A constant feeling of hunger can indicate both the presence of a disease and the wrong lifestyle leading to this phenomenon. Only a specialist can determine the exact cause of constant hunger. Nature has many functions in the human brain that help to remove waste products, monitor sleep, and prevent starvation.
Center in the brain
In the cerebral cortex is the center responsible for nutrition. It is in connection with the digestive organs, carried out with the help of nerve endings, and allows you to control the feeling of hunger. The nutrition center is divided into two areas, one of which is responsible for saturation and is located in the hypothalamus, and the other is responsible for hunger and is located in the lateral sector. Thanks to these areas, the brain receives a signal about a lack of energy and nutrients, as well as about the onset of saturation. What could be the reason for the constant feeling of hunger?
Waysreceiving a signal
The brain center responsible for nutrition receives information about the sufficient intake of food in the body in two ways:
1. Through signals transmitted by nerve endings emanating from the organs of the gastrointestinal tract.
2. By processing information about the amount of nutrients ingested with food, namely amino acids, glucose, fats, etc.
Causes of constant hunger
The reasons for the constant feeling of hunger even after eating can be of a very different nature. The main ones are:
1. Hyperrexia. This is a state in which the patient constantly experiences a feeling of hunger, although the body does not need to replenish nutrients.
2. Hyperthyroidism, manifested by increased synthesis of enzymes produced by the thyroid gland.
3. Diabetes. Patients experience a constant feeling of hunger with this pathology very often.
4. Pathologies of the stomach, such as peptic ulcer or gastritis with high acidity.
5. Psychological food addiction.
6. Intense mental stress, such as during a student session.
7. Failure in the hormonal balance of the body.
8. Intense physical activity that provokes massive expenditure of energy.
9. Restriction of consumed products, mono-diets.
10. Prolonged depression.
11. Thirst.
12. menstrual disorderloop.
13. An unbalanced diet is a common cause of constant hunger in women.
Hunger occurs at the moment when the body signals the brain about the lack of energy. This is a normal reaction of the body, which prevents exhaustion and protects all organs and systems. The constant feeling of hunger can appear due to two main factors: a physiological or psychological disorder.
The process of nutrition is normal
In the normal state, the process of nutrition is as follows:
1. An impulse is transmitted to the brain, requiring replenishment of energy reserves.
2. Nutrition is provided to the body.
3. The next pulse reports saturation.
4. Hunger recedes.
If a constant feeling of hunger haunts a person, then this indicates a break in one of the above connections. The constant desire to eat, if you do not take action, will inevitably lead a person to overweight and the pathologies that follow.
Symptoms
A person begins to experience a feeling of hunger at the moment when the stomach sends the first impulse to the brain. The true feeling of hunger occurs approximately 12 hours after eating. This period depends on the individual characteristics of the person and is not common to all.
Hunger is characterized by stomach cramps that last up to half a minute. Spasms occur intermittently, and there isstrengthening trend. After a certain period of time, spasms become constant and acute. Then he begins to "suck in the pit of the stomach", while the stomach growls.
How to get rid of the constant feeling of hunger, many are interested.
Emotional turmoil
Emotional upheavals have the property of suppressing hunger for a certain period of time. Patients with high blood sugar have been found to suffer more than anyone else.
There is also a constant feeling of hunger with gastritis.
Doctors often hear complaints about this from their patients. However, establishing the cause of this phenomenon is quite difficult. This is due to the large number of factors that can cause this symptom. Sometimes women in the first stage of pregnancy experience a constant desire to eat. This is a physiological phenomenon that does not require special attention and does not cause concern.
Hunger after meals
There are some patients who feel a constant feeling of hunger even immediately after eating. The reasons for this phenomenon are:
1. A drop in glucose levels caused by psychological or physiological factors. Prolonged imbalance between glucose and insulin can lead to the development of diabetes, which subsequently leads to a constant feeling of hunger. Trying to stop this feeling will lead to inevitable overeating and obesity.
2. Abrupt change in mode and qualitynutrition. This may be a corrective diet, fasting for he alth purposes, or moving to a new climate. Over a certain period of time, the body is restructured in a new way.
3. Significant restriction in the frequency of meals and their volumes. Eat should be fractional, so as not to force the body to starve. Reducing the number of meals will inevitably lead to the fact that the body will require food.
4. The state of stress. When the body experiences negative emotional upheavals, it actively tries to replenish the level of the hormone of joy, and the easiest way to do this is by eating something tasty. This is called stress eating and is quite common. Such a desire forms in the brain a connection between a stressful situation and food. In especially severe cases, only a qualified psychologist can overcome the feeling of hunger caused by stress.
5. Intense mental activity. It is also a factor that can cause hunger immediately after eating. Quite often, people engaged in mental work neglect the diet and replace a full meal with snacks. Such a regime is by no means he althy, and it leads to the fact that after a very short period of time after eating a person wants to eat again. The solution to the problem is to change the diet. This refers to the transition to three meals a day with he althy snacks between main meals.
6. Frequent diets can also provoke permanentfeeling of emptiness in the stomach. When the body finds itself in the framework of a deficient diet, it tries by any means to make up for the shortage. He does this even from the minimum food received, and often creates a reserve. Therefore, people who are on strict diets sometimes get weight gain instead of the expected decrease. You should carefully listen to the desires of your own body. This will help to avoid unwanted consequences and complications. A balanced diet should be preferred over strict diets.
7. Deficiency of trace elements and vitamins in the body can also cause a feeling of constant hunger. If you want to eat s alty foods, you should add magnesium-rich foods to your diet. Harmful sweets such as sweets and cookies can be replaced with dried fruits and dark chocolate (in moderation). Cabbage, fruits and poultry meat will help replenish phosphorus, chromium and sulfur.
8. Another factor that can cause a feeling of constant hunger is premenstrual syndrome. This is due to the fact that during this period in the body of a woman there is a deficiency of estrogen. Therefore, a woman irresistibly wants something to eat all the time. The only advice that can be given in such a situation is to give preference to he althy food, even if increasing its amount. Drinking more pure water is also recommended.
It is important not only to find out the causes of the constant feeling of hunger, but also to start therapy in a timely manner.
Treatment
The main question is what to do if the feelinghunger does not go away even after eating. First of all, you should contact the local therapist. The doctor, after questioning and examination, will send the patient to a narrower specialist. In unopened cases, the general recommendations of nutritionists may be:
1. Eat as many fiber-rich foods as possible.
2. When you want to eat, drink mineral or plain water.
3. The plate for food should be small, light shades. Scientists have found that bright colors stimulate appetite.
4. Chew food slowly and thoroughly. This will allow the stomach to signal satiety in time and avoid overeating.
5. Do not read or watch TV while eating.
6. The diet should not be rigid. It should be a nutritionally based decision to lead a he althy lifestyle.
7. After dinner, you should clean up the dishes and wash them. Sitting at the table after a meal makes you want to try something else.
8. You can't eat while standing and walking. Only sitting at the table.
9. You should reduce the number of foods that stimulate your appetite.
10. No later than two hours before going to bed, you should eat the last meal of the day.
11. During work, any food should be removed from the table, as its presence leads to unconscious plentiful snacks.
12. If you want to eat - distract your brain, play sports, read books, play board games, do household chores.
Solve psychological problems
When the reasonfeeling of constant hunger is in the field of psychological problems, you should get advice from a neurologist and psychologist. They will help you deal with the problem.
What else to do with the constant feeling of hunger?
Sometimes you may need to consult a gastroenterologist and an endocrinologist. This will eliminate the violation in the hormonal background as the cause of constant hunger. Treatment in this case is carried out on a medical basis.
Conclusion
So, the reasons for the appearance of a feeling of constant hunger are quite diverse and versatile. Therefore, to determine the factor provoking this symptom, it is necessary to consult a specialist. The problem of constant feeling of hunger after eating is much more serious than it seems at first glance, and requires special attention from the patient. It is better to address this issue in a timely manner, as this will help to avoid serious disorders in the body.
