I'm hungry all the time: why? What solutions?

Hunger results from a slight hypoglycemia, that is to say a drop in blood sugar, also called sugar levels or blood glucose levels. It is a physiological signal, which indicates that all the calories from the previous meal have been burned, and that it is time to eat!

The feeling of hunger is sometimes accompanied by a sort of stomach cramp. It normally occurs after a meal, or following a physical activity that consumes glucose (housework, gardening, sport). If your satiety (absence of hunger) does not last more than 2 to 3 hours, check the balance of your menus. For example, at lunchtime, a main course is not enough.

The blood sugar could be the key to understanding the provenance of untimely and frequent cravings. A link confirmed by a study published in 2021 in the journal Nature Metabolism (source 1). Researchers collected data on blood sugar responses and other health markers from 1,070 people after they ate standardized breakfasts and freely chosen meals over a two-week period. The participants carried out a fasting blood glucose response test (oral glucose tolerance test) to measure how well their body “processes” sugar. At the same time, they had to wear glucometers continuously to measure their blood sugar.

The scientific team noticed that some people had suffered “sugar lows” important 2 to 4 hours after the famous “blood sugar peak” which occurs after a meal. The people affected by this variation had a 9% increase in hunger and waited about 1/2 hour less before their next meal compared to other participants, even with similar meals. These same people also consumed 75 more calories within 3/4 hours after breakfast and approximately 312 more calories throughout the day.

However, this type of plan could potentially lead to a weight gain of around 9 kg over one year. “It has long been suspected that Blood sugar plays an important role in controlling hunger. We show that sugar troughs are a better predictor of hunger and subsequent caloric intake than the initial blood sugar spike response after eating. It changes the way we think about the relationship between blood sugar and foods consumed », Explain the researchers.

Several hormones can influence the regulation of appetite: cortisol (stress hormone), insulin, pancreatic polypeptide (PP) and even sex hormones. However, two hormones mainly act to regulate our appetite and our feeling of hunger:

• Ghrelin, a digestive hormone that stimulates appetite and snacking. It signals to our brain that we need to eat;
• Leptin, the hormone that sends the brain the signal of satiety and hunger when we have “filled up”.

Certain life events or certain states can cause these hormones to malfunctionsuch as fatigue, stress, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy…

When we are tiredTHE hormones involved in the regulation of appetite are altered. Fatigue increases the rate of ghrelin production and decreases the rate of leptin production. And when we are stressed, High cortisol level leads to increased food cravings.

Variations in appetite, as well as irrepressible desire for certain foods (often sweet) are among the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. Among the causes: the hormonal upheavals that the body experiences during this period. At the start of pregnancyhormonal variations can also increase your appetite, even if your needs are not greater.

There are certain solutions to regulate your feeling of hunger.

L’want to eat does not correspond to any nutritional need, it can intervene when we have recently left the table. It is maintained by the omnipresence oftempting foods : chocolates at the office, sweets from the vending machine at the station, pastries on the street corner…

To “settle” well, you must combine with each meal fiber, fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, bread and/or starchy foods, and proteins, meat, fish, dairy products. You can also focus on satiating foods.

Eating brings pleasure, especially sweet foods which induce the release by the brain of well-being neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine). We often have want to eat when you are sad, stressed, simply tired or idle. To avoid succumbing, you can try to better organize your days and allow yourself activities that provide comfort. For example, regular practice of a sport promotes the production ofendorphinsreal hormones of happiness.

” For your health, avoid snacking between meals ” ! This slogan legally accompanies many food advertisements, as part of the National Nutrition and Health Program. It is true that snacking promotes excess weight.

Increased food intake maintains a high blood sugar (blood sugar logically increases after the consumption of carbohydrate foods), and overly stimulate the production of insulin, the hormone involved in fat storage.

Eat all day long disrupts the alternation of hunger and satiety, we thus lose a natural system of regulation. And then we rarely want to snack on a carrot or lentils. Snacking reinforces the imbalance in our meals, too rich in fats and simple sugars, too low in fiber and complex sugars.

If you have too little appetite to eat full main meals, or if your mornings or afternoons are particularly long, Don’t hesitate to introduce snacks.

Unlike snacking, en-cas, consumed regularly a specific time of day, are considered by the body as meals, and do not make you gain weight.

It's a cereal product (bread, cereals, biscuits), a dairy product (milk, dairy products, cheese), and a fruit. Which doesn't stop you from treating yourself to a pastry, a few slices of sausage or squares of chocolate from time to time. Because the desire to eat also comes with the deprivations we impose on ourselves…