▲ Fake Hunger

After a long time since eating a meal, people feel hungry. However, there are times when you feel stressed or when you suddenly think of the food you want to eat after eating a meal, and you then feel hungry. This is the feeling of fake hunger. Fake hunger is a condition in which the body does not need food. If you can't withstand fake hunger and continue to eat, you should be careful not to fall for the temptation of fake hunger, because it can increase your risk of chronic diseases.

Fake hunger suddenly feels like real hunger at some point when it is perceived by the brain. While real hunger causes hunger to grow larger, a desire to eat, and lack energy. Stress is the main cause of fake hunger. When our emotions are in a depressed or stressed state, the level of serotonin, a happy hormone, decreases. Then, the body sends a signal to the brain that it is hungry, to increase the secretion of serotonin, allowing it to consume sugar. This is because sugar is a hormone that rapidly increases serotonin secretion in the body. In addition, when the secretion of cortisol, a stress hormone, is activated, the balance between the appetite suppressing hormone and the appetite enhancing hormone is broken, causing fake hunger. Furthermore, if you have chronic dehydration, you mistake being thirsty for being hungry, and look for food whenever you run out of water. For example, after exercising, you feel very thirsty. However, if there is a lack of moisture within the normal categorical capacity, the body does not send a signal to the brain that it is thirsty because the body has already adapted. At this time, the brain does not feel that there is a lack of water, but misunderstands that there is a lack of something else, and thus makes us believe we need to eat food.

If you have fake hunger, the best way to deal with it is to endure it. Most foods eaten while experiencing fake hunger are stimulating and greasy, with a high risk of binge eating and overeating. In addition, if you eat before the fat in the food you ate when you were really hungry is digested, your blood sugar rises, and the undissolved fat accumulates in your body. If eating stimulating food becomes a habit due to fake hunger, excessive fat accumulates in the blood, which can lead to various metabolic diseases such as hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, and diabetes. One way to endure hunger is to drink water. It's a way to fill your stomach without consuming excess food. Also, intense exercise helps you endure hunger. Intense exercises such as abdominal exercises, squats, lunges, and stretching, reduce appetite. Furthermore, managing stress will help achieve endurance. Stress is the main reason for fake hunger. Lastly, brushing your teeth helps reduce your appetite by the scent and taste of toothpaste.

Real hunger is physical hunger, however, fake hunger is emotional hunger. Therefore, it is important to manage real hunger and fake hunger well. If you are hungry less than 3 hours after eating, or want to eat certain foods, it is recommended to overcome fake hunger by referring to the above information on how to endure it and maintain optimal health.

By An So-yeon, editor-in-chief  1102soy@naver.com

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