What is the best natural appetite supressant?

[Guest Ramon]

Just wondering on what people think are good appetite suppressant.

[Guest theobromus]

Food always works for me.

I have never known anyone who needs an appetite suppressant. Some need to eat proper food rather than cream cakes and crisps. Others need exercise.

[Torsten]

Sweet cravings and compuslive eating are frequently caused by low serotonin levels and I take a little tryptophan (or tryptophan rich food) for that.

Filling yourself up is a good way to suppress appetite. Lots of wholesome foods, grains and vegies. less meat and no fat.

Also hyperacidity can cause constant 'hunger'. Antacids and proton pump inhibitors work wonders in this case.

Things like ephedra will increase activity levels, but have little effect on appetite, as this increases with the higher activity levels.

As a quick fix, milk can help. While I don't regard milk as a good food, it does suppress appetite.

[Guest Silly Billy]

quote by torsen:

"grains and vegies. less meat and no fat."

i actually heard that a decent amout of meat is good for controling weight coz its got protein which makes your body make musules in stead of fat. (provided u exercise)

[This message has been edited by Silly Billy (edited 14 September 2000).]

[rkundalini]

I may be wrong but I seem to remember that nicotine is an appetite supressant due to its physical effects in the digestive system. So tobacco or pituri might be worth a go.

Re protein vs fat vs blah blah, you can choose any wierd combination of "must eats" and "must not eats" and find it in a stupid book written by some american who insists in putting "PhD" at the end of their name wherever it appears. Rather than trying to read them all and compare them it seems to me that the sanest point of view is to advocate a balanced diet. This means looking at diets of different cultures around the world and seeing what works. And what works is pretty much what Torsten advocated.

Specifically in terms of protein, the western diet already has very high protein levels due to overconsumption of meat and dairy products -- this tends to come in all affluent societies since in ancient times when wealth was more evenly distributed and "agribusiness" non-existent, animal foods were rare and highly sought after nutritionally. Now we rich westerners and moderately rich people in developing cultures have easy access to animal foods and eat too much of them for our own good. Although I'm leery of citing reductionist studies based on incomplete understanding of human physiology, there is a fair amount of evidence implicating protein and specifically animal protein in cancer and in poor absorbtion of various nutrients including iron and calcium. In terms of building muscle mass, it seems that a healthy active person gets more than enough protein to maintain muscles on pretty much any diet (including vegan and not even requiring mounds of legumes etc) that doesn't leave them starving for calories.

[Guest Ramon]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

But I am specificaly looking for herbs or plant material which does the job.

opting to take the easy way out.

What prompted this question was the fact that I have been chewing betlenut.Although I don't notice any cognitive effects I do believe that it stops me getting hungry,

Just wondering if there was anything more effective.

[Guest Ramon]

As far as nicotine.

I am sure that would work but also would have bad effects on my health. I took up smoking on a trip to America where 1 meal is big enough to last you for the day. It worked but soon after arriving in Australia I gave up.

I have tried a nicotine patch and found this to uncomfortable. You don't notice how powerful a stimulant it is if you only smoke it.

[Torsten]

....Khat (Catha edulis)...

basically like ephedra, but it doesn't make you hungry afterwards.

[Guest theobromus]

Mirabilis multiflora tuber dried. 5mm cube. Recommended by Michael Moore.

[Guest Ramon]

I bought some khat last year but it still a bit to small to be plucking leaves from it.

Also is it chewed in conjuction with anything else

[Torsten]

Between the effects of the tannin and the stimulant, you won't need anything else to stop eating

The growth season is just starting. fertilise with dynamic lifter every few weeks from now on. water heaps on dry hot days.

[Guest UV1]

Originally posted by Torsten:

....Khat  (Catha edulis)...

basically like ephedra, but it doesn't make you hungry afterwards.

Would anyone know if Catha Edulis benefits from fertiliser, and if so what sort. I know they don't like rich soil but then again neither do cacti but fertiliser really gives them a growth boost.

My khat looks healthy but dormant.

[Darklight]

My khat has just about finished flowering... it got the same fertiliser regime as all the other trees get ( ie seems to need no more special care than the rest)

I threw a few handfuls of Dynamic Lifter around the base of the plant- I do this twice a year in Spring and Autumn. The soil they live in is very well drained, which I think helps. One of the khat 'shrubs' I have is fairly tall now so I presume it doesn't mind its life

You may still be too far south for the soil to have warmed up to a temperature where yr khat is happy...my self seeded tomatoes are only now starting to pop up which is good sign of soil temperature here.

nightnight

Darklight

[Torsten]

Khat lurrrrrrves dynamic lifter (chook shit & sawdust composted). Start fertilising in spring as soon as the plant starts to grow and do so several times throughout spring and summer while the plant is growing actively. No point doing it in autumn, as this will not be used by the plant.

This plant also liks to be dry or at least well drained, but i summer it can handle a lot of water and will grow furiously if watered once/twice a week or so.