Feeding Beast or Brain

After inviting squeamish “eeews” and “uugghhs” with last week’s IBS discussion, I realized that even though everybody poops, people might not know the “end” from the beginning when it comes to digestion. I guess I started a little backwards, but it’s not the “end” of the world. After all, according to your Friday Financial Blogger, we shouldn’t leave any loose “ends” and always begin with the “end” in mind. I hope my never “end”-ing idioms haven’t left you at the “end” of your tether!

Before we walk through digestion, it is important to know WHY we feel the urge to eat. Think back to the last show you saw at a movie theater. Who remembers the dancing hot dog? Or the rollercoaster that speeds between soda cans and candy bars as popcorn rains down on the track? We can’t forget the amplified sound of a soda can cracking open, followed by the sizzle of carbonation. Theater owners are no dummies; in fact, their brilliant advertising, as well as the smell of buttered popcorn, stimulate appetite, or a desire to eat. Then there is hunger, or the physiologic drive to eat that occurs when our body senses we need food. Don’t confuse the two. If you just finished a large meal before the movie, it’s not hunger that is luring you to the snack counter. That is your feisty little appetite!

“My stomach hurts.”

“My tummy is growling.”

“My belly is saying ‘FEED ME!’”

One of these expressions is technically, and physiologically, incorrect. Know which one it is?

Hunger is often felt as a negative or unpleasant sensation, but the primary organ that produces the sensation and “talks” to you is not the stomach, but the BRAIN.

The brain houses an area of brain tissue called the hypothalamus that is responsible for us seeking food. It is super tiny, but it is loaded with clusters of nerve cells, two of which are called the feeding center and the satiety (feeling of fullness) center.  But something has to tell the feeding center that you haven’t eaten since yesterday.

This is cool. There are cells that line the stomach and the small intestine that detect pressure according to whether the organ is empty or distended with food. So, when you haven’t eaten for many hours, and there is no pressure against the lining of your organs, that information is relayed to the hypothalamus. The satiety (fullness) center is told to back down, and your feeding center becomes the boss, causing you to experience those lovely stomach growling, empty pit sensations. Oh, it gets cooler!

The mouth, the throat, and the esophagus (tube leading to the stomach) ALSO have nerve cells in their linings that are stimulated by chewing and swallowing. Now the feeding center gets to take a back seat and satiety takes the stage when these nerve cells communicate with the hypothalamus, in turn, telling your belly that food is on the way! Now, you begin to feel full!

This is just one tidbit of human body awesomeness in the hunger/satiety system. There is a mess of hormones that get involved that we won’t get into, but just know that hormones regulate many body functions, and not just where hunger and fullness are involved. Amounts and types of foods play a role as well, as certain nutrients and quantities of food take longer to digest than others.

So, sights, smells, and thoughts release the beast that is your appetite, but the brain is the boss of your belly when it comes to satiating your true hunger. Make sure you are feeding the correct one so you can…

Be Well!

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