How many times have you seen people on the Internet complain about how weak and fragile the human body is? Indeed, our body isn’t perfect, but it works, and that’s what really matters.
When you’re growing up, it’s your mother who cares about your nutrition. How does she know that her baby is hungry? It gets fussy and starts to cry. If we’re talking about an adult, you’re all familiar with the growling that your stomach makes when you’re hungry. But does a stomach growl always mean it’s time to eat?
What is hidden hunger and what risks does it present?
In simple terms, hunger is a craving for food and a lack of micronutrients. However, when someone says that they are hungry, they usually only mean that they want to eat. Many people don’t know that they can still be hungry after they’ve eaten. This phenomenon is known as ‘hidden hunger’ and it occurs when the quality of food people eat does not meet their nutrient requirements. It happens when the food is cheap and filling but deficient in vitamins and minerals.
What makes hidden hunger especially dangerous is the fact that its symptoms are often ignored. It is most perilous to pregnant women whose health problems can affect their unborn children. Among the most essential micronutrients for children’s health are iron and iodine. Too little iodine in the diet can cause hypothyroidism, a disorder of the endocrine system in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormone which is essential for children’s prenatal growth and development.
Apart from that, women planning for pregnancy should take folic acid. Why is it important? Folic acid prevents neural tube defects and other birth defects. Neural tube defects are very serious, as they can result in problems in the brain and spinal cord or even death. According to the statistics, this problem is very widespread not only in African countries but in Russia and Western Europe as well. That’s why it’s crucial to think about what you eat.
Why do you overeat? What are the health harms of too much sugar? And what’s wrong with enjoying the pictures of delicious-looking food on Instagram?
It’s your brain that tells you that you’re hungry. The hypothalamus, a portion of the brain, helps to regulate hunger and satiety. The hunger center checks the level of glucose in the blood and, when it becomes too low, signals the brain that it’s time to look for food.
The hunger and satiety centers work together. After a large meal, the satiety center tells you to stop eating, but it’s not that simple, as it takes time for your brain to realize that you’re full. It’s when you feel that it would have been better to stop eating a bite ago. But because of this gap a bite ago you felt that you were still hungry.
We’re all so smart and yet we often eat wrong. One of the many mistakes is eating too much energy food. Why is it bad? Such food is usually small in size but it contains lots of calories. It doesn’t take long for your stomach to digest it, and after a while, you start feeling hungry again.
Or imagine that you’re sitting at home watching videos on YouTube and eating snacks. Sounds familiar? Most probably, in this case, you eat not because you’re hungry, but because you’re bored. Besides, when food is easily accessible and you can order pizza online anytime you like it’s much harder to resist the temptation.
And finally, many people take to scrolling through Instagram feeds before going to bed, and the lion’s share of all the pictures on Instagram are photos of food. According to some research, when looking at the pictures of food, you activate your hunger center. That’s why it’s only natural that after a while you surrender and attack your fridge.
How to tell the difference between hunger and thirst?
Telling the difference between hunger and thirst sounds easy, but, in reality, people confuse these two all the time. The thing is that when you are hungry you feel depressed and exhausted, you have a headache and don’t mind taking a nap. But it’s pretty much the same when you’re thirsty, too. So if you ate two hours ago and suddenly feel hungry again, drink instead.
Where does digestion start?
When talking about digestion, people usually point straight at their stomach, which is located much higher than many people think it is. But in fact, digestion starts in your mouth. There is an enzyme called amylase. Amylase is present in the saliva of humans and some other mammals, where it begins the chemical process of digestion by degrading starch into sugars.
However, amylase is not the only chemical compound present in human saliva. There is a compound called opiorphin which has a painkilling effect greater than that of morphine. But for opiorphin, we would experience constant pain when eating solid food. Scientists are now thinking about how to use this compound in medicine.
Should you drink when eating?
Your stomach is the only organ that consists of three layers of muscular cells. It also has hydrochloric acid in it, which is responsible for the digestion of fats and proteins and pH control. Your body produces about two liters of hydrochloric acid daily, so a glass of water before dinner won’t really make a difference.
The whole lecture is available here (in Russian).
