4 Top reasons why you are always hungry-Are
you hungry all the time? Your drinking habits, your anxiety and stress levels,
and other lifestyle factors may be to blame.
So what are your hidden causes of
hunger? It`s one thing to notice an increase in one’s appetite if you’re
pumping iron and slaving away at a gym or if you’re PMS-in or even pregnant.
But if your case makes you feel like you have a big hole in your stomach that
can’t be filled for no apparent reason, then something is probably up. It is
said that hunger is a manifestation of one’s physiological need for calories,
salt, and water and it is being driven by a concoction of different things
including your hormones, your diet and other emotional factors such as
anxieties, stress levels and more. Finding out why you can’t seem to stop
munching on food is essential because excessive hunger can lead you down to
either a physical and mental issue. And giving in to your frequent food
cravings can throw your BMI off-balance sending you to unhealthy territories. Below
are some of the things that can enlighten you as to why you’re always hungry
for food.
1. Stress
Lucky are the persons who have not been
stressed at any point in their lives. But for those who have, chances are
they’ve experienced an un-explainable increase in their appetites too. When you
feel tensed, your system tends to intensify the production of the stress
hormones called cortisol and adrenaline. This tricks your body into thinking
that you are under threat and needs energy thereby making you crave for food to
satisfy your hunger. Stress also lowers your serotonin levels in the brain
making you feel hungry when in fact you’re really not. To counter this, try to
control your stress levels. Always do a breather, or participate in yoga
classes to calm your mind and body.
2. Dehydration
Dehydration, even on its mildest state can
often be masked as hunger pangs, when in truth, it is water that your body
really needs. This confusion happens in the hypothalamus—the brain part that
controls both thirst and appetite. When you lack fluids in your body, it all
gets wiry in the hypothalamus which leads you to grab a bag of junk food rather
than a bottle of water. To prevent this, you need to make sure that you load up
on water and keep yourself hydrated. If you feel all hungry and you realized
that you haven’t drank much for the day, consider drinking a glass of water
first and wait for 15-20 minutes after to see if your hunger will dissipate.
3. Inadequate sleep and rest
If you sleep very poorly the previous night, it’s
almost a guarantee that by the time you wake up, two hormones linked to
appetite have already begun working against you. Ghrelin is a hormone that
stimulates a person’s appetite, and lack of proper sleep can cause the body to
have an increase level of ghrelin which causes you to feel hungry. On the other
hand, there is leptin—the hormone that causes you to have that feeling of
“fullness”. The leptin levels in your body decreases if you don’t get to sleep
well, making you wake up feeling hungry after. Also, if you’re a restless
sleeper, you are more likely to suffer from fatigue and brain fog. To eliminate
this from happening, shoot for about 7-8 hours of restful sleep each night so
you can get your hunger hormones and energy levels back on the right track.
4. Too Much consumption of
starchy carbohydrates food
Do you ever noticed as to when you eat a
cookie (or a doughnut), a piece seems never enough and you’d like to go back
for more? Yep, that’s your brain when it comes to starchy carbohydrates. The
starch or simple carbs found in cookies, crackers and other sugary treats can
quickly increase your blood glucose levels then gets it plunging down as fast
soon after. When your blood sugar goes down fast, it causes intense cravings
for more sugary treats—it’s such a vicious cycle. So prevent your sugar levels
from fluctuating by trying to avoid foods that are high in sugary carbs.
Instead, get your carbohydrate fix by going for foods that are loaded with
complex carbohydrates for a more filling effect. Examples of which include
apples, almonds, chia, pistachios and more.
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