Blurbs are quick less than 2 minute reads under 300 words based on some interesting find here at Ketogeek and would share with you guys! These are short and quick practical takeaways from some of the studies we read. Science is always growing and piling on so one study or write-up doesn't equate to something set in stone. Lets continue to learn!
IS LARGER BETTER?
Many people wrongfully believe that the larger the amount of food on the plate, the higher the satiety of the food and its ability to reduce energy intake. Take three scenarios:
- Sugar Crystals (Low Volume)
- Cotton Candy (High Volume, Low Weight)
- Sugary Soda (High Volume, High Weight)
In all of these scenarios, food satiety will be extremely low as in all these cases sugar will be rapidly absorbed by the body while having a minimal difference between either form. Some foods that are high in volume can terminate a meal(satiation) but they may be low in satiety(long term fullness). A simple example is a water which fills up the stomach but has no impact on long term fullness(satiety) and consequently its ability to reduce energy intake. A similar effect was observed in a study with volume having no impact on long term fullness in obese individuals(1) with no difference in blood glucose and insulin levels because of varying volumes What is also interesting to note that certain low calorie and high volume foods such as lettuce and rhubarb can have a laxative effect(2) which can potentially reduce satiety while having minimal impact on reducing energy intake.
OUR TAKEAWAY
Our culture revolves around "more is better" which may have evolved from primitive survivalist instincts during evolution but it is evident that the focus should be on the quality of food rather than the volume or quantity of food. In fact, high volume foods are cumbersome and constant exposure to high volume foods could lead to increased gastric volume as potentially implied by this comparison showing bulimic women having approximately 150% higher gastric volume than lean and obese women(3). Even with gastric surgeries that involve a reduction in stomach volume, over time the stomach pouch volume increases.
In a nutshell, portion size, volume or packaging size is not the best measure of satiety and reducing energy intake. In fact, a high volume approach might be counterproductive long term.
Hence, with our Energy Pods, the focus has been more on gastrointestinal retention and food structure rather than volume as it's efficient, easy-to-carry, compact and nutrient-dense food emulsion in our goal to create a satiating food product. All of this requires a fundamental re-thinking of what makes food satiating and helps reduce energy intake among consumers such as yourself.
OUR APPLICATION
GLOSSARY
FAHAD AHMAD
Fahad is the founder of Ketogeek and hosts the Ketogeek Podcast, a world class health show about food, nutrition and health. He is into resistance training, Ashtanga yoga, calisthenics and various forms of training styles. Armed with a idealistic goals distilled in a world of realism, his goal is to help the world make a better place. He leads a life of extreme generalism or as he describes it, 'The Renaissance Lifestyle'.
“It never ceases to amaze me how prosaic, pedestrian, unimaginative people can persistently pontificate about classical grammatical structure as though it's fucking rocket science. These must be the same people who hate Picasso, because he couldn't keep the paint inside the lines and the colors never matched the numbers.”
― Abbe Diaz