What are the physical sensations you associate with hunger? For most people these sensations include stomach grumbling, headaches, light-headedness, irritability, fatigue, and inability to focus. And for many people, these uncomfortable symptoms are the undoing of all of their attempts to lose weight by eating less food. Since eating removes the symptoms, they are mistakenly believed to be hunger. People are consistently led by these symptoms to consume more calories than they require and this widespread overeating behavior has led to an epidemic of obesity and a continual rise in preventable chronic diseases. Understanding the motivation behind overeating behaviors could be a key factor in reversing these trends.
Are these sensations truly signs of hunger? Conventional wisdom, and even medical textbooks, would suggest that they are. I disagree.
In my experience treating thousands of patients and guiding them through transitioning to a high nutrient-density (Nutritarian) diet, I have observed that my patients’ perceptions of hunger change after their diets improve — feelings of hunger become less frequent, less uncomfortable, and are mainly felt in the mouth and throat (“true hunger”) rather than the head and stomach. I have documented and published these results (titled “Changing perceptions of hunger on a high nutrient density diet“) in Nutrition Journal, a peer-reviewed publication that encourages scientists and physicians to publish results that challenge current models, tenets or dogmas. My data does just that — these results argue for a complete re-evaluation of our definition of human hunger.
Key Results From This Study:
- “Hunger pains” were experienced less often on a high nutrient-density diet.
- Discomfort between meals or upon a skipped meal was experienced less often on a high nutrient-density diet.
- 80% of respondents reported that their experience of hunger had changed upon following a high nutrient-density diet.
- Irritability and decline in mood were experienced less often on a high nutrient-density diet.
- A high nutrient-density diet was associated with more feelings of hunger in the mouth and throat and less in the head and stomach.
Conclusion: Enhancing the micronutrient quality of the diet leads to changes in the experience of hunger and a reduction in uncomfortable symptoms associated with hunger despite a lower caloric intake.
