Hunger: How it Works

Have you ever wondered what gives you that ‘hungry’ feeling? Hunger is regulated in the appetite control center. This is in the hypotalamus of the brain. This control is nervous and hormonal.  There are 4 hormones involved with appetite control; some stimulate appetite stimulants and some trigger appetite suppressants. 

When your body needs energy, your empty stomach will release the hormone gherin which triggers your appetite by acting on the neurons of the hypotalamus. As food enters the stomach, the release of gherin is stopped in order to reduce hunger as you begin to feel full. 

The 3 other hormones involved in triggering appetite inhibiting neurons in the appetite control center are insulin, leptin and PYY3-36. The release of PYY3-36 is stimulated by your small intestine as you ingest food. As your body gets the energy it needs from carbohydrates and protein, insulin is released. In other words, as your blood glucose rises, insulin is released to absorb it from the blood stream. Diabetes is when your body is insufficient at producing insulin; it either does not produce enough or does not produce any at all. Leptin, the final hormone involved in appetite control is released by the pancreas as your fat storage increases. 

It is also important to pay attention to what foods you are eating when you get the hungry feeling. Here is a link to quiz yourself on how much you know about healthy foods:

http://www.fitsugar.com/Quiz-About-Healthy-Food-Choices-2920463

For an overview of the appetite control center visit:

http://food--diet.blogspot.com/2010/07/appetite-control-center.html