snus and appetite

[deebocools]

Much is said about the cigarettes ability to curb appetite- sometimes owing partially to its nicotine content.

When I use snus, however, my appetite becomes ravenous between meals. what is your experience?

I think the cigarette curbs appetite because inhaling feels similar to swallowing, whereas snus use is having a mass in your mouth, without being able to swallow it. what a tease!

[bearcat87]

One of the reasons that cigarettes curb appetite is from the sugar added to the tobacco (wouldn't get this in most RYO and American Spirits). The added sugar spikes blood sugar levels. Nicotine also introduces adrenalin into the blood stream which spikes blood sugar. With snus you get some spike in blood sugar but with cigs you get a double dose.

I agree that snus does make me hungry some of the time. Though the oral fixation of snus lets me ignore it.

[sychodelix]

Yeah, I definitely agree that snus can make you ravenous in between portions. Although I'm finally starting to get it a little bit under control. Mostly.

[MrAbstracto]

I've found myself eating less, mostly because I dont want to take my snus out long enough to eat lol.

[outsidelinebacker20]

I find that snusing makes me think less about eatting. I know it is time to eat when I do not feel like a chew.

Kevin

[mwood72]

Must admit snus makes me feel hungry but this is kind of counteracted by the desire to keep on snusing rather than breaking to eat

[snusjus]

Snus doesn't seem to affect my appetite either way. Smoking definitely decreased it. However, snus has never driven me to eat more.

[sychodelix]

I suppose if I always keep a portion in my mouth, I wouldn't have this problem. But I have been taking snuff in between portions now and it seems to be helping a little more.

[PennySD]

I definitely started eating less with snus.

wouldn't recommend it as a diet though.

[SeneNatten]

Hunger is a curious thing, and works differently in different people. Snus reduces appetite for me; allows me to eat what I want, rather than just wanting to eat everything I can get my hands on.

Curiously, snus also curbs my cravings for alcohol. I still enjoy a drink, but on a day that I've been snusing I haven't had an insatiable desire for alcohol.

My guess is that the two are related. Probably by up-regulating my "reward" neurotransmitters so that I don't seek the same from food or drink. In other folks, it could multiply the reward that comes from eating, I dunno. Or it could be the blood sugar thing. The body is an amazingly complex thing.

[kweki]

Snus destroys my desire to eat anything 2 to 4 hours after its head-spinning effects has worn off. Sometimes, I even find it hard to drink anything (including water) during those times. It just feels like my stomach isn't ready for anything -- even when it's growling from hunger.

Surprisingly, once I have the urge to eat again, I do not eat as much as I normally did. I can now enjoy a juicy burger or a greasy pizza without worrying that I could down the whole thing to make me full. I sometimes have to force myself to eat because I feel so weak for not eating enough.

However, not using snus for more than half a day is a different story. When that happens, I go on an eating frenzy and keep on eating even when I already feel there is no more room. The eating only stops once I have stopped thinking what to eat next. It must be my body's way of coping with starvation it has gone through and will go through. And, it could also be the pause in nicotine intake.

It has been about 4 weeks now since the time I first popped a snus into my mouth, and I, so far, has lost about 10 pounds (was 210 pds at 5'10"). The weight loss wasn't apparent until, one day, I was unconciously kneading my belly when I felt something has changed. I fell off the floor.

The holidays are now long over, and instead of gaining weight, I actually lost more!

Just recently, to start the year right, my officemates set up a competion in which the person who loses the most weight by the end of March gets all the money the participants have pooled in. I just had to join. Talk about easy money.

Since I've never been into smoking before (and will never do because mommy says it's bad ), I can't say if cigars have the same effect on me. Snusing is the only thing I'll do to intentionally get nicotine into my system.

Despite my experience with snus, do not be encouraged to take nicotene for the purpose of losing weight alone. Addiction is a thing you can not easily get yourself out of.

Ah, snus... it makes me fly and light. :wink:

[deebocools]

ha, I like your insight my philipino friend. sounds like nicotine does quite a lot for you...

if you're interested in losing more weight you might consider becoming a vegetarian. I've been doing it for 1 1/2 years, and find my weight fluctuates much less.

p.s. health, not ethical vegetarian.

[deebocools]

also, have you tried betel nuts? I always wanted to pop in a quid...

[kweki]

ha, I like your insight my philipino friend. sounds like nicotine does quite a lot for you...

if you're interested in losing more weight you might consider becoming a vegetarian. I've been doing it for 1 1/2 years, and find my weight fluctuates much less.

p.s. health, not ethical vegetarian.

Well buddy, I wouldn't experience how good tobacco does to me if the Swedes never came up with snus. So, thank you Sweden for your snus, your lovely people, and, not to mention, ABBA, Roxette, (insert: more Swedish bands I'll like in the future and I like but do not know are Swedish), and The Sounds (w/c just happens to be my most fave band in the world)!!!!!!!!!

Yep, as long as your body gets what it needs, being a vegetarian is nothing but a healthy choice. But at 22, I don't think I can make a commitment yet to stay away from animal meat. I still want to know if I'll puke at the taste of jellied pigs' feet, you know?

I do remember being a pescetarian for a couple of weeks after I got sick from reading this http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/iowa_pigfarm_abuse2. I came back to being an omnivore when I missed how good pork is.

Surprisingly, after going through a couple of long periods of hunger (remember, snus kills my appetite), my body now tends to crave for fresh veggies and fruits when hungry. The sight of fried foods (esp. burger) now repulses me. Also, last week I started working out on the eliptical machine daily for at least an hour @ 23-30 Kph.

Checked the scales this morning, and, oh boy, the sight just made my day. I'm now nearing my fourth week of snusing and I'm now only... 194 pounds!!! That's a total loss of 16 pounds!!!

I know it's too early to celebrate but I can't help on thinking how this sounds to me like a success in the making. Way the go, Kevin!!!

also, have you tried betel nuts? I always wanted to pop in a quid...

Funny, a couple of fellows asked if what I have in my mouth is betel quid when they saw me snusing for the first time (especially loose).

Most Filipinos do not know what snus is, so local people who do not know it always relate it to its local counterpart, the betel quid (or, as we say it in, Tagalog/Filipino, 'nga-nga').

Think of the Pinoy (slang for Filipino) betel quid as a chewed spring roll -- a preparation of peeled betel nut and a dab of powdered lime (calcium oxide) tightly rolled or enveloped inside a betel leaf (do not confuse this with the leaf of the 'Betel tree', a.k.a Areca palm; betel leaf is the leaf of a different plant, the Betel) and, if desired, tobacco.

It is used by placing the roll/envelope inside a well salivated mouth. Sometimes, a bit of lime is carefully sprinkled in the wettest part of the mouth (usually a spit-pooled tongue) before everything is masticated. Caution is observed in placing lime directly to the mouth since it is highly caustic and will cause burns when comes in contact with dry or poorly wet membranes (i.e. gums). The reason why saliva is an important part of this process is because water, in this case, in the form of saliva, makes the lime (quicklime) less caustic (water + quicklime = slaked lime, w/c has a lower pH than quicklime).

Like American chew, the juice gathered from the mix of saliva and quid is spitted out. The quid builds a red color because of the lime used. Euphoria, alertness (both thanks to tobacco and betel nut), and warmth (thanks to the Betel leaf) are the desired effects. Nausea, dizziness, and sweating are not unusual for first time users. Most sounds familiar, eh, fellow snusers?

I do not know how long the effects last, but from what I heard, they do not discard the remains of the quid until a day or two.

While 'nga-nga' is known throughout the Philippines, the majority of users are middle-aged people in rural and remote areas. Grandpa and grandma from mum's side, who both grew up in a province north of Manila, were both betel quid chewers but non-smokers. Interestingly, my dad's mom, who grew up in a province south of Manila, did not chew betel quid but, as I remember from childhood, smoked a peculiar brown filter-less cigarette which, unlike the usual cig, is puffed by putting the lighted side inside the mouth.

The use of betel quid is more prevalent in indigenous groups living in high areas where it, due to its warming effect, aids in fighting the cold climate. Despite being addictive, some teenagers use it. :roll: No surprise there.

Betel quid is something that I have not tried before -- and glad that I never did! Recent studies have proved that it is in fact carcinogenic: http://en.wikipedia.oi/Betel_nut, http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakin...ticle_id=49510. :shock:

Better snus than sorry. :wink:

[deebocools]

thanks for all the information.

although most people here are primarily nicotine users and snus is their fix, I just like to chew things, it seems, so betel quid is something I'd like to try. If I had no snus, I'd prefer chewing gum to a cigar or cigarette...