How to Know If You Are Really Hungry
An Anatomy Of The Physiology Of Hunger
- What do you think of when you hear the word hunger?
- Did you know there are several different triggers of hunger?
The word “hunger” describes the physiological need to eat to sustain human life and properly fuel the body with essential nutrients and calories. You feel hunger pains or a rumbling sensation in your stomach and immediately know that it’s time to eat — as always, eating makes the discomfort go away.
But what’s happening inside your body and mind when you’re hungry? In this post, we’ll be walking you through hunger, from the initial hunger pangs to the feeling of fulness after consuming a hearty meal.
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Step 1: The Hunger Grows
Your body relies on blood sugar, also known as glucose, to provide the cells in your body with energy. Less than four hours after eating, your blood glucose levels will fall — the glucose previously in your blood was pushed into your cells to be used as fuel with the assistance of insulin. Low blood glucose and insulin levels begin to set in, and your body begins to show the physical and psychological signs of hunger. You may develop a headache, sense discomfort in your stomach, feel irritable, feel tired, and experience light-headedness.
Step 2: The Brain Gets Involved
Sensing that you need to eat, and soon, your stomach will trigger the release of a hunger hormone called “ghrelin.” This hormone will send a message to the brain (the hypothalamus) to alert your mind that you’re hungry. In return, your brain will release a few additional hormones, one in particular being of most importance — neuropeptide Y. This newly released hormone sends a clear message to your entire body, “It’s time to eat.”
Step 3: Food Consumption
When you finally cave to the feelings and symptoms of hunger, your body and mind respond accordingly. Your blood glucose levels begin to increase back to normal levels, though a high-carb meal may cause a sudden spike in blood sugar.
As you’re eating, your cells will release yet another hunger hormone — leptin. This hormone mostly does the exact opposite of ghrelin, letting your body know that you’re satiated or full. If you have a healthy appetite, you’ll put the fork down when this “full” sensation arises about 5 to 20 minutes after eating.
Step 4: Digestion
After you finish eating, the food you just consumed will travel to the stomach. If your last meal was high in soluble fiber, such as nuts and beans, it might stay in the stomach a bit longer as the soluble fiber gels up. This slowed digestion can make you feel fuller for longer.
Eventually, the food will travel from the stomach to the small intestine and then to the large intestine as the enzymes in your gastrointestinal tract break down your meal. Within a few hours, the entire process will begin again from step one.
Other Causes of Hunger
Hunger often comes from your body’s need to eat, but there are a few other types of hunger that may trigger this whole process. For example, you might experience “nose hunger,” a sudden need to eat after catching a whiff of delicious food.
Other types of hunger include eye hunger (seeing a tasty dish), heart hunger (hunger for emotional reasons), and cellular hunger (your cells alerting your body that certain nutrients are low).
Final Thoughts
Unless you intentionally researched the process of hunger from start to finish, you probably had no idea how complicated this process could be. Your body and mind work together to reach one common goal: Refueling the body to function normally.
Keep in mind that eating for pleasure or emotional reasons doesn’t always involve these steps, mainly because you aren’t giving your body the chance to develop “real hunger.”