Eating Habits - How Hormones Can Affect That?

Are you aware of the function of appetite hormones in your body? Appetite hormones or hunger hormones are the hormones which are responsible for making you feel hungry, and also account for a decreased appetite, which is common for all of us at times.

Leptin and Ghrelin are the two primary appetite hormones, which are produced in your body.

About Ghrelin
Ghrelin is your body’s appetite increasing hormone, which gets released in the stomach. It is responsible for signaling hunger to your brain. It is said that the ghrelin levels in your body play an important role in how quickly you feel hungry after having a meal. Usually, the ghrelin levels increase before you eat. This signifies that you are hungry. They go down for almost three hours after your meal. It is believed that ghrelin plays a more important role in the regulation of your body weight, which is a much more complex procedure.

About Leptin
Among the two appetite hormones, leptin accounts for being the appetite suppressing hormone. It is considered to play a more important role than ghrelin in maintaining the energy balance of your body. It is also believed that leptin is responsible for the regulation of ghrelin. Leptin helps in signaling the brain that your body has enough energy in the form of body fat. It is considered that the more fat you have, the more amount of leptin is present in your blood. However, the level varies based on factors such as when you took your last meal, and your sleeping patterns.

How to control your hunger hormones?
There are certain ways by which you can control your appetite hormones. It can be done primarily by avoiding food items that contain high fat. When you eat, messages are transmitted to several parts of your body, indicating that you have had enough. While consuming fatty food, this system does not send messages as effectively. Consuming fat makes you consume more calories, which in turn lets you store fat and gain fat.

It has been proven that either a diet which is rich in good carbohydrates or a diet which is high in protein, suppresses your ghrelin production more effectively than a high fat diet. It is important for you to get proper sleep for controlling your appetite hormones. Studies prove that sleep deprivation is associated with an increase in your ghrelin levels, appetite, and hunger, compared to people who get 10 hours sleep on a regular basis.