Hunger

The periodic feeling of hunger is known to everyone. Girls who "sit" on a diet, sometimes afraid of hunger, and people who love to eat, sometimes do not even wait for his appearance.

It can be easy, persistent, debilitating, persecuting, sucking, true and false, arising before or after eating. What is this feeling, and do we know everything about him?

Causes of the feelings of hunger

What are the underlying causes of hunger? Is this one factor, or are there several? Of course, there are many reasons, and even more, hardly all of them are known. For sure, you can only name a number of reasons that provoke hunger.

The true feeling of hunger is caused by the following factors:

• the peristalsis of the empty stomach, which promotes the appearance of "rumbling" in the abdomen and is accompanied by stimulation of the mechanical receptors in the gastric walls;
• a decrease in blood glucose levels, at the same time as glucoreceptors in the brain, digestive system and liver, send signals to the brain about the need for food;
• a decrease in the temperature of the environment - it has been experimentally proven that an increase or decrease in heat production in the body affects thermal receptors that affect the feeling of hunger. That is, the colder the environment, the more energy we need, and the more we want to eat, and vice versa;
• prolonged use of a large amount of high-calorie food causes a more frequent occurrence of hunger, since the stomach "gets used" to a constant load and continues to "demand" it further.

However, there is also the concept of a false sense of hunger when the body does not experience a deficit in energy, but it seems to the person that he wants to eat. This state has several other causes than a true sense of hunger.

Symptoms of the feelings of hunger

The feeling of hunger is a natural sensation that can manifest itself with various symptoms.

Feelings of hunger in pregnancy

In pregnancy, women experience unexplained digestive problems: the appetite becomes either "wolf", or something strange at all - I want to not just eat, but "something like that." And the notorious salted cucumbers - not the limit! Many in this period require strawberries in the middle of winter, ice cream at 3 am, and jam smear on a sandwich with sausage.

The reason for all this is a sharp and almost daily change in the level of hormones in the body, especially in the first trimester. A woman's body is a very delicate and complex mechanism, capable, however, to think through all the details. When a pregnancy comes, he realizes that now it is necessary to do everything possible to preserve and develop this condition. And that the nutrients for the growth of the baby was enough under any conditions, the body begins to stock up. Hence the frequent attacks of hunger during pregnancy. This accumulation is regulated strictly at the hormonal level.

Sometimes the feeling of hunger in pregnancy indicates a deficiency of any vitamin or element in the diet. Hence - an unrestrained desire to eat meat from women-vegetarians, as well as attempts to chew plaster or eat inedible. Such conditions can not be ignored: consult your doctor, you may need to drink a course of vitamin and mineral supplements, and also to revise your diet.

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Diagnostics of the feelings of hunger

Before you begin to combat the pathological feeling of hunger, you need to understand why it arises. Analyze your lifestyle and diet, listen to your body: perhaps, the cause of increased hunger lies on the surface?

• If you have psychological problems (eating disorders, eating problems, frequent stress and nervous tension), then you should seek help from a psychotherapist.
• If you stick to a diet on the way to a slender body, but you are constantly tormented by hunger, then you mis-distributed the food, or your diet is unbalanced. Consult a qualified dietitian for assistance.
• If you have a normal or even elevated blood glucose concentration, but you still feel hungry all the same, then perhaps you have insufficient insulin, or the cells are insensitive to it. In this situation, you should refer to the endocrinologist: this condition is observed in diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
• If your hunger is aimed at a particular product, that is, you want to not just eat, but eat something specific, then you need to be examined for a deficiency in your body of vitamins, minerals, amino acids or other necessary elements.
• If you have an increased constant feeling of hunger, although you eat "for two" and do not gain weight, perhaps you have intestinal parasites. They absorb all the useful substances that you consume with food, and constantly require supplementation. Hand over the feces to the helminth eggs and consult a parasitologist.
• With hyperthyroidism and violations of the monthly cycle, the hormone level in the body fails, which entails an increase in appetite and a constant sense of hunger. Advice: contact the endocrinologist, or the gynecologist-endocrinologist, he will appoint all necessary examinations.
• If you have high acidity of gastric juice or a lack of enzymatic activity of the stomach, consult a gastroenterologist or therapist for further research.

Hand over blood tests for biochemistry, blood sugar and hemoglobin levels. Remember that it is only the competent adequate specialist who will help you to establish the diagnosis accurately.

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Treatment of the feelings of hunger

Hunger is a vital feeling that you do not need to cure. Hunger tells us that we need to recharge our body with useful nutrients to enable it to function normally. If you persistently ignore or "kill" the feeling of hunger, sooner or later irreversible changes can occur in the digestive organs, and in the metabolism and in the brain centers. To correct such pathology will be very, very difficult.

All specialists in dietetics unanimously advise to approach the diets with the mind, not leading the body to exhaustion. You need to respect the needs of your body and understand them.

How can you affect the pathological feeling of hunger?

• To pass analyzes on concentration of microcells in blood, in particular, chromium, calcium and zinc, and further, if necessary, to correct a lack of any of the elements.
• Carry out treatment for helminthic invasion - the causes of not only an increased sense of hunger, but also the same vitamin deficiency in the body, intoxication and digestive disorders.
• At an elevated level of sugar in the blood, contact the endocrinologist: if diabetes is found, the doctor will prescribe a special treatment.
• With diseases of the stomach or intestines, they should be treated in a comprehensive manner: whether gastritis with increased or decreased acidity, gall bladder pathology, dysbacteriosis or irritable bowel syndrome.
• It is necessary to establish their own food, not to refuse meals, not to limit the number of calories below 1400-1500 per day. Take food in small portions so as not to overeat, but eat often - up to 5-6 times. This scheme of nutrition will help to monitor the feeling of hunger.
• It is necessary to limit the intake of simple sugars, because they cause a sharp surge and the same sharp drop in the amount of glucose in the blood, which provokes an increased hunger and requires more frequent meals.
• It is necessary to monitor the sleep and rest. Full sleep is one way to normalize the failure of the centers of hunger and satiety. It is proved that a person suffering from lack of sleep eats much more than those who sleep at least 7-8 hours of quality sleep.

Prevention

An important element of proper nutrition and prevention of hunger is a calm environment in which food is consumed: one should eat slowly, necessarily at the dinner table, preferably at the same time.

If you go to work or study, or just for a long walk, it will not be superfluous to take a good snack with you, so that you do not stop to pay attention to hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and pechenyushki. Bring an apple, a banana, a handful of nuts or dried fruit. If you will be absent for a long time - then take a side dish and stewed vegetables in a tray.

Another reminder of what should be eaten often, but in small portions. It is better to get along than to overeat.

Do not sit at the dinner table: eat - get up, otherwise lunch risks "smoothly go to dinner."

By the way, scientists have led convincing evidence that the prevention of hunger should be carried out in the womb. Habits in the diet and lifestyle of a pregnant woman directly affect the eating behavior of her unborn child. And bad habits in the diet of a woman can be reflected in the future on the appearance of a born baby dependence on food.

For example, excessive eating of sweet and fatty foods can provoke a child's increased appetite in the future.

Older children should also prevent hunger. The specialists found out that those children who often watched TV from a small age (more than 20 hours per week) are more likely to suffer from hunger and look more complete than those children who watched television less often. In addition, it's no secret that food eaten when watching TV or computer games, is digested much worse and over time can cause diseases of the digestive tract. In order to root a child's good habit of eating only in the kitchen or dining room, then, first and foremost, the example should be served by adults.

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Forecast

Talking about the prediction of a feeling of hunger, not knowing its cause, is difficult. Undoubtedly, if you influence the initial cause of hunger, that is, cure provoking disease or eradicate a bad habit, the forecast of hunger can be called positive.

Harmful and useful habits are inherent in all of us. However, not everyone takes them seriously, although our health and health depend on many habits.

Try not to overeat, moreover, get up from the table follows, slightly not milking.

Eat slowly, enjoying every bit of food.

If you lose weight, but could not resist and ate something forbidden, never blame yourself for it. In fact, by and large, nutritionists are allowed to eat almost everything. Just need to monitor the amount.

Making up the menu, do not forget about vegetables and greens: as statistics show, for some reason these useful products are remembered in the last place.

Do not put weight loss the only and main life goal. Sooner or later you will understand that a slender, smart body is fine, but it is even better if it belongs to a person with perfect health.

Of course, it is impossible to correct the feeling of hunger in one day. The foundations and habits that we cherished in ourselves for years can not be eradicated in a moment. Restoring health and abandoning bad habits is often associated with a long hard work and willpower. Do not try to change everything at once - replace bad habits good gradually, for example, one habit per week or per month. The main thing is not to give up and go forward.