Keto Diet: Killing Hunger With The Best Foods

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, moderate-protein, and very low-carbohydrate diet. While it can be challenging to follow, it allows for the consumption of many nutritious foods. The diet typically limits carbs to 20-50 grams per day, with 75-80% of calories from fat, 15-20% from protein, and 5-10% from carbs.

The keto diet is popular due to its potential benefits for weight loss and blood sugar control. Early evidence also suggests it may aid in treating certain cancers and Alzheimer's disease. However, higher-quality research is needed to determine its long-term safety and effectiveness.

One challenge some people face when starting the keto diet is increased hunger. This can be due to several factors, including lingering carb addiction, sleep deprivation, stress and anxiety, dehydration, or not eating enough food or healthy fats. Addressing these issues can help reduce hunger while on the keto diet.

High-fat, low-carb keto foods are satiating and reduce hunger cravings

The ketogenic diet is popular due to its potential benefits for weight loss and blood sugar control. The diet typically limits carbs to 20-50 grams per day, and followers may consume a variety of animal proteins, dairy, vegetables, plant-based foods, and healthy fats and oils.

• Nutrient-dense foods: Eating nutrient-dense foods is essential to feeling satisfied on the keto diet. This includes keto meats like ribeye steak, lamb, and pork; fatty fish like mackerel, anchovies, and salmon; and healthy fats like high-fat keto cheese.
• Healthy fats: Increasing healthy fat consumption helps provide the energy needed when decreasing carbohydrates. Avocados, olives, olive oil, nuts, and fatty fish are excellent sources of healthy fats.
• Protein intake: Eating enough protein is crucial on the keto diet. High-protein foods like grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, nuts, seeds, and eggs help keep hunger at bay and prevent cravings.
• Water intake: Staying properly hydrated is important, as dehydration can lead to increased feelings of hunger.
• Sleep: Sleep deprivation has been linked to increased hunger. Getting adequate sleep can help regulate hormones that affect appetite, such as leptin and ghrelin.
• Stress and anxiety: Chronic stress and high cortisol levels can increase the hunger hormone ghrelin and have been associated with weight gain and obesity. Managing stress through techniques like meditation and yoga can help reduce hunger cravings.
• Exercise: Physical activity can help suppress the hunger hormone ghrelin and increase feelings of fullness.

While the keto diet can be highly satiating and reduce hunger cravings, it is important to note that some individuals may still experience hunger, especially when first adapting to the diet. This may be due to lingering carb addiction, sleep deprivation, stress and anxiety, or mistaking dehydration for hunger. However, with time and a well-formulated keto diet, these issues can be addressed, and hunger cravings should subside.

Hunger can be caused by carb addiction, with the body craving more carbs after eating them

Hunger Caused by Carb Addiction

The craving for carbs can also be explained by the dopamine released when we eat them. Dopamine affects the pleasure and reward centres in our brain, and when these centres are activated, it causes cravings for more of the substance that activated them.

Research has shown that the rewards experienced by the brain after consuming sugar are even "more rewarding and attractive" than the effects of cocaine. Another study showed that Oreo cookies activate more neurons in the brain's pleasure centre than cocaine.

How to Fight Carb Addiction

The key to kicking a carb addiction is to realise that overcoming addiction has more to do with your environment than your willpower. The first step is to get rid of all carb-heavy foods from your fridge, freezer and pantry. After that, you can try implementing some of the following techniques:

• Mindful eating practices: This involves noticing your emotional and environmental triggers non-judgmentally. Simply by noticing the link between craving and eating, you can bring in healthier choices.
• Practice a Ketogenic or Carnivore Diet: These high-fat, low-to-no-carb diets switch your body from using carbs for energy to using fat for fuel.
• Load up on healthy fat and protein-rich superfoods: Before going into a carb-loaded situation, eat foods like red meat and eggs to reduce carb cravings.
• Move more: Research shows that getting more active triggers the release of happy chemicals like endorphins and dopamine that can fill the void that you'd otherwise plug with carbs.

Sleep deprivation can cause hunger, as the body produces less of the hormone that suppresses hunger

Sleep deprivation can cause hunger as it affects the production of hormones that regulate appetite. When you don't get enough sleep, your body produces lower levels of leptin, the hormone that suppresses hunger, and higher levels of ghrelin, the hormone that increases hunger. This shift in hormones can lead to increased appetite and food cravings, particularly for high-calorie and high-carb foods.

Research has shown that sleep-deprived individuals tend to have higher levels of ghrelin and lower levels of leptin compared to those who are well-rested. This imbalance can disrupt the body's ability to regulate appetite effectively, leading to increased hunger and a greater desire for weight-gain promoting foods.

Additionally, sleep deprivation can blunt activity in the prefrontal cortex, a high-level brain region responsible for complex decision-making. At the same time, it can increase reactivity in the amygdala, a more primitive part of the brain. As a result, sleep-deprived individuals may be more inclined to make impulsive food choices, prioritizing immediate gratification over long-term health goals.

The combination of altered hormone levels and changes in brain activity due to sleep deprivation can make it challenging for people to maintain a healthy diet and may contribute to weight gain. Therefore, ensuring adequate sleep duration and quality is crucial for managing appetite and promoting overall health.

Stress and anxiety can be mistaken for hunger, as they are associated with increased levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin

Stress and Anxiety Can Be Mistaken for Hunger

Ghrelin and Stress

Studies have shown that exposure to stress alters ghrelin levels, and this alteration significantly affects neuro-endocrinological parameters, metabolism-related physiology, behaviour, and mood. Research suggests that increased ghrelin levels during stress may be an endogenous stress-coping mechanism, helping to prevent excessive anxiety.

Ghrelin and Anxiety

Ghrelin also seems to have effects on anxiety, although findings have been mixed. Some studies have shown that increased ghrelin levels have anxiolytic effects, reducing anxiety, while others have found that ghrelin increases anxiety-like behaviours. The reasons for these discrepancies are not yet clear and may be due to differences in dosage, route of administration, timing, or other factors.

Ghrelin and the Keto Diet

When starting a keto diet, it is common to experience hunger, especially in the initial stages. This hunger can be due to several factors, including carb addiction, sleep deprivation, stress and anxiety, and mistaking dehydration for hunger.

Stress and anxiety can lead to increased levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin, which stimulates appetite and food intake. Therefore, it is important to be mindful of this connection and manage stress and anxiety effectively to avoid mistaking it for hunger, especially when starting a new diet like keto.

Dehydration can be mistaken for hunger, and sedentary lifestyles can increase hunger

Dehydration can be mistaken for hunger

Thirst and hunger are two sensations that often overlap and are easily confused. Clinical studies have shown that 37% of people mistake thirst for hunger because thirst signals can be weak.

Sedentary lifestyles can increase hunger

Sedentary lifestyles can increase hunger. For example, a study found that individuals with severe obesity who underwent bariatric surgery reported that they had very little interest in or motivation for physical activity and gave priority to any other behaviour instead of exercise.

Another study found that the more time spent sitting, the more energy a person consumed. This is because the more sedentary a person is, the less energy they expend, which can lead to a positive energy balance and weight gain.

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