I expose the myth of protein as the most boring macronutrient.
The importance of satiety is emphasized by a rare genetic condition known as Prader-Willi syndrome. Children with disabilities are born with signaling disorders between their digestive system and their brain, so it is not known when they are full. “Suffocation can be fully consumed with a single assault by mistake to cause a fatal burst of the stomach, as they don’t tell them to stop eating or throw away their bodies.” Without satiety, food can be “death sentence.”
Protein is often described as the most boring macronutrient. People tend to report a richer feeling after eating a protein-rich meal, compared to carbohydrate and fat-rich. The question is, does that bloating last long? From a weight loss perspective, satiety assessments are only important when it is supposed to reduce subsequent calorie intake, and even reviews funded by the meat, dairy and egg industries do not seem to be the case for protein. After a few hours, previously consumed proteins do not tend to reduce calories later.
Meanwhile, fiber-rich foods can suppress appetite and reduce subsequent dietary intake for more than 10 hours after consumption (even the next day). Remember the Erial Brake from my evidence-based weight loss lecture? When researchers secretly injected nutrients into the edge of the small intestine, research participants spontaneously ate hundreds of calories in their meal. Our brains get a signal that we are full, from head to tail.
We were built for big eaters. “It was a great instinct, and it developed into a rare period for millions of years.” Those who stumble upon rare bounty and are most able to fill themselves to build their largest reserves will likely pass on their genes. So we are hardwired not only until our stomachs are full, but until our whole digestive tract is occupied. Only when our brains last sense food from all the way down can our appetite be completely dialed down.
Fiber-depleted foods are absorbed quickly and quickly. So, if our diet is low in fiber, it’s no wonder we are constantly overeating hungry. Our brains keep waiting for food that never arrives. That’s why people undergoing stomach surgeries can leave a small stomach pouch, two tables in size. Without sufficient fiber, we will never get bored of completely without transporting nutrients through our digestive tract. However, as explained in my previous video, one of the most successful experimental weight loss interventions ever reported in the medical literature was that, as seen at 2:47 in my video hood, designed to hijack our appetites, was not fiber at all.
At first glance, people can eat less if they remove the pleasant side of food, but it’s clear that it wasn’t what happened. Lean participants continued to eat the same amount and consumed thousands of calories per day of bland goop. In my video, it was 3:22, from only obese people to hundreds of eating thousands of calories a day. And again, this happened carelessly even when they didn’t notice any obvious differences. Only after the meal was cut off from the reward could it be that he could rapidly begin to suppress his weight.
It appears that there are two independent appetite control systems: “homeostasis and pleasure pathways.” Homeostatic pathways maintain a calorie balance by lower energy reserves and hungering when abolishing appetite when energy reserves are high. “In contrast, hedonistic or reward-based regulations may abolish homeostasis pathways in the face of highly homeostatic foods.” This makes perfect sense from an evolutionary perspective. In the history of our ancestors, when we stumble upon foods that are as calorie-rich as unprotected honey caches, in rare circumstances in our ancestor history, it makes sense for our pleasure drive to jump into the driver’s seat and consume rare items. Even if we didn’t need the extra calories at the time, our bodies wouldn’t want to give us that rare opportunity. However, such opportunities are no longer so unusual. With every corner of the corner, we have fatty foods, like sugar, our pleasure drive can overwhelm the intuitive wisdom of our bodies and end up in lasting control.
So, what is the answer? Have you ever had really delicious food? No, but it may help us to recognize the effects of overly spilled foods that can hijack our appetites and undermine our bodies’ better judgments.
Ironically, some researchers have proposed an evolutionary counterbalance strategy to combat the temptation of artificially concentrated calories. Just as joy can overturn our appetite controls, so does pain. “Conditioned Food Aversion” is when we avoid foods that have made us sick in the past. It may seem like just common sense, but it is actually a deep evolutionary drive that can deny rationality. Even if we knew the facts, our bodies can connect the two intimately, even if certain foods were not the cause of episodes of nausea and vomiting. This can happen, for example, when a cancer patient is undergoing chemotherapy. Comforting yourself with your favorite treat before treatment can cause dislike for your favorite food when your body tries to connect the dots. So, oncologists may advise you on a “scapegoat strategy” where you are okay, you never want to eat again, and only eat food before treatment.
Researchers have experimented with inducing food aversion by experiencing people something. Eureka! A group of psychologists said, “A possible strategy to encourage eating unhealthy foods is to get tired of food by getting sick from it.” How about using aversion to promote eating healthier? The two and a half year olds throw away some of the previously preferred candy that has been scooped out from the bottom of a clean toilet.
Thankfully, there is a way to exploit the instinctive drive without resorting to disgust, disgust, or bland foods that you will explore next.
