How to Eat Less and Feel Fuller: Why Fats are Filling

Many of us eat a square two or three meals a day, and we usually aim to have healthy meals that provide us the energy we need to stay fit. Between these meals, however, can lurk the rumblies that drive us to snack on less-than-healthy foods throughout the day and up until bedtime.

These extra, unwanted calories and snacks can undo much of the effort we put into being healthier.

So, let’s talk about what drives snacking, why fatty foods make us full, and how fatty15 can help tell your brain it is full without having to eat a big meal or snack with lots of calories.

What drives feelings of fullness versus hunger

We have a direct communication line from our gut to our brain: "Brain, gut here. We just ate a fatty meal. Time to turn off this human’s appetite before they eat too much."

This communication line is called the vagus nerve. When the vagus nerve is stimulated, it tells the brain to shut down feelings of hunger and turn on feelings of being full. It ends up, one of the best ways of stimulating the vagus nerve is to eat fat, especially saturated fats.

This is why you feel so full after a fatty meal and likely do not eat again until your next meal. The problem here, however, is two-fold.

• First, the most common saturated fats in food (called even-chain saturated fats, like C16:0), have been repeatedly associated with increased risks of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and inflammation. So, even though saturated fats can decrease your hunger between meals, eating lots of even-chain saturated fats can be bad for your health.
• Second, because we have been told for decades not to eat saturated fats, we have tended to eat foods with more carbohydrates. As you have likely guessed, carbohydrates are not nearly as good at stimulating the vagus nerve, resulting in more hunger between meals and more snacking.

How can we effectively stimulate our vagus nerve and have our brain make us feel fuller between meals - without having to eat a bunch of unhealthy fats?

How snacking can decrease with fatty15 

Fatty15 is a daily supplement containing pure, powder C15:0 (FA15^TM) that may help to decrease snacking and hunger between meals.* C15:0 (also called pentadecanoic acid) is an odd-chain saturated fatty acid present in trace levels in butter and other whole fat dairy products, as well as some fish and plants. The presence of C15:0 in high fat foods (like butter, cheese and whole fat milk), along with other saturated fatty acids, can help explain why whole fat dairy foods can make us feel fuller than many other foods.

Unlike even-chain saturated fatty acids (like C16:0) that have long been associated with poor health, odd-chain saturated fatty acids (like C15:0) have been repeatedly associated with good health. In fact, growing evidence supports that C15:0 is the first essential fatty acid to be discovered in 90 years.†

Science also supports that C15:0 improves our cellular resilience with age, restores our mitochondrial function, and activates key receptors called PPARs that regulate our immunity, metabolism, mood, appetite and sleep.†* Thus, both as a natural PPAR alpha activator and as a saturated fatty acid, fatty15 has the potential to help us feel full and snack less between meals.* 

Fatty15 consumer feedback*

Of survey respondents, 8 out of 10 consumers reported feeling less hungry between meals and/or snacking less within 6 weeks after taking daily fatty15. Here’s what some consumers have shared about how fatty15 has helped to decrease their between-meal snacking.*

• "After just two weeks I definitely find myself feeling full faster and am generally not as hungry."
• "I've been taking fatty15 for about a month now and am already experiencing the positive benefits! Not only have I been snacking far less, but I've also noticed that my energy level has been much higher, especially around midday which is when I would normally feel fatigued."
• "I think the most notable change I have observed since starting Fatty15 is feeling less hungry and eating less per meal. I still eat regular meals, but consume less at each meal and snack less often."
• "After only two weeks of taking fatty15, I feel I have more energy overall and a reduced appetite - and both effects seem to be increasing over this short time period! My husband is experiencing the same positive effects and we hope to experience even more benefits the longer we take fatty15!"
• "I am less hungry but am still eating my meals, while being able to pass by the candy dish without partaking."

If you are looking for ways to decrease the rumblies between meals while also wanting to support your general health, consider taking fatty15.*

Read the science 

For a summary of peer-reviewed and published science on C15:0 (pentadecanoic acid), including our studies in Scientific Reports demonstrating C15:0 as a natural PPAR activator and papers discussing the role of fats in stimulating the vagus nerve and PPAR ligands in decreasing hunger, please click here.