I have tried to diet and I can tell you that it’s hard work. I simply can’t overcome those cravings… My body just seems to will me into picking up that extra biscuit and eat that pudding that I do not really need. The trouble of course is that our bodies have evolved this way. When we were just evolving into human beings (a couple of million years ago) we didn’t eat regularly – we had to catch our food, and therefore our brains have evolved to tell us to eat as much as possible. In today’s world of cheap and high calorie food though, this is not ideal, with our brains constantly telling us to fill up on the highest calories!
In the late 90′s scientists discovered a hormone that makes us feel hungry. It’s called “ghrelin”.
This hormone is released by cells in the walls of our stomach. It then travels through in our blood to the brain, where the part of the brain monitoring hunger detects it. Once detected, it tells our body that we must eat.
The important thing with this cell though is that it is only released when the walls of our stomach are not stretched… i.e. when our stomachs are empty. If you are full (stomach wall stretched) then the hormone is not released.
Right, so far nothing too taxing here – if the wall of the stomach is stretched we are full and the hormone is not released and therefore we don’t feel hungry, and vice versa.
Now let’s look at an every day situation. At lunchtimes say you have a drink of water and a sandwich. This will probably keep you from feeling hungry for a couple of hours, but no more.
Something funny happens when you blend the water with the food, i.e. you make soup – you end up feeling fuller for longer. How can this be when you have consumed the same amount of food?
The reason for this strange phenomenon is because of the way that your stomach handles water and food. When you drink water, this is passed through the stomach quite quickly, so it won’t fill you up very long. However, food is held back for longer so it can be digested. But, if you mix the water with the food the whole lot is held back – meaning a stretched stomach for longer, meaning no ghrelin is produced and therefore you feel full for longer!
Very simple. Very effective. Eating soup at lunchtimes will help you lose weight because it will hold off those mid afternoon cravings!
For butternut squash soup recipes click the link! This article, Eat Soup To Lose Weight is released under a creative commons attribution licence.
