Why Do I Feel Hungry After Eating Chinese Food?
Oh, the aroma of Chinese food. The worst possible thing for a person who is trying to stick to a healthy diet. It’s been a running joke for quite some time now that eating Chinese cuisine, regardless of how satiating it may be at the moment, will guarantee that you’ll be hungry an hour after you’ve finished eating it.
- Nevertheless, it would appear that there is a constant truth behind this phenomena.
- Why, out of all the other types of cuisine, is Chinese food singled out as the one that’s supposed to be to blame for this unexplained and never-ending hunger? Even while there isn’t any rock-solid scientific proof to support this particular claim, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Index of Glycemic Content The glycemic load of a Chinese dinner is the most likely culprit behind early feelings of hunger after eating Chinese food. The average Chinese cuisine has a large amount of added sugars (we are all big fans of that orange sauce), as well as straightforward carbs like white rice and white flour.
These kinds of carbs, which have a propensity to be high on the glycemic index, will most likely cause your blood sugar levels to soar for a short period of time; but, after they return to their normal levels, you will feel even hungrier than you did before you ate them. These rises in blood sugar lead your insulin levels to spike, which in turn lowers your blood sugar level down excessively quickly.
You will now have low sugar, which will trigger the production of ghrelin, which is the hormone that causes hunger. Sodium It is quite unlikely that you will discover a Chinese meal in an American Chinese restaurant that does not include a significant amount of salt.
Now, we are well aware at this point that an excessive amount of sodium can be harmful to the health of certain individuals; however, what does this have to do with feeling hungry? Recent research has shown that humans frequently mistake our thirst for hunger, despite the fact that salty foods have a tendency to make us thirsty.
Therefore, if we consume a meal that is high in sodium and experience severe thirst afterward, it is probable that we will also experience sensations of hunger. What’s the takeaway here? If you want to enjoy Chinese food without having to deal with the feelings of hunger, we suggest the following: Rice consumption should be limited to one cup per day, ideally brown rice.
Why are you hungry after you eat Chinese food?
To the best of my knowledge, all of this information is anecdotal, and to the best of my knowledge, no one has ever conducted a research to evaluate whether or not this is truly true. To begin, there is a wide variety in the dishes that are considered to be Chinese.
The Chinese cuisine that is served in the United States, with all of its egg rolls, chow mein, and spare ribs, is not the same as the Chinese cuisine that is eaten in China. Even within China, there are huge regional variations, with certain parts of the country having a diverse range of meat intake, while others choose noodles over rice as their primary grain.
The complaint that American Chinese food does not adequately satisfy hunger is almost often leveled against the use of monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is frequently pointed to as the source of the problem. There is not the slightest bit of evidence to suggest that monosodium glutamate (MSG) interferes with satiety; in fact, it may even have the opposite effect.
Proteins, which are broken down into amino acids throughout the metabolic process, have been proven to reduce ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates appetite, while simultaneously increasing leptin, the hormone that suppresses appetite. Glutamic acid is a ubiquitous amino acid, and monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt of glutamic acid.
It is possible that monosodium glutamate contributes to an increase in leptin levels. In general, foods that are strong in protein, such as Greek yogurt, have been demonstrated to have a high satiety value. Greek yogurt is one such item. The typical Chinese lunch has a relatively modest amount of protein.
They also include a very low amount of fiber, which is known to reduce feelings of hunger. The indigestible component of grains, vegetables, and fruits is known as fiber. Fiber helps to fill the stomach before it is emptied, and a full stomach results un less ghrelin being released into the bloodstream.
Pectin found in apples and beta-glucan found in oat bran are two examples of soluble fibers that have been demonstrated to lengthen the amount of time that passes before feelings of hunger set in. There is also the opinion that western diets frequently include potatoes, which have a very high satiety value, whereas traditional Chinese meals do not include potatoes and, as a result, cause you to feel hungry after eating them.
- This is in contrast to the belief that Chinese meals cause you to feel hungry after eating them.
- Researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia have conducted study on the “satiety value (SI)” of a variety of meals.
- After eating a range of items, each of which had around 240 calories, volunteers were asked to describe their levels of hunger at regular intervals of fifteen minutes.
Other items were judged according to whether they caused less or more hunger than the standard, which was determined by comparing them to white bread, which was selected as the standard and given a Satiety Index score of 100. In general, meals strong in protein, water, or fiber content are the ones that score higher since they are able to stave off hunger for a longer period of time.
The food that turns out to have the greatest SI is oatmeal, followed by apples, oranges, and potatoes that have been boiled. As a class, fruits have the greatest SI and bakery goods such as croissants and doughnuts have the lowest. Additionally satiating foods are steak, eggs, brown spaghetti, popcorn, and baked beans.
It’s interesting to note that a negative correlation exists between the amount of fat and fullness. It is important to note that the satiety index is only a measurement of the beginning of feelings of hunger and has no connection to the nutritional value of the items being considered.
What’s in Chinese food to make you feel full?
The following is a list of the top ten reasons why you can feel hungry an hour after eating Chinese food: A Chinese coworker of mine explained to me that this is because of the effects of monosodium glutamate (MSG), which, in addition to increasing the flavor of food, also serves as an appetite stimulant, leaving the consumer with the sense of hunger despite having eaten.
MSG can cause even less favorable symptoms, such as headaches and nausea, in some people. It’s possible that it’s the high glycemic load; there’s white rice, white noodles, sugar and white flour hidden somewhere in the main meal, more white rice, and a fortune cookie made of sugar and white flour. All of these things add up to a lot of simple carbohydrates.
It causes your insulin levels to surge, which causes you to feel full more quickly, but then you collapse and require more food. It would be an interesting experiment to make a meal that is typical of American Chinese restaurants using wheat flour, brown rice, and an unprocessed sweetener like rapadura or agave nectar.
The meal would then be given to people who were unaware of the purpose of the experiment, and they would be observed to determine whether or not they became hungry again shortly after eating the meal. Traditional Chinese cuisine is notoriously low in fat, despite the fact that fat is the component of food responsible for making you feel fuller for longer.
It’s possible that you aren’t eating enough, despite the fact that you say you don’t eat too much, because the Chinese like to load up on carbohydrates (rice, noodles) and largely veggies during their meals (they eat MUCH less meat than we do in the West), so it’s possible that you aren’t eating enough! I don’t think it’s monosodium glutamate (MSG), because MSG is just a flavor enhancer that comes from a natural source (beetroot), the majority of Chinese restaurants don’t even use it anymore (and haven’t for years), and the ones that do use it only use a very minute quantity.
Although all of the meat choices you have include some amount of protein, the remaining selections are high in carbohydrates and sweets. This will make you feel exceedingly full immediately after eating, but in most cases, your body will once again be hungry once it has processed the carbohydrates and reduced them to sugar after the carbs have been broken down.
Carbohydrates are now being considered as a possible suspect by the researchers. To be more specific, a number of different kinds of carbs, such as rice and pasta. Because of the high glycemic index (GI) of these carbs, more insulin secretion is required in order for the body to be able to digest them.
Some nutritionists and doctors believe that consuming these carbs might lead to overeating because an excess of insulin induces a drop in blood sugar, which in turn creates a sensation of hunger in the body. The majority of Chinese cuisines are built on the foundation of noodle and rice. Both are exceptionally simple to digest and rapidly converted into sugar, which is then utilized by the body.
If you consume a dish that is heavy in simple carbs like noodles, rice, or potatoes, you may experience a boost in your blood sugar level as well as a surge of energy, but this will be followed by feelings of fatigue and hunger. Because authentic Chinese cuisine has relatively little of the critical fats and amino acids that the body needs.
White rice, refined wheat, and refined sugar are examples of foods that are rich in empty calories, which means that they have a lot of calories but no nutrients. If you do not provide your body with the vital nutrients it needs, it will cause you to feel hungry until you ingest an adequate amount of those nutrients.
The cuisine at Chinese buffets typically contains a lot of MSG, which makes you feel fuller after consuming a smaller amount of food. This results in cost savings for them since you consume less calories than you would under normal circumstances. There is a good chance that the preservatives are causing you to get dehydrated.
- The sensation that one is “hungry” is frequently mistakenly brought on by dehydration.
- The salt content in Chinese food is rather high.
- In case you were unaware, salt is composed of sodium molecules.
- Because salt causes you to feel thirsty, bars often provide complimentary snacks like peanuts and pretzels in the hopes that customers would purchase additional drinks.
Therefore, rather than being hungry, you appear to be thirsty. But the one that follows is my personal favorite: The rat that was inside it is now devouring your gut.
Is Chinese food good for losing weight?
Dish typical in Chinese cuisine. Image by kimberrywood, licensed through iStock/Getty Images Traditional Chinese cuisine typically makes use of nutritious ingredients and use cooking methods that are lower in calories. However, Americanized versions of these foods often have extra fats and sodium that enhance the calorie counts, making them terrible options if you are attempting to lose weight. 
Does MSG trigger hunger?
There is some evidence to suggest that MSG makes people hungrier, which may cause them to consume extra food during their meals. The findings of recent studies, on the other hand, point to a more nuanced connection between MSG and hunger, with some of these studies suggesting that MSG may even reduce food consumption during meals ( 23 ).
What Chinese food has the most calories?
Images courtesy of Doug Plummer/Getty Images In American restaurants that serve Chinese cuisine, many of the meals include more calories, fat, or sodium than an average person should take in a day. Take, for example, pork prepared in a sweet and sour sauce.
- This well-known meal will set you back an astounding 1,300 calories.
- Before being cooked thoroughly in a vat of oil, chunks of meat are often coated in a heavy coating of bread crumbs.
- The sauce is made with a number of components that are sweet and syrupy, such as ketchup and pineapple juice.
- In addition, serving sizes are almost usually excessive.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest conducted an investigation on several dozens of the most popular meals seen on the menu of a typical Chinese restaurant. Orange Crispy Beef and Combination Fried Rice tied for first place as the dishes with the most calories, each with 1,500.
- Look at the titles of these foods for hints about how many calories they contain: The flesh in breaded and deep-fried Crispy Orange Beef is what gives it its signature crunchiness.
- The fact that it is both fried and a mixture is the downfall of the dish known as Combination Fried Rice.
- This indicates that there would be more than one type of meat served on top of the oil-laden rice, with the vegetables making very little appearance.
The Combination Chow Mein has 1,200 less calories, while the Combination Lo Mein has an additional 200 fewer calories than that. However, this is still a significant amount of calories for one meal. Doesn’t everyone realize by now that fried food in general is the nefarious stepsister who doesn’t want you to look your best at the ball? Dishes that are made with chicken may not necessarily have a reduced calorie count.
- The Chicken Chow Foon dish, which is prepared with broad rice noodles, has a calorie count of 1,200, while the General Tso’s Chicken dish, which is often prepared with more fatty chicken thigh flesh, has a calorie count of 1,300.
- Ung Pao Chicken, which also has 1,400 calories, may be stir-fried, but it has a lot of high fat since it contains peanuts.
On the other hand, the Lemon Chicken derives its calories from the traditional suspect, which is meat that has been battered and then deep-fried. Do you think a dish made with vegetables would be a better choice? Barely. You can get 1,000 calories from a dish of eggplant in garlic sauce that is the size of a supper.
- The issue at hand is not so much with the components, since it is mostly composed of veggies and other flavoring agents such as vinegar and chili sauce, but more with the process, which is frying.
- Because of its porous nature, eggplant is an excellent medium for soaking up more calories and oil.
- Therefore, before you start eating with those chopsticks, you might want to ask yourself the following question: Are you getting more than you realize from your Chinese take-out? If you want to avoid becoming sick, the best thing to do is to avoid ordering anything that is deep-fried.
Alternative recipes in an Asian manner that won’t send your body weight on a hunger strike include the following: Asian Sesame Noodles Pancake made with fried noodle and pork that has been grilled. Stir-Fried Sesame Shrimp and Asparagus with Sesame Oil Spring Ramen Chicken Soup In the course of her career in the food industry, Liz Tarpy has done everything from cultivate organic sprouts to cast characters for a popular show on the Food Network.
During this time, she has cooked, eaten, read, written, and traveled a significant amount, and she draws from all of these experiences in her work. This material came from OpenWeb and was imported. You could be able to discover the same stuff presented in a different way on their website, or you might be able to find more information there.
Both of these possibilities are possible.
Why does Chinese food make you thirsty?
Because of the MSG, Chinese cuisine always makes me really thirsty. – If you find that you are really parched after eating Chinese cuisine (or any other type of meal), then the likelihood is that you have taken in an excessive amount of salt from the food, or that you haven’t been drinking enough water recently.
MSG does, in fact, include sodium, although it has just one-third as much sodium as regular table salt. A significant amount of high-sodium components, such as soy sauce, broths, and other sauces, are typically found in Chinese cuisine. In point of fact, there are a great many items that we consume on a regular basis (such as snack crackers and flavored chips, condiments, soups and sauces, and professionally prepared dinners) that often contain far more salt than MSG.
It’s high time you stopped blaming your parched state on Chinese cuisine (and MSG, for that matter). Many people in the United States suffer from chronic dehydration, and the aftereffects of a salty dinner of any ethnicity can send us all scrambling for water.