by Leta Shy

The smell of mint is not only calming but is also an effective appetite suppressant. Try burning a mint-flavored candle or drinking mint tea if you are trying to cut back on oversnacking.

Eating well-balanced meals and snacks are both important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But whether it’s because you find yourself mindlessly snacking or because your meals aren’t keeping you as full as you’d like, sometimes you need something to keep you from rummaging through the pantry. Here are 15 appetite-suppressing foods that keep you feeling full!

1. Nuts
Nuts don’t just contain healthy fats to help keep your cholesterol low—they are also good sources of appetite-killing fiber, which digests slowly so it stays in your stomach much longer than other carbohydrates. A 1/4 cup of almonds, for example, contains four grams of fiber.

2. Oatmeal
Stay fuller longer with a bowl of oatmeal; half a cup of rolled oats contains five grams of fiber. Besides that, oatmeal can help increase your body’s levels of the appetite-regulating hormone cholecystokinin, which may help control hunger in some people.

3. Apples
An apple makes an ideal morning or afternoon snack; the fruit is a great source of fiber to keep you feeling full, and its high water content helps fill your belly as well. Apples also contain pectin, which can help prevent blood sugar spikes that spur hunger. Find out more reasons why apples should be part of your weight-loss plan here.

4. Spices
Studies have shown that spicy food can help keep you fuller longer as well as increase metabolism. A recent study, for example, found that people ate 60 fewer calories (and burned about 10 more) when cayenne pepper was added to their tomato soup (compared with those who ate non-spiced soup).

5. Mint
The smell of mint is not only calming but is also an effective appetite suppressant. Try burning a mint-flavored candle or drinking mint tea if you are trying to cut back on oversnacking.

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Read this article in Women Health

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