All food may be fuel, but not everything you eat has the same effect on your body, of course. "The satiating effect of a food is due to a complex interplay of mechanical and hormonal factors," explains Alan Aragon, M.S., Men's Health nutrition advisor.
How the gut communicates to alert your brain that you're hungry again in response to your last meal is still a relatively new area of study, he explains. But a few things are clear: Protein is more satisfying than carbs or fats, and it seems that certain foods do leave you hungrier than others. Check out these five fares that always leave you wanting more.
Bread
Refined carbohydrates can trigger food cravings—not unlike the hankerings a drug addict experiences, reports a 2013 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It's all thanks to the high fructose corn syrup hidden inside, which causes your blood sugar to spike and then crash. Researchers speculate that this may not only activate hunger, but also the reward and addiction centers in the brain, causing you to crave more processed foods.
Chinese Food
MSG—a chemical added to Chinese food to enhance the flavor—may cause your hunger levels to yoyo: Researchers at the University of Sussex in the U.K. found that people who ate foods with the chemical were less hungry 30 minutes after eating, but their appetite then spiked an hour later. The non-MSG group remained stable. The why is still unclear, but it may be that because MSG makes food taste so good, you crash and crave more when you're no longer receiving the flavor, Aragon speculates.
Watery Protein Shakes
Protein shakes follow the same rules as powdered hot chocolate: Mixing with water is never as satisfying as milk. But while hot chocolate is mostly for taste, thinner shakes can actually leave you less satisfied. Men who tested a range of protein drinks felt significantly less hungry and more satisfied after drinking thicker, creamier, high-carb drinks, reports a 2013 study in the British Journal of Nutrition. Researchers speculate that we associate thick textures and creamy flavors—which suggest higher fat content—with a fully belly, and therefore satisfaction.
Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt
It may be one of the best combinations your mouth will ever find, but as anyone who has had peanut butter pretzels knows, sweet and salty snacks are nearly impossible to put down. "We are biologically wired to recognize the sweet and salty sensations as preservers of survival. Sour and bitter sensations are recognized as toxic or unfavorable," explains Aragon. The presence of fat—like that in chocolate—can increase how appetizing and satisfying sugar and salt are, causing us to overeat it, he adds.
Booze
Drinking your dinner won't keep you from craving—or eating—a real meal. In fact, a 2013 study found that men consumed an additional 433 calories on days that they drank a moderate amount of alcohol compared to abstainers. But the degree to which alcohol stimulates hunger depends on how much you drink, says Aragon. For example, U.K. researchers found that two drinks significantly increased the amount people ate. It's probably because alcohol enhances how delicious and rewarding you find those French fries, while lowering your inhibitions and allowing you to forget the long-term consequences of eating the whole basket, researchers suggest.
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