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Hormones Influence the Feeling of Fullness and Hunger
Hunger Hormones
It’s no secret, your body needs food to function. When your body needs to stimulate hunger, there are a series of events that take place. The contractions that are involved with the development of hunger are stimulated by gastrointestinal hormones such as motilin. Here’s a look at the main hormones involved with appetite stimulation:- Ghrelin: known as “the hunger hormones”, ghrelin stimulates an area of your brain called the hypothalamus which tells you that you’re hungry. Additionally, this hormone helps regulate your sleep cycle and glucose metabolism.
- Motilin: This hormone is produced in the small intestine and sends signals to your brain that you need food.
- Neuropeptide Y (NPY): NYP is a peptide, which is a short chain of amino acids, that is produced in the brain. This release stimulates food intake and is triggered by hormones including ghrelin.
- Agouti-related protein (AgRp): This is another peptide released by the brain and stimulated by ghrelin. AgRp also works to increase food intake.
Satiety (Fullness) Hormones
The feeling of fullness is also triggered by the hormones in your body. Here are the hormones involved in this process:- Cholecystokinin (CCK): CCK is released by the small intestine in response to luminal nutrients, especially fat and protein. It stimulates fullness centers in your brain to reduce food intake. Also, CCK induces gall bladder contraction and pancreatic secretions necessary for digestion.
- Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1): GLP-1 is produced in the intestine when you ingest nutrients and interacts with the brain to reduce food intake and increase fullness.
- Pancreatic peptide YY (Peptide YY): This is another hormone produced in the small intestine in response to eating food. This is responsible for decreasing appetite and slowing the movement of food through the digestive tract.
- Leptin: Leptin is produced by fat cells throughout the body and its primary function is to stimulate the feeling of fullness. It stops hunger-promoting peptides NPY and AgRp and stimulates fullness-promoting peptides which decrease appetite.
- Insulin: Insulin is produced in the pancreas and helps with blood sugar regulation and energy balance. Insulin increases after a meal and interacts with the brain to reduce food intake.
- Obestatin: Obestatin is a hormone that helps suppress your appetite. It cancels out ghrelin’s hunger-inducing effects. However, scientists are still studying obestatin, and more research into its effects on hunger and fullness is needed.