Your appetite is essential for letting you know when you need to fuel your body with nutrients and to prevent starvation. But it can quickly become your adversary when you're trying to lose weight or maintain it. A satiety center in the hypothalamus in your brain controls appetite, and it can be affected by various factors, including hormonal imbalances. Some of the safest appetite suppressants help you fight these factors and curb hunger in a natural way.
Sleep
If you're like most Americans, you're not getting as much sleep as you should. Besides causing irritability and poor focus, sleep deprivation also lowers the levels of leptin, a hormone that helps you to know when you're full. On the other hand, sleep deprivation boosts levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates your appetite. Sleep needs vary, but in general, adults should get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
Exercise
Putting in 30 minutes or more of exercise daily is also a safe way to help suppress your appetite. Exercise enhances sleep, and therefore contributes to boosting leptin levels. However, exercise may not be an effective appetite suppressant for everyone. For instance, women tend to increase their energy intake after exercise, but men don't, according to nutritionists at the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences at the University of Hawaii. Also, lean women are more likely to enjoy the appetite-suppressant benefits of exercise than obese women, according to a 2008 study led by Katarina Borer, a researcher in the Division of Kinesiology at the University of Michigan.
Fiber
Foods rich in fiber also make the list of safest appetite suppressants. Fiber comes in two forms, soluble and insoluble. Insoluble fiber cannot dissolve in water, but soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like substance. Foods rich in fiber, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes, cause you to feel fuller longer, helping you to eat less. They also take longer to chew, which gives your body more time to signal to your brain that you're full.
Water
Sometimes, those hunger pangs you think you feel really indicate thirst. Thirst arises from not drinking enough water or when you eat food and your blood thickens, requiring water to dilute it. Though you may rush to fill your stomach with food, your satiety center may be craving water, says Mehmet C. Oz, co-author of "You on a Diet." The next time you feel hungry, try drinking two glasses of water instead to determine if that's what your body needs. The water will also help you to feel full, suppressing your appetite.
References
- "You on a Diet"; Mehmet C. Oz, et al.; 2009
- Harvard Men's Health Watch; Insomnia: Restoring Restful Sleep; February 2009
- Nutrition ATC; Men, Women Respond Differently to Exercise; Joannie Dobbs and Alan Titchenal; August 2010
- University of Michigan News Service; Exercise Affects Hunger Depending on Body Type; Laura Bailey; June 2008
- MayoClinic.com: Dietary Fiber: Essential for a Healthy Diet
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