If you frequently find yourself staring into the fridge, there could be good reason. Humans have five distinct appetites, scientists say, which work in tandem to ensure we get specific amounts of the nutrients our bodies need to work efficiently: protein, carbs, fats, sodium, and calcium.
In studying animal behaviours over the last 30 years, researchers David Raubenheimer and Stephen Simpson authors of Eat Like the Animals: What Nature Teaches Us About Healthy Eating have gone on to make significant discoveries about the human diet.
Their study of a female Cape baboon in the Cape Peninsula of South Africa, published in the journal PLOS One, showed evidence of longer-term nutrient regulation. Over 30 days, they recorded everything the baboon known as Stella consumed.
While the foods varied widely each day, her diet was a strikingly consistent balance of protein to non-protein (fat and carbohydrate) energy across the month. Raubenheimer and Simpson went on to replicate their appetite research in human subjects.
A volunteer group of 10 people stayed in a chalet for a week, eating from a buffet at their leisure for two days. They were split across two groups a high-protein buffet and a low-protein, high-carb, high-fat buffet for two days, returning to the original buffet for the final two.
The results, published in the journal Appetite, revealed that those on the low-protein diet ate more calories and carbs to replenish the missing protein, while those on high-protein diets consumed fewer to compensate for the imbalance.
It is a mistake to think of appetite as a single, powerful drive to eat.
It is a mistake to think of appetite as a single, powerful drive to eat, Raubenheimer and Simpson write in New Scientist. We need separate appetites to keep track of various nutrients, and hence to construct a balanced diet.
Why protein, carbs, fats, sodium, and calcium? Those five have been singled out by evolution for good reasons, the researchers continue. One is that there is a limit to how complex biological systems can get and still operate efficiently. We couldn't have specific appetites for dozens of nutrients.
Another is that these nutrients are needed in very specific quantities. Third, some components, like sodium, were often rare in our ancestral environments and we needed dedicated machinery to seek them out, for example in mineral deposits.
Ultra-processed foods usually contain ingredients that you wouldnt add when cooking at home chemicals, colourings, emulsifiers, sweeteners, stabilisers and preservatives and can be found in all sorts of products, from breads and cereals to ready meals and reconstituted meat products.
They are low in high quality proteins and high in simple sugars and processed carbs, says Dr Aamer Khan, co-founder of the Harley Street Skin Clinic. They may lack certain vital minerals that manufacturers avoid using because of cost.
The more ultra-processed foods we eat, the more calories we need to consume to reach our target quota of protein. And we naturally gravitate towards that target, even when it means consuming excess carbs and fats to reach it.
Charles GullungGetty Images
Ultra-processed foods make us fat, but not because we have strong appetites for the fats and carbs they contain, as is often thought to be the case, Raubenheimer and Simpson write.
Rather, it is because our appetite for protein is stronger than our ability to limit fat and carb intake. So, when protein is diluted by fats and carbs, our appetite for it overwhelms the mechanisms that normally tell us to stop eating fats and carbs.
In much the same way, going overboard on the protein can have its pitfalls, if youre consistently switching your veggies with steak.
A diet biased towards too much protein will not only restrict calorific intake, but also micronutrient and mineral intake, Dr Khan says. This can result in the breakdown of the normal functioning of the healthy body, the slowing of the metabolism and breakdown of the immune system.
Aim for a balance of macronutrients thats protein, carbs and fats at every meal. Protein is used for building and repairing body tissues, says Dr Khan. Carbs give energy; fats give slow release energy and fat-soluble micronutrients and minerals.
Get acquainted with the spice rack at every opportunity. You could even grow your own fresh herbs. Seasoning is important, it gives micronutrients, he says.
And if you tend to gulp down your meal in a few large mouthfuls, try slowing things down. It takes 10 to 15 minutes for your gut to tell your brain you are full, he says.
Above all, channel your inner Stella next time you go food shopping eating a wide variety of different foods will help you reach your macro and micronutrient requirements naturally.
Diets that are well balanced will allow satiation without taking on foods that have a high calorific value, such as carbs and fats, and also allow sufficient intake of the micronutrients and minerals that are essential to the healthy workings of the human body, says Dr Khan.
Eat Like the Animals: What Nature Teaches Us About Healthy Eating by David Raubenheimer and Stephen Simpson is out now (William Collins).
Last updated: 01-06-2020
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io
This commenting section is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information on their web site.
More:
Always hungry? Thats because you have 5 different appetites - Netdoctor
