Why are some foods more satisfying?

While the calorie principle has been prevalent in recent decades in terms of dietary advice and weight loss, it is a fact that different kinds of calories are "burned" in different ways in the body.

This means that it is not just the amount of calories we consume that is important for your body weight, but also the way they are intaken. There is such evidence that when two people eat the same amount of calories, those who ate the most fats and the fewest carbohydrates lose most of the weight.

There is another reason why you can miss the goal of influencing the weight by simply selecting foods according to their calorie intake - it has to do with appetite. Two different dishes may have the same calorie content but can be satisfying in varying degrees. Meat and vegetables that contain 500 calories can be more satisfying than milk and cornflakes with the same amount of calories.

Another major factor regarding the food's ability to feed is its glycemic index (GI is a measure of how fast and how much sugar a certain foodstuff issues in the blood).

Basically, it's so that the higher a food's GI, the less satisfying it is. Out of 20 studies published between 1977 and 1999, 16 showed that foods with low glycemic index lead tp increased satiety and / or reduced subsequent hunger. Overall, results showed that a fifty per cent increase in GI value decreases satiety by 50 per cent.

One of the theories about how a food's GI can reduce the appetite has to do with fluctuations in blood sugar levels. This concept was tested recently in a group of obese women. All women in the study received the same breakfast and lunch. This was supplemented with a sugary drink (high GI). On one occasion, women drank the beverage for breakfast. On another occasion, the beverage was consumed in the eight portions during the day. Appetite was assessed every hour during the day, as both glucose and insulin levels in the blood.

Those who adopted the drink at breakfast were hungrier after four hours compared with those who ingested the same amount of fluid in eight portions during the day. These differences appeared to be more linked to blood sugar than insulin. The authors of this study concluded that their findings support the idea that changes in blood sugar levels can affect the appetite.

Evidence suggests that those who want to stop their appetite should put more emphasis on eating low GI foods. This does not only control the intake of carbohydrates from starch-rich products such as bread and some breakfast cereals.

A breakfast that I recommend that has a low GI, which I think is really satisfying, is natural yoghurt and muesli with a mixture of oatmeal, various nuts and some dried fruits. My experience is that people who eat this sort of wholesome diet at the beginning of the day tend to keep their appetite in check during the day.

Is it safe to eat genetically modified foods?

The EU guarantees that there will be no GM foods in Europe, which are hazardous for the consumer. Today, genetically modified foods need to be approved by the EU before they can be sold in Europe. In order for genetically modified foods to be released, they must be approved by the so-called risk rating for food (Food Risk Assessment). In the considered issue, the following are included:

Does GM food have no GM counterparts? It contains proteins, vitamins and toxins among other fats.
Can consumers be affected by the new compounds or altered amounts of some contaminants in the GMO foods? Does the nutritional value change? Can foodstuff be toxic or cause allergic reactions?

In some cases, the substances are tested on animals. It is hard to know what may come in the future or predict the possible long-term effects of consumption of GM products. 1994 was when the first GM foodstuff appeared, a tomato on the US market. Since then, many more GM foods arrived and genetically modified foods have become quite common. But still, people have just been eating GM food for a relatively short period. Therefore, there may be long-term effects that we simply do not know about yet.

Americans have eaten genetically modified foods. Today the average American eats genetically modified foods every day. It has been estimated that about 65% of the products in an American supermarket contain genetically modified ingredients to a greater or lesser extent.

US studies have shown that many Americans are not concerned about GM foods. They believe that they must be safe because they have eaten them for years without getting sick.

Is it safe to grow genetically modified plants?

It is difficult to assess the risks associated with genetic modification. Scientists cannot be sure of the long-term effects since GM crops have only been around for a relatively short time. There is no single, definitive answer to the question of what the environmental implications of genetically modified plants may be. All plants are different. Consequently, every GM plant is treated separately.

Before a genetically modified plant may be approved for use in agriculture, an environmental risk assessment has to be made. The assessment consists of several elements:

Environmental impact. For example, can the GM plant spread in the environment and transfer genes to related species?
Impact on agriculture. Is there a risk of pest infestation or of resistance to the pest control methods in use today?
Health consequences. For example, has the genetic modification become toxic or pathogenic?

The authorities believe that there are risks to the environment or to human health and that the GM crop will not be approved.