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I agree. I wonder if there is something about the particular apple variety's acidity--I prefer tart apples, what about you? I know that certain foods such as pickles are known for stimulating the appetite. So, is it perhaps just how tart they are?

Totally agree. I'm so glad to find out it's not just me!

Yep. I'm with you!

The enzymes in apples do help speed up your digestion, I'll wager that is what you find happening to you.

It might have something to do with the size of the apple you've eaten. My girlfriend and I went to the store to buy apples for pie and found a jonagold that weighed in at a pound. Even the average ones at the Kroger near me fill me up pretty well. After one of those, I'm anything but "ravenous."

An apple only has about 100 calories, nearly all of which are from carbohydrates. Most of the carbs in apples are fructose which is even worse for satiety - fructose is actually metabolized and stored as fat, where as sucrose (the other major sugar in apples) gets dumped into the blood stream. This does almost nothing for satiety as they are rapidly broken down and dumped into the blood stream. The result: your blood sugar goes up a bit, insulin is released, and then quickly comes back down.

Protein, on the other hand, is very satiating to the appetite. For example, one egg also has about 100 calories but will make you feel satiated far longer than an apple.

Apples also contain a lot of fiber and pectin, as well as a phytonutrient called quercetin. Quercetin is a wonderful flavonoid which inhibits histamine release (I live on the stuff for my allergies), and may have some anti-tumor propoerties. However, I don't know about apples containing special "enzymes" that help speed up digestion as another commenter stated.

Apples are still a wonderful snack - don't give up on them! Just pair them with a protein and they'll have much greater staying power. One commenter suggested cheese; here in New England I think cheddar would be customary and delicious. Or, try peanut butter -- 3T of peanut butter has about 12g of protein (nearly the same as 2 eggs). I often eat an apple with 3T of peanut butter for breakfast and it keeps me going all day. I think cashew or almond butter would be especially yummy.

count me in as feeling worse {as in hungrier} after eating apples and carrots on an empty stomach.

@ilovebutter: I would definitely be interested.

My favorite pairing with apples is some Laughing Cow spreadable garlic & herb cheese.

I think it depends on the size of the apple, as mentioned above. I'll eat the large apples in place of chips with a sandwich and it's much more filling.

Hmm...now that I think about it, I realise that much as I love apples, in the last couple of years I haven't eaten an apple on its own - always with cheese. A sliced apple with smoked Gouda and/or brie and/or havarti is my go to "dinner alone" when my OH is out of town and it really fills me up.

Oh my good heavens...I thought it was just me! Apples make me ravenous, and apple juice just messes with my head. Paired with some good sharp cheddar, or even some creamy PB, apples do make a decent snack, though. (Is any fruit NOT better with cheddar? Seriously!)

Eh, I don’t feel any hungrier after eating an apple. Though eating lots of fruits is a good side effect.

ilovebutter, I never mentioned any "special" enzymes in apples, but they, like every other thing on the planet, do contain enzymes. Apples do have fiber, and natural sugars, without those natural sugars, the fiber wouldn't break down so easily.

The components of an apple are perfectly in balance, and you wouldn't get fat eating apples, because the natural sugars in the fruit are pretty much used up breaking down the fiber.

Fruits tend to be rich in enzymes, and are not only easily digestable, they can help aid the digestion of other foods. Some in fact, if paired with vegetables and other foods that can cause gas, will reduce or counter it.

Apples with cheese or dipped in yogurt is the only way I can do them. I've powered down two big honeycrisps and been starving 10 minutes later. The fat in cheese or yogurt keeps you satisfied longer.

@Mares - could you clarify this statement: "... you wouldn't get fat eating apples, because the natural sugars in the fruit are pretty much used up breaking down the fiber."

That's not making sense to me -- "fiber" is basically non-digestible carbihydrates including cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin (there are other forms, but these are predominant in apples). These fibers form the structure of the plant cells and basically keep the intracellular contents from leaking out. The sugars are stored in the vacuoles of the plant cells. If the sugars can break down the fiber, the apple would literally digest its self - the sugars would break down the cell walls, and eventually you would be left with a pile of mush even before it left the grocery store shelf.

Apples are about 14% carbohydrates of which is fiber (2.4%), fructose (5.9%), sucrose (2.1%), and glucose (2.4%) (Source: USDA National Nutrient Database).

The digestion of sugars and fiber from the wee apple are completely different processes:

The sucrose is cleaved by sucrase (secreted by the small intestinal cells) to form glucose and fructose. The glucose enters the blood stream to be used immediately for energy, refill glycogen stores, and the rest of stored as fat (the amount in an apple will likely all be used for energy).

The fructose goes to the liver where it is metabolized to glyceraldehyde (GA), dihydroxyacetone (DHAP) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P). The GA and DHAP create glycerol-3-phosphate which makes the backbone of a triglyceride (fat). The G3P is converted to pyruvate, then acetyl-CoA, and then enters the Krebs Cycle where it eventually is turned into palmitate (free fatty acids). Three palmitates attach to the glycerol molecule to form a tri-glyceride -- the body's storage form of fat.

Thus, the metabolic fate of fructose is fat, whereas glucose is (typically) energy.

Humans can't digest fiber (if they could it would be called carbohydrate). Some of the fiber is partially broken down by the bacteria in your gut to form short chain fatty acids which are absorbed and used for energy. The rest passes to the feces giving it bulk and absorbing bile on its way (this is good - it helps protect against colon cancer and can help reduce your body's net cholesterol burden).

As for constipation... that's due to the fiber adding bulk to the feces. But apples are special because they contain more pectin than many other fruits/veggies -- pectin is a soluble fiber, so it absorbs water giving stool greater bulk and making it easier to pass.

I totally agree about eating the apple with something else. If I eat an apple with my english muffin for breakfast, I stay full way longer than an english muffin alone. But I long ago learned I can't eat just an apple for breakfast or I feel just awful all day long.

@Aynsl156 - agreed for hepatocytes. However, fructose is not burned for energy by other cells unless it is first converted to glucose (since fructose can't leave the liver). That distinction is important.

Biochemistry aside, a number of studies have shown that feeding diets high in fructose raise triglyceride and VLDL levels compared to high glucose diets. These results indicate fructose primarily winds up as fat, rather than glucose. For all intents and purposes, fructose should be considered a fat rather than a carbohydrate. (If you disagree, I'll have to direct you to my nutritional biochemistry professor; that was his statement in the lecture.)

I so

These comments were enlightening. Haven't thought about apples, but the Russian Tea, popular in the 70s, made with orange juice, tea bags, lemon juice and spices always made me so hungry. Very interesting comments.

Thank god...I thoughtI was crazy. I often wondered why friends would have an apple to tide them over until a meal. I feel like I haven't eaten for days right after I eat an apple. I always thought the pectin was supposed to make you feel full, though. Makes me want to eat a cow.