Why Do We Experience Hunger Pains After Eating?
It is a natural occurrence that often depends upon the state of your body, the food you are consuming, and whether you are healthy. In most cases, people who have a small snack will not be hungry. However, if you are consistently experiencing the pains of hunger after eating food in small or large quantities, here are some reasons why this will occur.
Common Reasons
If you have felt hungry after consuming a meal, it’s likely due to a lack of protein in your diet. It could also be a deficit in fiber. People on specific types of diets that eliminate certain food groups will often seem hungry for the thing they are craving.
For example, if your diet is focused solely on protein, you will begin to crave fiber and carbohydrates to remain in balance. In the same way, people that are only consuming vegetables that are high in fiber may soon be hungry for protein-based foods and snacks.
Eating Smaller Portions
If you are dieting, you are likely consuming less food. Many diets recommend consuming multiple meals throughout the day. Each of these meals will represent a deficient caloric intake. As a result of the small number of calories, your body will crave food throughout the day.
Of course, you can condition yourself to eat smaller portions without feeling hungry. However, if you are also vigorously exercising as part of your diet program, you will crave protein and carbohydrates for muscle protein synthesis and recovery purposes.
Leptin Resistance And Ghrelin
Leptin is a particular type of hormone excreted into the body via your adipose tissue. Adipose is simply the fat that you have stored over time. What it does is provide the sensation of satiety. However, some people can develop what is called leptin resistance.
Like the effects of insulin resistance, leptin resistance means you may constantly be hungry. You may also have additional hormonal issues affecting you. Ghrelin, for instance, is another hormone that can affect whether you feel hungry or not and originates from stomach acid, brain, pancreas, and small intestines.
If you are producing too much ghrelin, you have likely been on an imbalanced diet for quite some time. It is the body’s way of getting you back on track, prompting you to be hungry. In general, we all seem hungry when simply missing enough calories in our diet.
Caloric Deficit Symptoms
You should look for specific caloric deficit symptoms if you always seem hungry. Those that experience hunger pangs are often consuming far too few calories. Some signs will indicate that you are experiencing this problem.
It can include low energy levels, hair loss, sleep issues, irritability, and even constipation. If you are consistently constantly feeling cold, this is an indication that your metabolism is slowing down. It results from a lower calorie intake, which will immediately prompt you to feel hungry all the time.
By looking at the symptoms objectively and considering the type of diet you were on, your caloric deficit may be causing the problem. People will sometimes consume foods that only contain artificial sweeteners to avoid calories. However, even artificial sweeteners can cause us to be hungry.
Are Artificial Sweeteners Bad For You?
If you have type II diabetes, this is likely your top choice for avoiding sugary products or carbohydrates. However, they can make you hungry more times than not. Although the same thing is true for those consuming corn syrup with high amounts of fructose or raw sugar, you can feel hungrier when you have a high intake of artificial sweeteners.
Therefore, if you consume large quantities of diet soda or food products with artificial sugar, you can diminish your hunger pain by limiting them. However, it’s not just blood sugar that makes us hungry. It has a lot to do with what we eat, how much we eat regularly, and if we have developed a regular eating habit.
Eating Intervals And Severe Hunger Pains After Eating
The reason that most of us are hungry after we eat is because of our eating intervals. These are most often seen when we are on a diet limiting calories. We will often snack on different things that could either be healthy or unhealthy in between meals.
When we deviate from this structured way of eating, we will develop hunger pangs instantly because we are used to consuming certain types of food at regular intervals. By looking at the patterns by which we consume food, and the food we consume, we can easily see why we may be experiencing stomach hunger pain after eating.
Another thing to consider is how old you were when you started to develop hunger pains after eating.
Age-Related Reasons
When you are a teenager you undergo substantial change and need a high caloric intake. Fortunately for teens, their metabolism is running high, and they will usually not store any excess in the form of adipose cells.
However, as we get older and our metabolism slows, we may gain weight quickly. Older people, especially the elderly, can also develop a steady hunger, even after eating. Since hunger centers control our need for food in our brain, this is, in turn, influenced by various hormones and glucose levels.
For example, if you do not have enough glucose in your bloodstream, you will undoubtedly begin to seem hungry. For the elderly, it’s more about specific conditions they are experiencing. Hypoglycemia, diabetes mellitus, and gastritis can lead to an older adult creating food.
Hunger pains after eating can certainly be present for those with a peptic ulcer or bowel issues or if they experience Gerd or indigestion consistently.
More Reasons Why We Experience Hunger Pangs
Here are some reasons that you can easily identify and determine how to fix the problem.
Dehydration – Often a significant contributor to why we will feel hungry. Part of the reason is the similarity between feeling hungry and thirsty. You can identify which one it is based on specific symptoms. For example, you can feel lightheaded and irritable, and you may also shake involuntarily.
Environment – Another reason that you could be hungry has to do with your environment. If you are amid businesses cooking and baking food constantly, it will inspire your mind to make you seem hungry.
Sleep – Lack of sleep is another reason that people seem hungry. Studies have shown that sleep-deprived people tend to be hungry for high-fat, salty, or sweet food.
Emotions – Your emotional health can also contribute to the hunger you are experiencing. Essentially, the more stressed you are, the hungrier people tend to be.
Dieting – Finally, the primary reason that most people experience hunger pains is that they are on a diet. When you begin to augment how much you eat and when you eat, you will constantly feel hunger.
How To Prevent Hunger Pains?
To fix the problem, you may want to consider augmenting your diet. It’s not just about returning to a regular schedule. You may want to start consuming nutrient-dense foods and low-calorie foods to see what you can achieve. One of the easiest ways to feel less hungry is to consume a large amount of water every day.
Also, consider sleeping more, which will give you a chance to recover, plus practice mindful eating throughout the week. Since the brain controls hunger, you may also want to use distractions to distract your mind from feeling hungry. You can do this by exercising, watching movies, or interacting with friends or family members. Using these strategies will help you diminish your hunger pangs, but it may not solve the actual problem. You may need to seek a professional that uses state-of-the-art equipment that can help.
How And Why BioScan Can Help
There are specific procedures and equipment available to help pinpoint what is causing your hunger pains. One of the best is portable BioScan equipment that can produce accurate results. Using Electrodermal testing, an analysis can be done, which is accomplished by looking at how you react to allergens and stressors.
Meridian points can be measured throughout the body, each connected to the 14 major systems plus your organs. Nutritional testing can also be done to determine how you function based on the type of food and beverages you consume regularly.
If you are consistently experiencing hunger pain after eating, you now have a better idea of why this may be occurring. Whether it is from dieting for weight loss or weight gain, your environment, or not getting enough sleep, you need to know what is causing the problem.
You could eventually determine why the constant feeling of being hungry persists through experimentation. However, for faster results, consider using BioScan to help determine why you are experiencing constant hunger pains after eating.