When it comes to dealing with hunger, a common-sense way of dealing with it is “eat something”. However, many people find that they then eat the wrong things, in the wrong quantities, and end up in a cycle of overeating and being hungry.

If this gets to the extreme, it can turn into a full-blown eating disorder:

Eating Disorders: More Varied (And Prevalent) Than People Think

…and even in more moderate presentations, the cycle of hunger and overeating is not great for the health. So, how to avoid that?

Listen to your body (but: actually listen)

Your body says: we’re running a little low on glycogen reserves so our energy’s going to start suffering in a few hours if we don’t eat some fruit, kill something and eat its fatty organs, or perhaps find some oily nuts.

You hear: eat something bright and sugary, shout at the dog, eat some fried food, got it!

Your body says: our water balance is a little off, we could do with some sodium, potassium, and perhaps some phosphorus to correct it.

You hear: eat something salty, got it, potato chips coming right up!

…and so on. Now, we know 10almonds readers are quite a health-conscious readership, so perhaps your responses are not quite like that. But the take-away point is still important: we need to listen to the whole message, and give the body what it actually needs, not what will just shut the message off the most quickly.

Here’s how: Intuitive Eating Might Not Be What You Think

Bonus: Interoception: Improving Our Awareness Of Body Cues

About those cravings…

As illustrated a little above, a lot of cravings might not be what they first appear, and in evolutionary terms, our body is centuries behind industrialization, in terms of adaptations, which means that even if we try to take the above into account, our responses can sometimes be inappropriate in the age of supermarkets.

See also: The Science of Hunger, And How To Sate Cravings

Natural appetite suppressants

Eating more is not always the answer, not even if it’s more healthy food. And hunger pangs can be especially inconvenient if, for example, we are fasting at present, which is by the way a very healthful thing for most people:

Learn more: Intermittent Fasting: What’s the truth?

One way to suppress hunger is simply to trigger the stomach into sending “full” signals, which involves filling it. Since you do not want to overeat, the trick here is imply to use high-volume food.

Consider for example: 30 grapes and 30 raisins have approximately the same calorie count (what with raisins being dried grapes, and the calories didn’t evaporate), but the bowl of fresh fruit is going to physically fill your stomach a lot more quickly than the tiny amount of dried fruit.

More on this: Some Surprising Truths About Hunger And Satiety

Protein is of course also an appetite suppressant, but it takes about 20 minutes for the signal to kick in. So a “hack” here is to snack on something proteinous at least 15 minutes before your main meal (for example, a portion of nuts while cooking, unless you’re allergic, or some dried fish unless you’re vegetarian/vegan; you get it, pick something high in protein and good for snacking, and have a small portion before your main meal).

Nor is protein the only option!

See also: 3 Natural Appetite Suppressants Better Than Ozempic

Scale it down

Related to the above, there is a feedback loop that occurs here. The more you eat, the more your stomach slowly grows to accommodate it; the less you eat, the more your stomach slowly shrinks because the body tries hard to be an efficient organism, and will not maintain something that isn’t being used.

So, there’s a bit of a catch-22; sate your hunger by filling your stomach with high volume foods, but filling it will cause it to grow?

The trick is: do the “eat until 80% full” thing. That’s full enough that you have had a nice meal and are not suffering, without stretching the stomach.

Enjoy your food

Seriously! Actually enjoy it. Which means paying full attention to it. Eating can and should be a wonderful experience, so it’s best savored rather than inhaling a bowl of something in 30 seconds.

Have you seen those dog bowls that have obstructions to slow down how quickly a dog eats? We can leverage that kind of trick too! While you might not want to eat from a dog bowl, how about having a little bowl of pistachio nuts rather than ready-to-eat peanuts? Or any shelled nuts that we must shell as we go. If you’re allergic to nuts, there are plenty of other foods with a high work-to-food ratio. Take some time and enjoy that pomegranate, for instance!

Not that we necessarily have to make things difficult for ourselves either; we can just take appropriate care to ensure a good dining experience. Life is for living, so why not enjoy it?

See also: Mindful Eating: How To Get More Out Of What’s On Your Plate

Enjoy!

A spoonful of pepper makes the… Hang on, no, that’s not right…

We know that spices are the spice of life, and many have great health-giving qualities. But…

1. How much is the right amount?
2. What’s the minimum to get health benefits?
3. What’s the maximum to avoid toxicity?

That last one always seems like a scary question, but please bear in mind: everything is toxic at a certain dose. Oxygen, water, you-name-it.

On the other hand, many things have a toxicity so low that one could not physically consume it sufficiently faster than the body eliminates it, to get a toxic build-up.

Consider, for example, the €50 banknote that was nearly withdrawn from circulation because one of the dyes used in it was found to be toxic. However, the note remained in circulation after scientists patiently explained that a person would have to eat many thousands of them to get a lethal dose.

So, let’s address these questions in reverse order:

What’s the maximum to avoid toxicity?

In the case of the spices we’ll look at today, the human body generally* has high tolerance for them if eaten at levels that we find comfortable eating.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have (or may have) a medical condition that may be triggered by spices, go easier on them (or if appropriate, abstain completely) after you learn about that.

Check with your own physician if unsure, because not only are we not doctors, we’re specifically not your doctors, and cannot offer personalized health advice.

We’re going to be talking in averages and generalizations here. Caveat consumator.

For most people, unless you are taking the spice in such quantities that you are folding space and seeing the future, or eating them as the main constituents of your meal rather than an embellishment, you should be fine. Please don’t enter a chilli-eating contest and sue us.

What is the minimum to get health benefits and how much should we eat?

The science of physiology generally involves continuous rather than discrete data, so there’s not so much a hard threshold, as a point at which the benefits become significant. The usefulness of most nutrients we consume, be they macro- or micro-, will tend to have a bell curve.

In other words, a tiny amount won’t do much, the right amount will have a good result, and usefulness will tail off after that point. To that end, we’re going to look at the “sweet spot” of peaking on the graph.

Also note: the clinical dose is the dose of the compound, not the amount of the food that one will need to eat to get that dose. For example, food x containing compound y will not usually contain that compound at 100% rate and nothing else. We mention this so that you’re not surprised when we say “the recommended dose is 5mg of compound, so take a teaspoon of this spice”, for example.

Further note: we only have so much room here, so we’re going to list only the top benefits, and not delve into the science of them. You can see the related main features for more details, though!

The “big 5” health-giving spices, with their relevant active compound:

• Black pepper (piperine)
• Hot pepper* (capsaicin)
• Garlic (allicin)
• Ginger (gingerol)
• Turmeric (curcumin**)

*Cayenne pepper is very high in capsaicin; chilli peppers are also great

**not the same thing as cumin, which is a completely different plant. Cumin does have some health benefits of its own, but not in the same league as the spices above, and there’s only so much we have room to cover today.

Black pepper

• Benefits: antioxidant, anti-cancer, boosts bioavailability of other nutrients, aids digestion
• Dosage: 5–20mg for benefits
• Suggestion: ½ teaspoon of black pepper is sufficient for benefits. However, this writer’s kitchen dictum in this case is “if you can’t see the black pepper in/on the food, add more”—but that’s more about taste!
• Related main feature: Black Pepper’s Anti-Cancer Arsenal (And More)

Hot Pepper

• Benefits: anti-inflammatory, metabolism accelerator
• Dosage: 6mg gives benefits, 500mg is a common dose in capsules
• Suggestion: if not making a spicy dish, consider using a teaspoon of cayenne as part of the seasoning for rice or potatoes
• Related main feature: Capsaicin For Weight Loss And Against Inflammation

Garlic

• Benefits: heart health, blood sugar balancing, anti-cancer
• Dosage: 4–8µg for benefits
• Suggestion: 1–2 cloves daily is generally good. However, cooking reduces allicin content (and so does oxidation after cutting/crushing), so you may want to adjust accordingly if doing those things.
• Related main feature: The Many Health Benefits Of Garlic

Ginger

• Benefits: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-nausea
• Dosage: 3–4g for benefits
• Suggestion: 1 teaspoon grated raw ginger or ½ a teaspoon powdered ginger, can be used in baking or as part of the seasoning for a stir-fry
• Related main feature: Ginger Does A Lot More Than You Think

Turmeric

• Benefits: anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer
• Dosage: 500–2000mg for benefits
• Suggestion: ¼ teaspoon per day is sufficient for benefits; ½ teaspoon dropped into the water when cooking rice will infuse the rice with turmeric (which is very water-soluble), turn the rice a pretty golden color, and not affect the flavor. Throw in some black pepper as it increases the bioavailability of curcumin up to 2000%
• Related main feature: Why Curcumin (Turmeric) Is Worth Its Weight In Gold

Closing notes

The above five spices are very healthful for most people. Personal physiology can and will vary, so if in doubt, a) check with your doctor b) start at lowest doses and establish your tolerance (or lack thereof).

Enjoy, and stay well!