Is a hormone called ghrelin responsible for our snacking?
Published: December 31, 2009 Sometimes food tastes so good, we just don’t want to stop. Despite being satiated and no longer feeling hungry, we merrily continue to eat. When we do this, we usually choose foods that we feel are especially delicious, hence giving us the impression as though we are rewarding ourselves. American scientists have now discovered, after conducting their research on mice, that this behavior is quite possibly caused by a hormone called ghrelin. Our body produces this hormone, known as the “hunger hormone”, when it is hungry. The amount of ghrelin in the body decreases after we have eaten. Many believe that our hunger makes food look particularly appetizing. The best example for this is when a hungry person walks through aisles of a grocery store: the probability is incredibly high that they will buy more food than if they weren’t hungry. Previous studies have claimed that ghrelin can influence the brain, hence causing this type of behavior to occur. New research
