Eating Fatty Foods can Trigger Hunger Hormones

A recent study suggests that eating fatty foods can trigger the hunger hormone called ghrelin.

Ghrelin is actually a hormone that is accumulated during fasting. However, it is also found to be in high levels right after eating. Ghrelin was called the hunger hormone because it stimulates hunger in the brain and results to increased food intake.

However, the production of ghrelin hormone is not that easy. It is very unique because it requires a fatty acid before it can be activated. Before, experts thought that the fatty acids that were in the chemical structure of ghrelin was produced by the body during periods of fasting. This was until researchers have found out that the fatty acids attached to the enzyme to form ghrelin actually came from the fatty foods that we ingest.

The study used mice as their subjects, and found out that mice with more enzymes for ghrelin formation who were given with fatty foods gained more fat than those who have fewer enzymes in their system. The main reason for this is because the brain of the mice do not receive signals that fat is in their system and it needs to be stored.

Aside from that, researchers have also found out that during fasting, the levels of ghrelin are flat; however, upon introduction of fats, levels soar. They concluded that if fats are not provided, the levels of ghrelin in the body will remain inactive. Researchers are looking in an angle wherein ghrelin won’t be activated so that obesity will be prevented. Further studies will be conducted regarding this matter.