Feeling hungry

The periodically appearing feeling of hunger is known to everyone. Girls "sitting" on a diet are sometimes afraid of the feeling of hunger, and people who love to eat deliciously sometimes do not even wait for it to appear.

It can be light, constant, exhausting, haunting, sucking, true or false, occurring before or even after eating. What kind of sensation is this, and do we know everything about it?

Causes feelings of hunger

What are the reasons behind the feeling of hunger? Is it one factor or several? Of course, there are many reasons, and even more, it is unlikely that all of them are known. Surely, only a few reasons can be named that provoke hunger.

The true feeling of hunger is caused by the following factors:

• peristalsis of an empty stomach, which causes a “rumbling” sound in the stomach and is accompanied by irritation of the mechanical receptors in the stomach walls;
• a decrease in blood glucose levels, at the same time as glucoreceptors located in the brain, digestive system and liver send signals to the brain about the need for food;
• decrease in ambient temperature – it has been experimentally proven that an increase or decrease in heat production in the body affects thermal receptors, which affect the feeling of hunger. That is, the colder the environment, the more energy we need, and the more we want to eat, and vice versa;
• Long-term consumption of large amounts of high-calorie food causes a more frequent feeling of hunger, as the stomach “gets used” to the constant load and continues to “demand” it further.

However, there is also the concept of a false feeling of hunger, when the body does not experience a deficit in energy, but a person feels that he wants to eat. This condition has slightly different causes than the true feeling of hunger.

Symptoms feelings of hunger

The feeling of hunger is a natural sensation that can manifest itself in various symptoms.

Feeling hungry during pregnancy

During pregnancy, women experience unexplained problems with digestion: the appetite becomes either "wolf-like" or even strange - you want not just to eat, but "something special". And the notorious pickles are not the limit! Many during this period demand strawberries in the middle of winter, ice cream at 3 am, and spread jam on a sandwich with sausage.

The reason for all this is considered to be a sharp and almost daily change in the level of hormones in the body, especially in the first trimester. The female body is a very delicate and complex mechanism, capable, however, of thinking through everything to the smallest detail. When pregnancy occurs, it understands that now it is necessary to do everything possible to maintain and develop this state. And in order for there to be enough nutrients for the baby's growth under any conditions, the body begins to stock up on them. Hence the frequent bouts of hunger during pregnancy. Such accumulation is regulated strictly at the hormonal level.

Sometimes the feeling of hunger during pregnancy indicates a deficiency of some vitamin or element in the diet. Hence the uncontrollable desire to eat meat in vegetarian women, as well as attempts to gnaw plaster or eat inedible things. Such conditions cannot be ignored: consult with your doctor, perhaps you need to take a course of vitamin and mineral supplements, and also review your diet.

[ 1 ]

Diagnostics feelings of hunger

Before you start fighting the pathological feeling of hunger, you need to understand why it occurs. Analyze your lifestyle and diet, listen to your body: maybe the reason for increased hunger lies on the surface?

• If you have problems of a psychological nature (eating disorders, “eating away” problems, frequent stress and nervous tension), then you should seek help from a psychotherapist.
• If you are on a diet to achieve a slim body, but you are constantly tormented by hunger, then you have not distributed your food correctly, or your diet is unbalanced. Seek help from a qualified nutritionist.
• If you have normal or even elevated blood glucose levels, but you still feel hungry all the time, then perhaps you are not producing enough insulin, or your cells are not sensitive to it. In this situation, you should consult an endocrinologist: this condition is observed in diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome.
• If your feeling of hunger is aimed at a specific product, that is, you want not just to eat, but to eat something specific, then you need to be examined for a deficiency of vitamins, minerals, amino acids or other essential elements in your body.
• If you have an increased constant feeling of hunger, although you eat "for two" and do not gain weight, you may have intestinal parasites. They absorb all the useful substances that you consume with food and constantly require more. Give a stool sample for helminth eggs and consult a parasitologist.
• With hyperthyroidism and menstrual cycle disorders, there is a failure of the hormonal level in the body, which entails an increase in appetite and a constant feeling of hunger. Advice: consult an endocrinologist or a gynecologist-endocrinologist, he will prescribe all the necessary examinations.
• If you have increased acidity of gastric juice or insufficient enzymatic activity of the stomach, consult a gastroenterologist or therapist for further examinations.

Take blood tests for biochemistry, blood sugar and hemoglobin levels. Remember that only a competent, adequate specialist can accurately diagnose you.

[ 2 ]

Treatment feelings of hunger

Hunger is a vital feeling that does not need to be treated. Hunger tells us that we need to refill our body with useful nutrients to enable it to function normally. If you stubbornly ignore or "kill" the feeling of hunger, then sooner or later irreversible changes may occur in the digestive organs, metabolism and brain centers. It will be very, very difficult to correct such a pathology.

All nutritionists unanimously advise to approach diets wisely, without exhausting the body. You should respect the needs of your body and understand them.

How can you influence pathological hunger?

• Take tests for the concentration of trace elements in the blood, in particular, chromium, calcium and zinc, and then, if necessary, correct the deficiency of any of the elements.
• Conduct treatment for helminthic infestation – the cause of not only an increased feeling of hunger, but also the same vitamin deficiency in the body, intoxication and digestive disorders.
• If your blood sugar level is elevated, consult an endocrinologist: if diabetes is detected, the doctor will prescribe special treatment.
• In case of stomach or intestinal diseases, complex treatment should be carried out: be it gastritis with high or low acidity, gallbladder pathologies, dysbacteriosis or irritable bowel syndrome.
• It is necessary to improve your diet, not to refuse meals, not to limit the amount of calories below 1400-1500 per day. It is necessary to eat small portions so as not to overeat, but to eat often - up to 5-6 times. Such a diet will allow you to monitor your hunger.
• It is necessary to limit the consumption of simple sugars, because they cause a sharp surge and an equally sharp drop in the amount of glucose in the blood, which provokes an increased feeling of hunger and requires more frequent meals.
• You should monitor your sleep and rest regime. A good night's sleep is one of the ways to normalize the failure of hunger and satiety centers. It has been proven that a person suffering from lack of sleep eats much more than those who sleep at least 7-8 hours of quality sleep.

Prevention

An important element of proper nutrition and prevention of hunger is a calm environment in which meals are taken: you should eat slowly, always at the dinner table, preferably at the same time.

If you are going to work or school, or just for a long walk, it would be a good idea to take a healthy snack with you, so that later you don’t stop at hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and cookies. Take an apple, a banana, a handful of nuts or dried fruit. If you are going to be away for a long time, take a side dish and stewed vegetables in a tray.

Another reminder that you should eat often, but in small portions. It is better to undereat than to overeat.

Don’t sit at the dinner table for too long: once you’ve eaten, get up, otherwise lunch risks “smoothly turning into dinner.”

By the way, scientists have provided convincing evidence that hunger prevention should be carried out in the womb. The eating habits and lifestyle of a pregnant woman directly affect the eating behavior of her future child. And bad eating habits of a woman can later be reflected in the emergence of food addiction in the newborn baby.

For example, excessive consumption of sweet and fatty foods during pregnancy can provoke the appearance of an increased appetite in the child in the future.

Older children should also take preventative measures against hunger. Experts have found that children who watched TV often from an early age (more than 20 hours a week) are more likely to suffer from hunger and look fatter than children who watched TV less often. In addition, it is no secret that food eaten while watching TV or playing computer games is digested much worse and can cause gastrointestinal diseases over time. In order to instill in a child a good habit of eating only in the kitchen or dining room, adults should set an example first and foremost.

[ 3 ], [ 4 ]

Forecast

It is difficult to talk about the prognosis of hunger without knowing its cause. Of course, if you act on the initial cause of hunger, that is, cure the provoking disease or eradicate the bad habit, then the prognosis of hunger can be called positive.

Harmful and useful habits are inherent to all of us. However, not everyone takes them seriously, although our well-being and health depend on many habits.

Try not to overeat, moreover, you should get up from the table slightly unfinished.

Eat slowly, enjoying every bite.

If you are losing weight, but could not resist and ate something forbidden, never blame yourself for it. In fact, nutritionists generally allow eating almost everything. You just need to watch the quantity.

When planning your menu, don’t forget about vegetables and greens: as statistics show, for some reason such healthy products are the last thing people think about.

You shouldn't make losing weight your only and main goal in life. Sooner or later you will understand that a slim, fit body is great, but it is even better if it belongs to a person with impeccable health.

Of course, it is impossible to correct your hunger in one day. The foundations and habits that we have cherished for years cannot be eradicated in one moment. Restoring health and giving up bad habits often requires long, hard work and willpower. Do not try to change everything at once - replace bad habits with good ones gradually, for example, one habit per week or per month. The main thing is not to give up and move forward.