The feeling of hunger and satiety - the facts

Like carbohydrates, proteins are made up of several individual components. These individual components are amino acids, which are broken down into their individual building blocks during digestion in the same way as carbohydrates. Once broken down, the individual amino acids are absorbed into the cells. Our body needs different amino acids in different quantities. When we consume proteins from meat, fish, eggs or protein-rich vegetables, it is therefore particularly important to our body which amino acids they contain. Protein sources are all the more valuable the better they meet the body's requirements. Some amino acids can be converted into each other by the body itself. Others cannot. These are the 8 essential amino acids that we need to supply to our body through food. Our body needs proteins to maintain and build muscle. 

Fats include unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which have special functions in the body. Omega 3 fatty acids, for example, contribute to a healthy brain and good eyesight and can have a positive effect on blood lipid levels. Our body cannot produce these unsaturated omega 3 fatty acids itself; they have to be ingested. Unsaturated fatty acids can be compared to vitamins, as our metabolism needs them to work. However, unsaturated fatty acids are quite unstable and should not be overheated when cooking. 

How can I tell where saturated and unsaturated fats are contained? 

The more unsaturated fatty acids foods contain, the more liquid they are when cold. Cold-water fish, for example, contain a lot of unsaturated omega 3 fatty acids so that they remain mobile in the cold. If they had unsaturated fatty acids in their cell membranes, they would become rigid. 

Vitamins and minerals are essential tools that enzymes need in order to do their work. Vitamins play a role in the utilization of fats, carbohydrates and proteins, as they ensure that these substances are broken down or converted correctly. 

Each vitamin has a unique function at a specific point in the complex system of our metabolism. If one of these important tools is missing, what is colloquially known as "the metabolism falls asleep" occurs. Work steps then no longer take place at the correct speed. Some vitamins are not involved in metabolic processes, but are important for building certain body structures - bones, teeth and all our cells. 

Hunger arises in our brain, in the hypothalamus, an area of the diencephalon. The signals "hungry" or "full" are transmitted via hormones and nerve pathways. Others in turn signal when a nutrient is missing. 

As soon as the body's reserves start to run low, stomach cells produce ghrelin, for example, which stimulates appetite. This is the strongest hunger hormone, but it also slows down the metabolism by causing the body temperature to drop slightly and making you feel less like exercising. After all, the body doesn't know when it will get something to eat again. After the meal, the body checks whether the stomach is really filled with the right food and whether it can set all the signals to "full", only then does the ghrelin concentration drop again. Special sensory cells in the stomach measure how much the stomach wall stretches. In the intestine, on the other hand, receptors check whether the right nutrients are arriving. Only when all this is correct can the brain finally switch to "full". A large portion of vegetables provides many vitamins and minerals and also a lot of volume, but this alone is not enough. Your meal must also contain high-quality protein sources and important fatty acids. Only then will the meal provide the right combination of volume and nutritional value and your body will set the signals to "full". 

As soon as carbohydrates are broken down into their individual components and the simple sugar glucose enters the bloodstream, the pancreas releases insulin. This hormone ensures that both glucose and amino acids can be transported into the cells. Once these have been delivered to the cell, the insulin and blood sugar levels drop again. When the blood sugar level drops, hunger arises again. If a lot of glucose enters the bloodstream at once, a lot of insulin is also released, causing the blood sugar level to drop again very quickly and hunger arises again. If sugar is constantly being replenished, we are in a constant state of ups and downs. The insulin level is on a real rollercoaster. We fall from one concentration hole to the next and rescue ourselves with a quick snack. It is not only carbohydrates that cause insulin levels to rise, proteins and amino acids also promote the release of insulin. However, when amino acids are consumed, glucagon levels rise along with insulin levels, and the hormone glucagon is the antagonist of insulin when it comes to burning fat. While insulin stands in the way of fat burning, glucagon drives it. The mixture of glucagon and insulin, which is released after the intake of a moderate amount of protein, is ideal for good satiety and active fat burning. However, if too much protein is consumed and therefore a lot of amino acids enter the bloodstream, some of the amino acids are converted into glucose. This causes the blood sugar level to rise in the same way as if you had eaten carbohydrates. The right amount of protein is therefore important.