Why do you get hungry after eating an apple?
When you’re feeling hungry you will often decide to have a snack, why wouldn’t you? You consciously choose an apple because you want to eat healthy, but then you feel even hungrier. Sound familiar? This article explains why you may experience increased hunger after eating an apple.
An apple to curb hunger
It has been shown that apples can stimulate appetite, and there are several reasons for this. The most common reason is that apples cause fluctuations in blood sugar levels, as they contain only fast-acting sugars that are quickly absorbed. This creates a sugar spike, slowing down your insulin balance and leading to feelings of hunger. For the same reason, eating a handful of grapes has a similar effect. Fruits with slow-acting sugars, like pineapples and bananas, do not have this effect.
The ideal timing
Fruit sugars can cause you to feel hungry again within half an hour. Some people react more strongly to fruit sugars than others. That’s why choosing the right moment to have a piece of fruit is important. Try having a piece of fruit about half an hour before your lunch to really satisfy your hunger with your meal. By doing this, you can ensure that you can eat again afterwards and still benefit from the good nutrients in the fruit.
Add a handful of nuts
A handful of fresh nuts might be a good idea if you have trouble choosing the right time to eat your fruit. The fats and proteins in the nuts slow down the absorption of fruit sugars, resulting in reduced hunger in the long run.
Not a miracle cure
Don’t skip your daily piece of fruit just because you tend to get hungry again, as it’s always better than an unhealthy snack that has more calories. You can eat way more fruit before consuming the same calories as a greasy snack.
However, fruit is not a miracle cure for satisfying hunger. Therefore, eating an apple to curb hunger might not be the best idea, as you will likely still feel hungry afterwards. But if you had chosen a piece of chocolate or eaten nothing, you would probably feel even more ravenous, so everything in moderation.
