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Hunger Maintenance

Beyond keeping you healthy, when eaten in small amounts daily, peanuts are unique because they can help you last until your next meal. A small amount of peanuts will fill your stomach so that you are not thinking of what else you can grab from your lunch bag.

See for yourself. Researchers at Purdue University showed that people had improved feelings of fullness and better satisfaction from eating peanuts and peanut butter than other high carbohydrate snacks, such as rice cakes (Kirkmeyer, 2000). And those who ate peanuts naturally compensated for the additional calories from peanuts because they did not add additional calories to their daily diets.

In another study in which 500 calories of peanuts were added to the diet on top of what people were normally eating, fewer calories from other foods throughout the day were eaten (Alpher, 2003). In fact, the subjects did not gain the expected weight because their appetites were curbed.

A serving of peanuts is an excellent source of protein and a good source of fiber.  These components are thought to contribute to the fact that they can keep you full until the next meal.   Emerging evidence is also showing that the type of healthy monounsaturated fat in peanuts may stimulate a hormone that helps you feel satisfied after eating (Schwartz, 2008).

The fact that peanuts help with hunger management is one of the reasons why they were chosen as a healthy snack replacement for a major weight loss program that is being conducted in high-risk children in Houston schools. The Family Lifestyle and Overweight Prevention program is feeding peanuts to children each day and 2009 marked the start of its sixth successful year. Weight loss data published at six months in Pediatrics and at two years in Obesity show that kids in the treatment group who are eating peanuts daily have lost weight and are keeping it off compared to the control group (Johnston, 2007; 2009).

Whether you are young or old, thin or heavy, eating peanuts or peanut butter each day can help fend off those hunger pangs and satisfy your appetite.