Thylakoids: The Fat-Blocking, Appetite-Suppressing Super-Nutrient You Should Get to Know

A Plant-Based Strategy For Curbing Appetite

If you are seeking an easy way to drop excess weight, calm cravings, and reduce hunger, thylakoids found in leafy greens may be the answer. Research has found that these compounds boost leptin (the satiety hormone) and decrease ghrelin (the hunger hormone). Thylakoids are also shown to increase levels of appetite-reducing hormone GLP-1, which has recently become famous due to the diabetes drug Ozempic. What’s more, thylakoids can help to reduce cravings for junk food and sugar. Difficult to believe? Keep reading to learn about these compounds and how they can help you reach your health goals!

Thylakoids 101

Fascinating microscopic structures, thylakoids are found within the chloroplasts of green plant cells. Their role is to harvest sunlight and turn it into energy for the plant by producing carbohydrates — otherwise known as photosynthesis.¹ Thylakoids are composed of around 70% proteins, antioxidants, and chlorophyll, while the remaining 30% is made up of fat.² Chlorophyll is what gives plants their characteristic green color.

So what happens when we eat leafy green vegetables that are brimming with thylakoids? That’s what researchers set out to discover.

Crush Cravings and Lose Weight

Research published in the Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders may have you looking at leafy greens in a whole new light.³ While most of us know that eating an abundance of greens is good for overall health, you might not realize that they can help you eat hundreds of calories less a day by curbing your appetite and cravings.

In an age where people are turning to expensive drugs such as Ozempic for the same off-label purposes, it’s encouraging to know there is a simple, all-natural alternative that will not only help you to shed excess weight and reduce cravings but also boost health with no negative side effects. Plus, it’s economical!

For the study, the team examined human literature published between 1990 and May 2019 on the relationship between thylakoids and satiety regulation and weight loss. The researchers also included clinical trials in their review.

What they found is that each study “supported this hypothesis that thylakoids reduce the feeling of hunger by increasing postprandial cholecystokinin and leptin and decreasing serum ghrelin”, thus establishing the association between consuming a thylakoid-enriched meal and a decrease in appetite, which resulted in lower food intake.³ Additional research independent of the study confirm these findings when participants consumed between 3.7-5 grams of spinach extract with a meal. ^4,5,6

Moreover, a 2014 randomized controlled trial found that overweight women who consumed 5 grams of spinach extract every day over three months had an astounding 43% greater weight loss than those given a placebo.⁷

Researchers believe thylakoids encourage weight loss not only for their leptin-boosting and ghrelin-lowering properties but also because they delay fat digestion by binding to the enzyme lipase. This in turn increases levels of the appetite-reducing hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Because of these biochemical impacts, leafy greens also curb our cravings for sugar and processed foods, which are known to spike blood sugar and promote excess hunger by increasing ghrelin levels.⁹ In fact, not only are you less hungry and more satiated when consuming thylakoid-rich food, but cravings for salty, sweet, and fatty snacks drop by about a third.⁸

If you would like to reap these benefits by including more leafy greens in your diet, good choices include kale, spinach, arugula, Swiss chard, collards, stinging nettle, and dandelion greens, along with spirulina, chlorella, and barley and wheat grass extracts. Of course, spinach extract is another excellent option as long as you do not need to avoid oxalates due to a kidney condition.

Don’t Forget About Your Microbiome

Another important key to sustainable weight loss — including reducing cravings for processed and sugary foods — is tending to your microbiome. The phrase “you are what you eat” takes on a whole new meaning once you take into account the millions of beneficial bacteria found in the gut that flourish (or not) depending on what you eat. Gut bacteria that produce butyrate are especially crucial to maintaining a healthy weight as well as promoting weight loss. These bacteria thrive when you consume abundant fiber and prebiotics, along with probiotics found in active yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, and kombucha. See this post for more information.

Herbal remedies are also helpful for promoting a healthy microbiome — particularly Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), Turkey Tail (Trametes/Coriolus versicolor), and Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) medicinal mushrooms, along with Plantain (Plantago major), Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra), and Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis). Each is found in our convenient Balanced Gut Blend.

These powerful herbal medicines help address inflammation, leaky gut, and candida overgrowth while also providing prebiotic action, restoring gut health, promoting a robust microbiome, and much more.

IMPRESSIVE RESULTS!

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure if gut health was really a problem for me — I always seemed to have pretty decent digestion. But after a friend raved about the results she experienced, I gave Nicole’s Balanced Gut Blend a try as I have lingering health issues that I haven’t been able to resolve.

Incredibly, I noticed a difference in inflammation/bloating within 24 hours after starting this tincture. After a week of use, my acid reflux also subsided. Energy has increased and I find that I don’t have as many reactions to “trigger foods”.

I have been so impressed with this formula that I’ve started my 13-year-old daughter on it as well to see if it might help with her behavior and mood. She is doing exceedingly well with it and we have seen great improvement over the past month!” -C.Wright

Interested in learning more about how this blend can support you on your health journey? Stop by my apothecary today and discover the power of herbal remedies for yourself!

Nicole Apelian

Nicole’s Apothecary Products in this Post

References

1. Kouřil, R., Dekker, J. P., & Boekema, E. J. (2012). Supramolecular organization of photosystem II in green plants. Biochimica et biophysica acta, 1817(1), 2–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbabio.2011.05.024
2. Rayner, M., Ljusberg, H., Emek, S. C., Sellman, E., Erlanson-Albertsson, C., & Albertsson, P. Å. (2011). Chloroplast thylakoid membrane-stabilised emulsions. Journal of the science of food and agriculture, 91(2), 315–321. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.4187
3. Amirinejad A, Heshmati J, Shidfar F. Effects of thylakoid intake on appetite and weight loss: a systematic review. J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2019 Dec 13;19(1):565-573. doi: 10.1007/s40200-019-00443-w. PMID: 32550209; PMCID: PMC7270222.
4. Stenblom, E. L., Montelius, C., Östbring, K., Håkansson, M., Nilsson, S., Rehfeld, J. F., & Erlanson-Albertsson, C. (2013). Supplementation by thylakoids to a high carbohydrate meal decreases feelings of hunger, elevates CCK levels and prevents postprandial hypoglycaemia in overweight women. Appetite, 68, 118–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2013.04.022
5. Rebello, C. J., Chu, J., Beyl, R., Edwall, D., Erlanson-Albertsson, C., & Greenway, F. L. (2015). Acute Effects of a Spinach Extract Rich in Thylakoids on Satiety: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 34(6), 470–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2014.1003999
6. Stenblom, E. L., Egecioglu, E., Landin-Olsson, M., & Erlanson-Albertsson, C. (2015). Consumption of thylakoid-rich spinach extract reduces hunger, increases satiety and reduces cravings for palatable food in overweight women. Appetite, 91, 209–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.04.051
7. Montelius, C., Erlandsson, D., Vitija, E., Stenblom, E. L., Egecioglu, E., & Erlanson-Albertsson, C. (2014). Body weight loss, reduced urge for palatable food and increased release of GLP-1 through daily supplementation with green-plant membranes for three months in overweight women. Appetite, 81, 295–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.06.101
8. The Fat-Blocking and Appetite-Suppressing Effects of Thylakoids, Michael Greger M.D. FACLM , Nutrition Facts, February 1, 2023 · Volume 60. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-fat-blocking-and-appetite-suppressing-effects-of-thylakoids/
9. Wittekind DA, Kratzsch J, Mergl R, et al. Leptin, but not ghrelin, is associated with food addiction scores in a population-based subject sample. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2023;14. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1200021