On the one hand, appetite is nothing bad - after all, it is a natural and physiological desire of the body, on the other hand, when the processes responsible for its regulation go wrong, things start to get ugly. Do you have this problem and you think to yourself "why am I always hungry"? Excessive appetite, commonly known as ravenous appetite, can seriously affect our health, contributing to the development of overweight, obesity and diseases related to excess body weight in the long run. Where does it come from? What are the causes? processes are responsible for regulating appetite? What simple changes can slightly curb excessive appetite? The answer to these questions can be found in the article!
What is appetite and excessive appetite?
According to the Oxford dictionary, appetite is the natural desire to satisfy the body's needs, especially food . Pay attention to the word "natural" in the definition - it is very important, because as long as our body functions properly, appetite is a desirable, natural and physiological phenomenon. The problem in this case will be lack of appetite or, on the other hand, excessive appetite - the so-called ravenous appetite, i.e. constant hunger and uncontrollable appetite.
Excessive appetite - basic mistakes
Where does this uncontrollable appetite actually come from? Why, even though you have just eaten a meal, do you still feel hungry all the time? Before I move on to slightly more complicated things, let's focus on the basics, because it may be that your body functions well, but your eating habits are not optimal, and this manifests itself as constant hunger. In this context , the most important thing is to ensure the regularity and satiety of meals . Remember that these two behavioral aspects are crucial in regulating your appetite. You can take care of them with the following practices.
Predetermined meal times - let's assume that you eat your first meal at 6:00 a.m. and the last one at 8:00 p.m., so your "eating window" lasts 14 hours. If you eat, for example, 5 meals a day, it is best to consume them every 2.5-3 hours - regardless of whether it is a working week or a weekend. Unfortunately, many people do not have time to eat from morning to afternoon because of work, study, responsibilities - and what happens then? The body is unforgiving, it compensates for the entire appetite in the evening and thus excessive appetite is activated and we "rush" to eat in the evening.
Taking care of the balance of the meal, the supply of protein, fiber and fat - regardless of what the goal of your diet is, consuming at least 25 g/day of fiber and 1 g per kilogram of body weight protein per day is important for both health and appetite regulation. I will tell you about it using the example of breakfast oatmeal:
Take a look at these two possibilities. The first one lacks fat and protein and after such a meal we have no right to be full, after an hour excessive appetite will knock on your brain - this way the constant feeling of hunger will not go away. And below? We added protein from milk, fiber from berries, linseed and nuts, and fat from the last two ingredients - such a meal, apart from being a real bomb of health-promoting substances, will also fill you up for several hours.
The introduction of food hygiene rules is, unfortunately, a very often overlooked aspect. Research shows that people who eat carefully and chew each bite thoroughly achieve satiety faster. Imagine that you have the same meal on your plate on two different days - let it be a healthy version of the porridge from the point above. On Monday, you eat it quickly, under stress, with your phone in your hand, and after 5 bites you swallow it - your brain barely has time to encode that it will get new energy, and you already finish eating... On Tuesday, you have a relaxed day, you eat in peace, your phone is put away. aside, you focus on the meal and chew each bite 20-30 times - in this case, your body is ready and knows what is happening, so you will feel full faster, which will potentially make it easier for you to endure until the next meal. As an interesting fact, I will tell you that in one of the studies, the introduction of chewing each bite of a meal at least 30 times after a few months resulted in very significant benefits in reducing BMI (body mass index) [1]. So, in addition to improving the feeling of satiety, we have what many people expect - more effective weight loss.
Taking care of the energy density of the diet - energy density is the amount of kcal per 1 or 100 g of product. The lower the density, the better in general. For example: raspberries in 100 grams have 52 kcal (very low energy density), while raisins in 100 grams have 300 kcal (moderate energy density). And assuming that you want to provide 400-500 kcal in one meal, using products with low energy density, your plate may weigh up to 0.4-0.5 kg (!), while based on high-density products, such We generate the same caloric value by putting a maximum of 0.1-0.2 kg of food on the plate. In such a situation, the first option will undoubtedly give you greater satiety, and therefore less appetite later in the day.
Constant feeling of hunger at the molecular level
The constant feeling of hunger at the molecular level is quite a difficult topic. Look at the figure above, but don't worry, we won't analyze it in depth, that's not what this is about. I just wanted to show you that appetite control at the body level is extremely complex and controlled by dozens of systems. Your appetite is regulated by:
brain - especially the area of the brain called the hypothalamus, where the hunger and satiety center regulates metabolic signals and modulates your eating behavior. This hypothalamus sends the signal “stop! There's enough of this food already";
leptin - a hormone produced by adipose tissue cells, which plays an important role in regulating the feeling of hunger and satiety. In the body, it is transported along with the blood to the brain, influencing the feeling of satiety;
ghrelin - commonly called the hunger hormone;
intestinal hormones - including cholecystokinin, YY peptide, pancreatic polypeptide, which transmit satiety signals to the brain through many different mechanisms (e.g. inhibition of gastric peristalsis, stimulation of bile production);
insulin - a hormone produced in the pancreas, the increased level of which (in obesity, insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes) may be associated with an increased feeling of hunger [3].
And my point is that:
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in obesity, leptin resistance develops, which results in impaired control of hunger and satiety;
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in insulin resistance, impaired insulin secretion by the pancreas may disturb appetite;
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in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) , hyperinsulinemia (elevated levels of insulin in the blood) also commonly associated with the disease also impairs appetite.
And this can go on and on, because appetite control is such a complex process that most diseases or pathophysiological conditions can directly or indirectly affect it. Unfortunately, often without stabilizing the disease or pathophysiological condition you are struggling with, it will be very difficult to lose weight, because one or several of the many systems responsible for appetite control simply fail - even if your meals are perfectly balanced.
Summary
Remember that appetite is a completely normal and physiological desire. However, excessive appetite or its complete lack is no longer normal. This may be due to errors in nutrition and meal balance, or diseases and pathophysiological conditions that impair one or several systems responsible for appetite control. The constant feeling of hunger may have a long-term impact on excess body weight and thus increase the risk of many diseases.
Learning healthy eating habits and balancing meals or putting the disease into remission or even curing it completely will curb your ravenous appetite and allow you to better control your body weight. And if you want to say goodbye to the constant feeling of hunger and are looking for products that have a lot of fiber and protein, so they will fill you up for a long time, be sure to check out our brand's offer, which includes:
Literature
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Hidaka N, Kurose S, Takao N, Miyauchi T, Nakajima S, Yoshiuchi S, Fujii A, Takahashi K, Tsutsumi H, Habu D, Taniguchi K, Kimura Y. Effect of mastication evaluation and intervention on body composition and biochemical indices in female patients with obesity: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Endocr Disord. 2023 Jun 21;23(1):134. doi: 10.1186/s12902-023-01379-2. PMID: 37340315; PMCID: PMC10283287.
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Yu JH, Kim MS. Molecular mechanisms of appetite regulation. Diabetes Metab J. 2012 Dec;36(6):391-8. doi: 10.4093/dmj.2012.36.6.391. Epub 2012 Dec 12. PMID: 23275931; PMCID: PMC3530708.
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Flint A, Gregersen NT, Gluud LL, Møller BK, Raben A, Tetens I, Verdich C, Astrup A. Associations between postprandial insulin and blood glucose responses, appetite sensations and energy intake in normal weight and overweight individuals: a meta-analysis of test meal studies. Br J Nutr. 2007 Jul;98(1):17-25. doi: 10.1017/S000711450768297X. Epub 2007 May 25. PMID: 17524176.
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Obradovic M, Sudar-Milovanovic E, Soskic S, Essack M, Arya S, Stewart AJ, Gojobori T, Isenovic ER. Leptin and Obesity: Role and Clinical Implication. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 May 18;12:585887. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.585887. PMID: 34084149; PMCID: PMC8167040.
