Appetite And Hunger - What's The Difference?

Have you ever finished dinner at your favorite restaurant, walking down the street you see a pastry shop, whose window is arranged incredibly beautiful cakes. You can't resist buying a piece of chocolate cake and a fluffy espresso. Later in the evening, you can't sleep because of the caffeine in chocolate and coffee, and you wonder, "Why did I succumb to this temptation?"

Two mechanisms prompt us to want food. One is hunger , a physiological need for food. This need is non-specific and any food will relieve the feeling of hunger. The second mechanism makes us greedy and that is appetite - the physiological need to want a specific food. He gets aroused when specific irritants appear - a piece of cake, an irresistibly cooked piece of meat, the aroma of coffee. These stimuli make us feel good and often provoke memories.

In most cases, people have an appetite without being hungry. That's why we can't resist the not delicious dessert, even after we've eaten.

The hypothalamus makes us hungry. Because hunger is a physiological stimulus to seek food, it is often accompanied by negative emotions. The brain is responsible for these negative feelings, not our stomach. The part of the brain that is responsible for starvation is the hypothalamus . He is responsible for many other involuntary activities. The hypothalamus regulates the feeling of hunger and satiety through signals from nerve cells in the stomach and hormonal signals.

The role of nerve cells .

One of the signals that control hunger comes from special nerve cells located in the stomach and small intestine. The cells sense if they are empty. This information is sent to the hypothalamus. If you have not eaten for several hours and your stomach and intestines are empty, the hypothalamus will signal that it is time to eat.

The role of hormones .

Hormones are chemicals that are secreted in many glands in our body. Insulin and glucagon are hormones that regulate blood glucose levels. Glucose is the most easily degradable fuel for our body. That is why its levels in the blood are directly related to the feeling of hunger.

When we have not eaten for some time, blood glucose levels fall, which leads to a change in the hormones insulin and glucagon. They report to the hypothalamus, which signals that we need to eat to raise our blood glucose. When the stomach is full and glucose is at normal levels, we already feel full. And yet, our brains send a signal of hunger. Many of us listen to these signals and continue to eat, even though we are not really hungry.

The role of the type and amount of food we eat.

Foods rich in protein have the greatest nutritional value. This means that breakfast of ham with egg will fill us for longer than pancakes with honey or jam, although both dishes may have the same caloric value.

High fat diets are more nutritious than high carb diets. Another factor that defines foods as satiating or not is how bulky the foods themselves are. Larger foods stretch the stomach and small intestines, which creates a feeling of satiety. The hypothalamus is satisfied. Drinks, for example, saturate to a lesser extent than porridge and soups. And they, in turn, saturate less than all solid foods. For example, if you eat a few grapes, you will feel more nourished than if you drank a glass of grape juice.

Signals that provoke appetite .

While hunger is caused by the body's physiological needs, appetite is a result of our mood and the environment around us. The factors that affect our appetite the most are our sense of smell, our habits (when we are on vacation we tend to eat more, when we are at the cinema we eat popcorn), our social and cultural habits.

The role of smell .

Food stimulates our five senses. The food, which is prepared and presented attractively and has a charming aroma, attracts us much more than ordinary beans in a metal bowl.

The role of our social and cultural habits.

Whenever we are on vacation we allow ourselves to be pampered with something tasty and we often overdo it with food. We associate each holiday with plentiful meals and delicious food, welcoming guests inevitably takes place with specially prepared food. All these factors stimulate our appetite and this allows us to eat more than we need.