Study: ω3 PUFA increases appetite and causes sugar cravings
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This interesting study found that supplementing the diets of young healthy athletes with omega-3 polyunsaturated fats caused increased feelings of hunger, food intake, and cravings for sweet foods specifically.
I think this is an important point to make against the mainstream low-carb argument that omega-3s are essential and healthy, but sugar is like an addictive drug. In fact, the intense sugar cravings many people experience and attribute to its "addictive quality" might simply be caused by a high-PUFA diet. It's almost as though the body knows it's being given inappropriate fuel, and cries out for something better.
One important caveat: increased appetite isn't necessarily a problem if combined with a high metabolic rate and good thyroid function, of course. But in the context of a high PUFA diet, it would seem the intense hunger is a sign of low energy availability, and it's easy to see how overeating in such a state would lead to obesity eventually.
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Though this study used supplementing it still jibes with what we've heard previously, that unsaturated fats don't provide the same satiety as most of the saturated ones. If your food isn't making you "feel full" then you might simply eat more of it.
On another related note, who else here has read that a spoonful of beef tallow 10 or 20 minutes before a meal would result in quicker satiety and eating less?
Interesting study btw, will pass it on, thank you for linking.
