Post by mcbalz on Jan 28, 2010 11:22:13 GMT -5
Just spoke to a CFA member at Dripolator. Question was: are you hungry all the time?
As many of you know, I think that the least common reason why people tend to eat is that they "feel hungry." We eat for many reasons, and even sometimes our "hunger" is factitious (i.e. constructed by social expectations and customs).
HOWEVER, if you are adhering strictly to the Paleo program you might occasionally feel very hungry and/or feel hungry "all the time."
If you are feeling hungry... eat. Usually, you can quell unwanted hunger by eating a balanced meal that includes protein, carbs, and FAT. But if you are experiencing constant hunger, you are probably eating too many carbohydrates.
First, check to make sure you are eating sufficient quantities of fat and protein to balance your carbohydrates, and check to make sure your carbohydrate load isn't overly composed of high glycemic or high density choices such as sweet potatoes, fruit, and things like dates, dried fruits, etc.
Feelings of hunger are caused by hormones in the body. Particularly, they are caused by a touchy, delicate and difficult to manage balance created between these hormones:
Ghrelin -- excreted by the stomach when it is empty, and by the pancreas, this is one of the causes of "hunger pangs."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghrelin
Leptin -- excreted by adipose (fatty) tissue throughout the body, this hormone tells your body that you are satisfied. If you become LEPTIN insensitive (which can be caused by having too much body fat, i.e. by obesity) then you will have trouble realizing that you are full and / or could skip a meal.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptin
In my limited understanding of the mechanics of this, it seems like science suggests you can overcome Leptin insensitivity by fasting. In other words, if you are overweight but feel hungry all the time, add periodic fasts (e.g. 1 x 24hrs x month or week) to your regime. You might restore your Leptin sensitivity.
Glucagon -- Glucagon is excreted by the pancreas whenever blood sugar levels fall. It extracts gycogen from the liver and puts it in the blood. Paradoxically, the excretion and action of glucagon stimulate the release of insulin, which counteracts its effects. Glucagon is released into the blood when: (a) blood sugar falls, (b) blood amino-acids rise (as in the case of an all or high protein meal), (c) various neurological stresses and triggers are activated (it's complicated).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucagon
Insulin and Amylin -- When you consume carbohydrates, and your stomach fills up, your body begins to excrete insulin and amylin.
Among its many functions (including muscle and protein synthesis), insulin works to scavenge blood glucose from the blood and to store it for later in the fat cells, liver, and muscles. If you experience hunger shortly after eating, it is likely the result of insulin's successful work ... which is to sweep sugar out of the blood. The trouble is, that you just ate, and just stored calories for use later, but the insulin (and amylin) prevent you from using it, and make you hungry again. If insulin is constantly elevated, then your body can become insensitive to it, requiring you to have larger amounts in your blood before the body realizes that you have enough. Meanwhile, you are storing fat and feeling hungry at the same time. Nice, huh? Also, when insulin is present in the blood, it stops the process of taking adipose tissue (fatty acids), transporting them to the liver, and converting them to glycogen (to be released later by glucagon).
Amylin, secreted simultaneously with insulin, works to slow down digestion, inhibiting the uptake of nutrients into the blood. After binge eating, this hormone is probably responsible for "food coma" symptoms as well as discomfort caused by indigestion of large meals. Working against glucagon, it helps prevent the body from accessing stored glycogen while food is in the stomach. While it is active, it serves therefore to control the amount of Insulin you will need to process plasma glucose. That's a mechanism for protecting you against insulin sensitivity that probably also has a double edged sword: you ate in order to raise your blood sugar and not feel hungry, but now a hormone is preventing you from getting what you want!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amylin
What's all this science mean? -- Basically, it means that your feeling of hunger can be caused by (a) an empty stomach (leading to too much ghrelin), (b) a diet too rich in carbohydrates (leading to elevated insulin), (c) a diet too lean in protein (leading to too little glucagon), (d) a body that is too skinny (not enough leptin in the blood), (e) a body that is too fat (too much leptin in the blood, i.e. leptin insensitivity).
Why I Believe in the Zone Diet
The only way to control and balance this system is to eat in a "Zone balanced" way, i.e. by balancing your protein and your carbohydrates against each other (to balance insulin and glucagon), and by eating fewer high density carbs (helping to control insulin levels down to the point where the body can access stored fat for fuel, and where glucagon can liberate glycogen from the liver, which stimulate lipolysis, i.e. fat burning).
As many of you know, I think that the least common reason why people tend to eat is that they "feel hungry." We eat for many reasons, and even sometimes our "hunger" is factitious (i.e. constructed by social expectations and customs).
HOWEVER, if you are adhering strictly to the Paleo program you might occasionally feel very hungry and/or feel hungry "all the time."
If you are feeling hungry... eat. Usually, you can quell unwanted hunger by eating a balanced meal that includes protein, carbs, and FAT. But if you are experiencing constant hunger, you are probably eating too many carbohydrates.
First, check to make sure you are eating sufficient quantities of fat and protein to balance your carbohydrates, and check to make sure your carbohydrate load isn't overly composed of high glycemic or high density choices such as sweet potatoes, fruit, and things like dates, dried fruits, etc.
Feelings of hunger are caused by hormones in the body. Particularly, they are caused by a touchy, delicate and difficult to manage balance created between these hormones:
Ghrelin -- excreted by the stomach when it is empty, and by the pancreas, this is one of the causes of "hunger pangs."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghrelin
Leptin -- excreted by adipose (fatty) tissue throughout the body, this hormone tells your body that you are satisfied. If you become LEPTIN insensitive (which can be caused by having too much body fat, i.e. by obesity) then you will have trouble realizing that you are full and / or could skip a meal.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptin
In my limited understanding of the mechanics of this, it seems like science suggests you can overcome Leptin insensitivity by fasting. In other words, if you are overweight but feel hungry all the time, add periodic fasts (e.g. 1 x 24hrs x month or week) to your regime. You might restore your Leptin sensitivity.
Glucagon -- Glucagon is excreted by the pancreas whenever blood sugar levels fall. It extracts gycogen from the liver and puts it in the blood. Paradoxically, the excretion and action of glucagon stimulate the release of insulin, which counteracts its effects. Glucagon is released into the blood when: (a) blood sugar falls, (b) blood amino-acids rise (as in the case of an all or high protein meal), (c) various neurological stresses and triggers are activated (it's complicated).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucagon
Insulin and Amylin -- When you consume carbohydrates, and your stomach fills up, your body begins to excrete insulin and amylin.
Among its many functions (including muscle and protein synthesis), insulin works to scavenge blood glucose from the blood and to store it for later in the fat cells, liver, and muscles. If you experience hunger shortly after eating, it is likely the result of insulin's successful work ... which is to sweep sugar out of the blood. The trouble is, that you just ate, and just stored calories for use later, but the insulin (and amylin) prevent you from using it, and make you hungry again. If insulin is constantly elevated, then your body can become insensitive to it, requiring you to have larger amounts in your blood before the body realizes that you have enough. Meanwhile, you are storing fat and feeling hungry at the same time. Nice, huh? Also, when insulin is present in the blood, it stops the process of taking adipose tissue (fatty acids), transporting them to the liver, and converting them to glycogen (to be released later by glucagon).
Amylin, secreted simultaneously with insulin, works to slow down digestion, inhibiting the uptake of nutrients into the blood. After binge eating, this hormone is probably responsible for "food coma" symptoms as well as discomfort caused by indigestion of large meals. Working against glucagon, it helps prevent the body from accessing stored glycogen while food is in the stomach. While it is active, it serves therefore to control the amount of Insulin you will need to process plasma glucose. That's a mechanism for protecting you against insulin sensitivity that probably also has a double edged sword: you ate in order to raise your blood sugar and not feel hungry, but now a hormone is preventing you from getting what you want!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amylin
What's all this science mean? -- Basically, it means that your feeling of hunger can be caused by (a) an empty stomach (leading to too much ghrelin), (b) a diet too rich in carbohydrates (leading to elevated insulin), (c) a diet too lean in protein (leading to too little glucagon), (d) a body that is too skinny (not enough leptin in the blood), (e) a body that is too fat (too much leptin in the blood, i.e. leptin insensitivity).
Why I Believe in the Zone Diet
The only way to control and balance this system is to eat in a "Zone balanced" way, i.e. by balancing your protein and your carbohydrates against each other (to balance insulin and glucagon), and by eating fewer high density carbs (helping to control insulin levels down to the point where the body can access stored fat for fuel, and where glucagon can liberate glycogen from the liver, which stimulate lipolysis, i.e. fat burning).