fix snacks and meals for example. As it is the cravings that often ruin our efforts, especially if you’re leaning towards the high calorie sugary and fatty foods that tend to be the go-to when cravings are on the rise.

Appetite suppressants: Core ingredients

You are probably asking why and how this actually happens in a practical sense, what is the science behind it? Well there are certain core ingredients within the appetite suppressants that give you the ability to suppress your appetite. Scientifically they will influence your natural hormone reactions that make up your hunger response. The prime key ingredients within the huge pharmaceutical and fitness industry include Caffeine and Glucomannan.

Caffeine

Caffeine is a very popular ingredient because it can be applied very safely within the ingredients list of appetite suppressants. Many appetite suppressants will also be fat burners too, which is why there will be more than one ingredient that contributes alongside caffeine.

Caffeine has been proven to inhibit hunger and manage to keep those that take a least 100mg of caffeine fuller, for up to three hours longer. [1] This is one of the reasons why within the ingredients, caffeine starts from around that dosage and more. Currently the safest FDA approved levels of caffeine within dietary supplements is 400mg per day. [2] Therefore, you will know the good appetite supplements from the bad, once you read the labels.

Caffeine is key for regulating and minimising the hunger hormones Ghrelin and Leptin, which have been known for making you hungry. Caffeine has also been clinically proven to propagate PYY which is a peptide that induces a long-term satiety too, by delaying the emptying of your stomach in the digestion process. [1]

Glucomannan

Glucomannan is a source of dietary fibre, and has become super popular within appetite suppressants. Coming from the root of the Konjac, it will delay your body’s natural digestive process for just that bit longer than usual. What does that mean, you ask? Well, if something is being digested at a much slower rate, you will feel fuller for longer naturally. That is why fibre is a key component within any diet, and nutritionists will always suggest that if you are the type to get hungry quite quickly.

Appetite suppressants: There can be side effects

Yes, you heard us right. When you take synthesised (non-natural) appetite suppressants you can experience all kinds of side effects such as nausea, headaches, anxiety, shakiness, dysentery and palpitations. This is often the case for caffeine and green tea-based appetite suppressants. You will need to build your tolerance slowly when you introduce them to your diet for the first time. If after trying them out for a certain number of days (as instructed on the package’s direction of use), you do not see any difference, you should stop taking them immediately. It could be that these lists of ingredients do not work with your body’s make-up and you could have a possible intolerance.

What are the natural appetite suppressants?

Dietary Fibre

Fibre is a natural appetite suppressant as you are aware by now. Actually, so many studies have monitored the relation between high fibre diets and lower obesity rates within clinical trials. From just consuming 25 to 38 grams of dietary fibre a day, consisting of whole grains, pulses, chia seeds etc. participants within studies had an overall lower BMI than those who had consumed less. [3] Meaning, it is possible to seek out natural appetite suppressants too, and you do not necessarily need to opt for supplements.

Drink more water

This may seem rather obvious, but most of the time it is actually possible that you are not hungry at all. Ghrelin the hunger hormone is activated when your tummy is empty. So, by drinking water, you fill your tummy up and antagonise the hunger hormones. There is a study that has proven this theory. 50 overweight females saw improvement within their efforts for weight loss, due to the suppression of appetite that water provides when drinking 500ml of water before each main meal of the day. [4]

Appetite suppressants are not the be all and end all

As we mentioned briefly above, when you take appetite suppressant supplements, you will need to intuitively integrate them within your everyday healthy lifestyle. This means, if you are choosing to utilise them towards your weight loss regime (which most people are), you need to understand that one supplement is not the be all and end all. To see results you need to adopt a great healthy attitude overall with the way you eat, exercise-and even sleep! These all affect your body’s capability to lose weight healthily and maintain a healthy hormone and appetite regulation. Your body is your temple, as they say. So, make sure you treat it with the utmost nurturing attitude possible and not opt for any quick fixes!

References

1. Koslo, J., 2021. Coffee and appetite: Does coffee make you more or less hungry? | Precision Nutrition. [online] Precision Nutrition. Available at: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/research-review-coffee-hunger [Accessed 5th March 2021].
2. Fda.gov. 2021. Highly Concentrated Caffeine in Dietary Supplements: Guidance for Industry. [online] Available at: https://www.fda.gov/files/food/published/Guidance-for-Industry–Highly-Concentrated-Caffeine-in-Dietary-Supplements-DOWNLOAD.pdf [Accessed 6 March 2021].
3. King, D., Mainous, A. and Lambourne, C., 2012. Trends in Dietary Fiber Intake in the United States, 1999-2008. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, [online] 112(5), pp.642-648. Available at: https://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(12)00131-1/abstract [Accessed 6 March 2021].
4. Vij, V. and Joshi, A., 2014. Effect of excessive water intake on body weight, body mass index, body fat, and appetite of overweight female participants. Journal of Natural Science, Biology and Medicine, [online] 5(2), p.340. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4121911/ [Accessed 6 March 2021].