Wolf hunger is a tormenting condition where you can’t think about anything but eating. It’s not at all the healthy signal our bodies give us when it’s time to eat again: it comes on rhythmically, hours after the previous meal.
If we feel hungry all the time, it’s worth investigating, because our body has a sensitive signalling system that signals that we are full through various hormones. If this is not happening, or only very rarely, it is definitely a signal from our body that needs to be addressed.
Let’s look at the main possible causes and solutions!
1, Caused by a disease or condition
A persistent appetite can be a classic symptom of diabetes. It’s caused by high blood sugar levels that then plummet, sending a faulty signal to the brain. Other typical symptoms of sugar metabolism disorders include constant thirst, fatigue and weight fluctuations: sudden weight loss or gain.
Another cause is hormonal: an underactive thyroid gland also increases the feeling of hunger. Both under- and over-activity can cause wolfish hunger, as the thyroid hormone has an appetite-enhancing effect.
One of the most common causes is the microbiome: the billions of organisms that make up our gut flora and live inside us affect the functioning of many of our organs. The different strains need to be in a delicate balance to function optimally. When this is disrupted and less beneficial strains proliferate, we are affected in a number of ways: for example, we will crave sugary, refined carbohydrate-rich foods because that is the main source of nutrition for certain strains of fungi. As we feed them, they grow and constantly demand food: the result is constant hunger.
Mental problems such as depression, anxiety, and chronic stress can also cause wolf hunger.
Solution: being hungry all the time is not natural, so you first need to rule out the most common diseases that can cause it.
2. Chronic stress
As I mentioned before, stress is a strong factor in chronic hunger, so it’s worth looking at it separately.When we are nervous and stressed due to chronic stress, our appetite increases and the time when we feel full decreases.
This is because stress increases the levels of the hormone cortisol in the body. This hormone increases hunger and the desire to eat – and the foods we eat to calm ourselves tend to be of the unhealthier variety: sweets, crisps, refined carbohydrates, sugary drinks and even alcoholic drinks.
By taking too much and too often of the hormone cortisol, we also cause ourselves many other problems. The two most important of these are that it increases inflammation levels and interferes with the natural process of digestion. If digestion does not take place properly, food is not digested properly. The various nutrients and vitamins cannot be utilised and the body feels deficient. How will it react? It will send signals that it needs to be replenished again – meaning we will be hungry again.
Solution. Meditation techniques, exercise, the right anti-inflammatory vitamins and herbs can help, and of course Dia-Wellness’ free ingredients.
3, Low or inadequate protein consumption
Nutrients are equally important for a balanced diet, and adequate protein intake plays a significant role in avoiding binge eating.
Protein reduces hunger during digestion by regulating levels of the hormones that control hunger – leptin and ghrelin. Good quality protein is digested slowly, so it sends a constant signal of satiety to the brain, while also providing energy.
However, we eat much more protein in a day than we think, as meat is not the only source. Protein is also found in large quantities in pulses, oilseeds, pseudo-grains and cereals.
Solution. If you bake your own bread and cakes, you can control the protein content of your foods by using different flour mixes.
4. Sleep is very important
Healthy sleep is much more important than we thought – not only is it essential for rest, but it also disrupts countless other physiological functions if we don’t sleep enough or well enough. It’s needed by the nervous system, the immune system, the brain, the heart, the liver, cell regeneration – in fact, I could list all the organs and their functions.
From our point of view, the production of one hormone is important, which I mentioned earlier: the appetite stimulant ghrelin, which is responsible for regulating the feeling of hunger.If we don’t sleep enough and well, it leads to an increase in the level of the hormone ghrelin, so we feel hungry even if our body is not lacking in nutrients. The other hormone is leptin, which sends a signal to the brain that we’ve had enough food and our stores are full.
Sleep deprivation will therefore not only force us to eat, but also to eat significantly more. Studies have shown that subjects ate 14% more after just 1 night of sleep.
Solution. If it is difficult to fall asleep or night waking is preventing rest, the cause should be identified and eliminated. There are many ways to do this, but it is best to avoid using electronic devices immediately before falling asleep and to schedule your last meal earlier. Many vitamins and herbs can also help.
5, Eating too many refined carbohydrates
Consumers of Dia-Wellness products are no strangers to this topic: these products can help you avoid over-refined and sugary foods. However, let’s quickly run through why the intake of these foods causes cravings.
Refined carbohydrates are so called because they are stripped of all their fibre, vitamins and minerals during the manufacturing and production process. The best known of the refined carbohydrates is white flour, which is also almost the most commonly used as a raw material. The other large group is all foods made with processed sugars: soft drinks, biscuits, confectionery, jams, preserves.
Because refined carbohydrates no longer contain fibre, they are processed very quickly by the body. Eating them makes us feel hungry much more often, as they do not give us a lasting feeling of fullness due to the lack of long-absorbed fibre. When refined carbohydrates enter the body, their processing leads to a sudden spike in blood sugar levels. This results in increased insulin production, as sugars need to be transported to the cells. So, high blood sugar levels result in a sudden production of insulin, which rapidly removes sugar from the blood. And so the blood sugar suddenly plummets again. And low blood sugar signals to the body that it needs more food, so it’s starving – quite unnecessarily. It’s a vicious circle, and the only way to stop it is to break it.
The solution: instead of consuming refined carbohydrates and sugars, eat whole foods: vegetables, fruits, pulses and whole grains. These also have carbohydrate content, but coupled with plenty of fibre, so you don’t develop false and unwarranted hunger pangs. By choosing from Dia-Wellness products, we can find the right base nutrient for us to replace harmful refined carbohydrates.