What is Hunger, Excess Hunger or Feeling Hungry all the time?

What is Hunger, Excess Hunger or Feeling Hungry all the time?

Chole puri, chole bhature, alloo prantha, butter chicken, afghani chicken, halwa, Naan, butter Naan, what bhookh bad gaya??

Watering in the mouth?? Have we ever realized why do we feel hungry?? This is controlled by our brain, which is connected with our alimentary canal and works on the feedback mechanism. As you see daily in your offices, factories, kitchen etc. That we go on checking the raw material stock and finished goods stock and would buy raw materials according to the consumption. We  keep on using raw materials from store and refeeding according to the production schedule.

Same is with the body it would go on checking the blood sugar levels, glycogen stores, fat stores of the body and would demand the food once we go low in the sugars in the blood and would start depleting the glycogen stores??

Now here I am using a term again and again which is blood sugar, I told you earlier also 70% of our sugar intake is taken by brain only. Brain is sugar buff. No wonder if you are sweet buff. This also explains the fact that why on drinking a cold drink we feel so fresh for some time. Also explained is, why do people crave for sugar?

Coming back to the topic, this sugar level in the blood is taken care of, a hormone called insulin. How does this happen? Insulin is secreted by cells in the pancreas, whenever we eat food, especially carbohydrates.

More insulin is released when we eat more sugar or simple carbs. Now this insulin will stack extra sugar in the form of glycogen in the liver and muscles.

But there is a problem?

Our Liver and Muscle cells has got a limit to glycogen storage. Liver stores approximately 100-120g of glycogen and Skeletal Muscle stores approximately 400g. of Glycogen. After that insulin would start converting extra sugar into the fat, the sticky fat and would start stacking in the cells.

Now that is a permanent fat increasing your tummy size and on the other parts of body, which is difficult to lose. Anyways we would discuss this in some other topic how this fat can be removed from the body. Here we are discussing hunger, so once that glucose is lowered in the blood, our brain would start sending the distress signals and you have the craving of eating.

Now whole point here which most of you must have missed that more simple sugars in the food more insulin secreted by pancreas and released into the blood, more insulin means more early the blood sugar goes down, early it would go down, earlier we are hungry.

Confused??

Let me explain in a bit detail. What is the role of insulin? To Store the extra sugar in the blood, into the muscle or Liver cells. And how much insulin do we need to take care of sugar in the blood or food??

That would depend on the amount of Carbohydrates and simple sugars that we eat in our food. If we eat carbohydrates rich food, more insulin will be released by the pancreas and more insulin would store sugar in the blood as soon as possible. So, as the sugar levels would go down in the blood, we will be hungry again.

So, if you had a glass of cold drink (approx. 12 spoon Sugar), or a glass of juice or a rasgulla, a plate of dessert after a heavy meal, it would increase the insulin levels more in the blood and would make you hungry earlier.

Then, what is the right method?

The right method is, if we would balance our meals in such a way that our blood sugar levels are maintained for next 4 to 6 hours in the blood, we will not be hungry and if we are not hungry, we eat less and if we eat less, we are naturally cutting down our calories and if calories are going down, our weight is coming down without making much effort.

Isn't it a good idea for a nasty problem?

Just think about it and start preparing for a healthy sumptuous meal than that of a pack of chips and glass of cold drink.