Eat Walnuts To Control Your Hunger Pangs! Here's How It Works

An online journal named Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism conducted an observational study which stated that walnuts are the best cure to control hunger pangs. Researchers used the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to check how consuming walnuts affects the activity in the brain. The study's first author Olivia Farr from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre (BIDMC) in Boston, US, said, "We don't often think about how what we eat impacts the activity in our brain."

University of Georgia's lead researcher Jamie A. Cooper conducted a study which found out that eating foods rich in polyunsaturated fats, like walnuts, will not only make one feel full but also help in weight loss.

Olivia Farr added by saying, "We know people report feeling fuller after eating walnuts, but it was pretty surprising to see evidence of activity changing in the brain related to food cues, and by extension what people were eating and how hungry they feel."

Farr and other researchers conducted an observational study on a group of volunteers. These volunteers with obesity lived in BIDMC's Clinical Research Centre for two five-day sessions. In one session, volunteers reportedly consumed 48 gm walnut smoothies whereas in the other session they consumed walnut free but nutritious smoothies which tasted similar to the walnut smoothie.

The study revealed increased activity in a part of the brain when participant's had walnuts. They focused on a healthier diet and could control feeling famished. Christos Mantzoros, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, said, "This is powerful. When participants eat walnuts, this part of their brain lights up, and we know that's connected with what they are telling us about feeling less hungry or more full."

A recent study also suggested that eating walnuts, salmon and canola oil regularly can influence favourable changes in appetite hormones and lead to reduction in hunger.

(With inputs from IANS)