Gettin’ Hangry
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You know what sucks?
Being hungry.
You know what sucks even more?
Being hungry and not having any food. Where is this line of questioning going? You’ll see.
*Food porn incoming*
According to a study, we have found a way to measure ‘hangriness’, an emotion that occurs when we’re starved and require sustenance, but there’s nothing substantial to eat. So basically, the most first world problem you could ever have. There are multiple things that can make us hangry; let’s have a look at them.
Blood sugar plays an important role here. Once your body has finished digesting whatever you’ve shovelled into it, your insulin and blood sugar drops, which stimulates your brain into thinking about food, because you’re now hungry. Once you’ve eaten again, your body tells you you’re full by releasing certain hormones, until you’ve digested and the cycle begins anew.
When we eat certain foods, a chemical called dopamine is released (the same chemical that is associated with falling in love). This lovely feeling makes us feel good, and fatty sugary foods give us that feeling. So naturally, if we want something to eat, when we snack, we go for sweet stuff. But the come down from this chemical substance is when we get hangry.
When we snack, we aren’t really getting anything out of it. It’s like running beside your car pouring fuel in as it goes. It’s inefficient. Which is why we normally don’t feel so great after snacking on stuff, because there’s no nutritional value.
Plus, when we’re hungry, we’re running low on energy anyway and as anyone will know, it’s difficult to do anything when tired. But tired and hungry? That’s a storm waiting to happen.
So, bottom line?
Avoid snacking on unhealthy foods with low nutritional value, and opt for something like fruit or nuts or even some toast. Far more nutritious than wolfing down three bags of Cadbury’s Nibble and four packets of Quavers.
Not that I have ever done that.
