Hunger!!!

     What makes you hungry?  There are quite a few things in your body that sends hormones saying you’re hungry.  These are called physiological factors of hunger.  Many people can guess that your stomach tells you that you’re hungry.  True, but what is the number one place that tells you?  And what are some interesting parts of your body that gives off hunger hormones?

     Your brain is the most powerful part of your body.  When it comes to hunger, the brain is in charge.  The hypothalamus performs various functions, including the control of hunger.  Blood vessels supply the hypothalamus, enabling it to respond to our current blood chemistry as well as to incoming neural information about the body’s state.  In short, it is a sensory intake machine on how the body is doing nourishment wise.    It receives multiple different hormones from your digestive track on hunger status.  These hunger hormones are released for different reasons.

     Leptin and Ghrelin are secreted by the stomach.  Ghrelin is the “I’m hungry” message to the hypothalamus.  If the stomach is empty, it will start to contract and release ghrelin.  One easy way to stay full is to load up on protein! It takes a solid two to three hours to digest complex proteins.  Your body will not send ghrelin hormones to the hypothalamus if it is busy digesting protein. Leptin is secreted by fat cells.  When they are abundant, they send an “I’m full” signal to the hypothalamus.  It causes the brain to increase metabolism and decrease hunger.

     Orexin is a weird hunger hormone.  It is stored in the hypothalamus.  Your brain has a biological clock.  IF you ever feel like you get hungry at a certain time, every day, orexin is the reason.  It sends the hormones from when your usual meal times are.  Even if you have a huge breakfast, you might still be hungry for lunch because orexin was released.

     PYY is a digestive tract hormone.  Usually released by the small intestine, it sends a “stop eating, I’m full” message to the hypothalamus.  If your small intestines are hard at work, they don’t want more food coming in.    

     These are just the hormones that cause you to be hungry.  They account for a third of your hunger pains.  Other major factors include sleep, stress, and social situations.  If you don’t sleep enough, you will consume more to make up for your lack of energy.  If you are stressed, you might stress eat or not eat at all.  Social situations can make you eat even if you aren’t hungry.  There are so many factors that contribute to hunger.

 

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