What is hunger?

Are you the one who eats food without feeling hungry?

Our body would indicate the need for nutrition and energy for which it would send a natural signal. This is termed as hunger. Nowadays, with busy work schedules etc, we tend to ignore the hunger signs of our body and eat food depending on our work schedules. It is important to note that we must eat only when we feel hungry and not every time.

How to practise mindful eating?

This can be carried out by engaging all the senses, eating food by chewing properly, eating slowly to avoid overeating, by stopping when feeling full and by not skipping meals etc.

Various health benefits of eating food while hungry are

Boosting growth hormones:

Growth hormone levels would get increased by hunger. This would aid in the repair of muscles, skin health and regeneration etc.

Better blood sugar control:

It must be noted that by allowing periods of hunger could improve insulin sensitivity and regulate blood sugar levels. This would help us to maintain energy and would lower our food cravings.

Improved digestion:

When food is anticipated by the body then pancreatic enzymes would be released. This would optimise digestion and enhance the absorption of nutrients.

Cellular regeneration:

Autophagy would get activated by hunger. Here, the body would break down old or damaged cells and this would promote healing and rejuvenation etc. By this, inflammation would get reduced and our overall health would become better.

Mindful eating:

We would be able to distinguish between physical and emotional hunger when we experience hunger. Point is that it would reconnect us with our body’s natural rhythm.  This could promote healthier eating habits and there would be better regulation of appetite etc.