What Is Appetite?

Appetite is regulated by leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is the satiety hormone and ghrelin is the hunger hormone. The metabolism is needed for many thing besides calorie absorption, like muscle protein synthesis and energy generation. Our appetite can be influenced by many factors and we can change it based off of our activity. There is something called the appetite regulating network (ARN) that is controlled by the hypothalamus in the brain.

Things That Control Appetite

1. Sunlight

Vitamin helps regulate serotonin synthesis, which supports satiety. This also helps regulate the circadian rhythm. The circadian clocks regulate the release of hormones and neurotransmitters that regulate appetite. Ensure that you get sunlight everyday or get outside.

2. Temperature

The more we eat the more our body temperature increases. On a hot day, we may eat less in order to stay cool. Protein has a big thermogenic effect on the body because it take a lot of energy to be digested. We usually eat more when it’s cold out because the cold burns more energy. Doing cold therapy has been shown to increase our appetite. This actually increases brown fat, which is a type of fat that burns fat.

3. Sleep quality

Sleep quality dramatically effects or hormones, especially our satiety. It’s been shown to dramatically effect levels of CCK levels, which is one of the number one satiety hormones. Doing things like sleeping in a blacked out room, making sure that it’s cold, and getting proper nutrients is key.

4. Minerals

Minerals and other micronutrients are critical to have in our bodies. Chronic nutrient deficiency leads to chronic over eating. We have an over abundance of calories, but not enough nutrients. This results in being hungry soon after eating because were not actually getting the nutrients that we need.

5. Exercise

Exercise helps to regulate appetite. Cravings can be dramatically reduced. Ghrelin gets suppressed with exercise. Also, the more muscle we have, the more glucose we can consume because muscle is the primary storage place for glycogen.