Hunger, Energy Balance, Satiety And Weight Loss

The body is a mechanism that is constantly correcting its course to match the demands made upon it and the resources at its disposal. The regulation of the appetite is merely one part of the metabolic equation in which calories consumed must, over the long run, match calories expended.

Hunger Signals

All hunger signals can be divided between those that are generated in the brain and central nervous system and those which are generated outside of the brain and central nervous system. The central mechanisms are chiefly governed by the neuro chemical messengers serotonin and dopamine. The peripheral mechanisms are chiefly governed by blood sugar levels and other signals of energy balance.

This dichotomy means that hunger signals can be controlled by influencing brain neurotransmitters, by influencing the body's energy levels and energy sources, or a combination of the two. Ideally, both mechanisms work in tandem. Pharmaceutical appetite suppressants primarily manipulate brain chemistry. High protein/low-carbohydrate diets primarily manipulate (stabilize) blood sugar levels and, to a lesser extent, thyroid functions.

Hunger sometimes is a bit more complicated than just needing to eat for energy. Judith Wurtman, a nutritional chemist at MIT, argues that carbohydrates tend to calm us and to provide energy while relieving depression. Reactions vary with individuals, but the calming response appears to be related to the ability of carbohydrates to increase the presence of the calming, mood-brightening neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. The increase in blood sugar temporarily elevates mood in those with uneven blood sugar control. Serotonin also regulates the appetite for carbohydrates, hence the rash of diet pills that increase brain serotonin levels.

Adam Drewnowski of the University of Michigan suggests that the neurochemical link may be even stronger. Food cravings in some people may alter the level of endorphins, naturally occurring potent mood-altering brain chemicals that are similar to narcotics in their effects. Drewnowski's research indicates that many food cravings can be blocked by the drug naloxone, which in clinical settings sometimes is employed to ease opiate cravings.

In other words, hunger is not all that simple and once the body has become unbalanced, appetite control is not merely a matter of not eating. Most diets attempt to reduce only the consequences of excess hunger when this excess leads to weight gain. These diets do nothing to reduce hunger nor do they do anything to address its causes where ECA STACK with EPHEDRA by American Weight Loss Group LLC will help individuals stabilize hunger and prevent body from gaining more weight.

Satiety

Satisfying hunger and producing satiety, the feeling of having eaten sufficient food at a meal, are not quite the same thing. As is true of hunger, satiety is controlled partly in the brain through the satiety center and partly by mechanisms outside of the brain. Studies have shown that during meals, chronically overweight individuals take much longer to process satiety signals than do lean individuals.

The signal for having eaten enough does not get through to the brain as quickly or as strongly. Signaling mechanisms outside the brain also may not function properly. For instance, during and after meals, carbohydrate calories that are not immediately used for energy are stored in your body in the liver and muscles in the form of a special starch called glycogen. As the storage capacity available for glycogen becomes filled, monitors in the liver send a satiety signal to your brain indicating that you are full. This is one of the ways that the appetite is reduced during the course of a meal. However, when we eat simple carbohydrates or if we develop blood sugar control problems or gain too many extra pounds, this control mechanism stops working as it should. Individuals who are over-weight and obese produce only one-fifth to one-half of the glycogen produced by lean individuals. Therefore, the satiety signal that depends on glycogen is weak or absent.

Thus, satiety has a "central" component that acts mostly in the brain and a "peripheral" component that acts mostly outside of the brain.

1. Prev:Dealing With Emotional Eating
2. Next:The Truth Behind Hoodia Weight Loss Pills