Sometimes you feel that you have eaten enough, and sometimes you don't feel this at all. This has to do with your hunger hormones. The experience of hunger and satiety is a complex process that doesn't just "happen" to us. We can also influence it, happily.

The feeling of hunger and satiety is influenced by the hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin. When you eat, it takes on average about twenty minutes for the brain to receive the signal "we are full, we have enough energy" from the hunger hormones. If we eat slowly, we are therefore full sooner. Fast eaters often have already served themselves a second or even third helping before the twenty minutes are up.

Frequently chewing and taking smaller bites also helps give your body more time to produce satiety signals. It is therefore important to eat "mindfully". This is often easier when sitting peacefully and pleasantly together at the table rather than in front of the television.

Our hunger and satiety feelings are also influenced by the environment. Our environment encourages us to eat! This is due to our senses, which direct our brain. This goes as follows: When we see or smell something sweet, like freshly baked bread and pastries at the bakery, the hormone insulin rises in your blood. Insulin ensures that sugar from your blood can be absorbed into all cells. Here, the sugar is converted into energy. The sugar level in the cells thus rises, and the blood sugar level drops. When your blood sugar level drops, you quickly feel like you want or even need to eat something again. Our body wants to keep the blood sugar level constant. Not only with how we eat, but also with what we eat, we can guide our feeling of satiety. Not all foods send the same signal to the brain that we are full. Proteins, fibers, and certain fats provide a stronger and longer-lasting signal that we are full. Good sources of satiety include eggs, seeds, sprouts, nuts, oatmeal, avocado, fish, and legumes like chickpeas, lentils, and beans.

If you remain satiated for a longer period, your blood sugar level will also stay constant for a longer time. This is beneficial for your health. Your body doesn't have to produce insulin every time, preventing you from having "too high" insulin levels for too long. This helps prevent insulin resistance, such as Type 2 diabetes, which many people struggle with. By adjusting your diet, you can prevent Type 2 diabetes and thus also the need to take medication.

What you can also pay attention to if you are producing too much insulin is, besides reducing excessive carbohydrates, reducing or perhaps even temporarily stopping the consumption of gluten and cow's milk. Gluten in grains, the protein casein, and the lactose in cow's milk can cause the amount of insulin to increase and lead to insulin resistance in the long term. The same applies to alcohol intake.

What positively affects your hunger hormones is movement. Any form of movement improves the balance of hunger hormones. Our body can regulate leptin and insulin better if we move regularly! Are you already managing to do some stretching exercises before breakfast or going outside for a little walk?