Why do we feel Hungry?

Well, Hunger is a feeling of discomfort due to lack of food along with the desire to eat. Hunger is perceived by three modules. Empty stomach triggers the feeling of hunger. The thought, sight or even smell of food can make us feel hungry. The third one is the body clock, our body is quite smart it acclimatizes to our food timings, so when the body-clock strikes so does our hunger cry!


Satiety is feeling of sufficiency, from the biological point of view ‘feeling of full’ arises from brain and gastro-intestinal tract. Some foods like wholegrain tend to induce satiety at smaller portions than foods with refined flour and sugar; this is measured by Satiety Score. Higher the score longer the food can keep your hunger at bay, the lower the score you are more likely to nibble frequently.


There is a misconception, having tumbler full of water before meals, can reduce your intake of food. But foods with good amounts of fiber, protein are more likely to induce the feeling of fullness than water although water filling might work psychologically!
So next time we sit for our meals, let’s be punctual and maintain timings, and let’s take “I am full” warning from our body seriously!

 

-Koya Satyasri