How Hormones Affect Desire | Hidden power (2024)

Everyone experiences a craving for sweet or salty snacks at some point in their lives. A food craving is a strong desire for a particular food. Sometimes the urge to eat can be almost impossible to ignore, creating the feeling that no matter how much they eat, their hunger will persist until they eat the food they crave.[1]

So what's to blame for the insatiable craving for chocolate and other sweet foods? Fortunately, researchers have been able to identify several biological factors that cause and regulate food cravings.

Hormonal changes in women

Hormones are substances in the body that act as messengers. They are produced in different parts of the body and coordinate the functioning of our cells and organs.[2]

In 2016, researchers looked at how women's hormones can influence food cravings and the amount of food they eat. Some women had intense cravings for chocolate and other sugary foods. Others might crave high-carb foods, including chips and chips. Estrogen and progesterone were both found to influence appetite when the women in the study were menstruating.

Estrogen was the hormone associated with an increased need for carbohydrate-rich foods, while progesterone was associated with a higher consumption of sugary foods. The hormone that tells your body it's time to quit, leptin, was unaffected by estrogen or progesterone.[3]

It's important to keep in mind the connection between specific hormones and those types of food cravings. During the menstrual cycle, these two hormones can vary greatly and influence the types of foods women crave. Progesterone levels peak in the luteal phase (right after ovulation) of every woman's menstrual cycle, between days 18 and 23. Estrogen peaks about a week after ovulation, between days 19 and 22.[4]

The fire sulfate hormone

When it comes to the food we eat, hunger and satiety, hormones play an important role. There are four main players when it comes to our desires and what drives them.

Insulin. This hormone regulates the amount of glucose (sugar) in our body. Anyone who has eaten a lot of chocolate and experienced the subsequent sugar crash knows insulin well. Eating too much sugar can cause insulin to rise, resulting in a sugar crash
Ghrelin. Also called the 'hunger hormone', ghrelin is produced in the stomach and its role is to regulate appetite. The hormone is responsible for telling our brain that we are hungry and need to eat. Not getting enough sleep at night can disrupt Ghrelin production.
Leptin. The other side of the coin is for ghrelin. Leptin acts as a brake on our stomach and tells the brain when we are full and no longer need to eat.
Peptide YY. Just like leptin, this hormone also indicates when we are full and have eaten enough.[5]

How do hormones affect cravings?

Cravings are more complex than just a “sweet tooth” or a lack of self-control. A craving is more like a spider web of interactions between the food we have access to, brain messages, and eating habits. Like other animals, our appetite is linked to food that lights up the reward pathways in our brain.[6]

When we eat the foods we crave, our brains reward us with positive feelings. The euphoria we get from eating certain foods encourages us to repeat the experience regularly. Chocolate, chips and other salty foods, sweet or rich, all stimulate the release of hormones. These hormones include insulin, dopamine, cortisol, leptin and ghrelin.

Foods we crave can affect the way our brain handles normal appetite hormones if we eat them too often. This interference is why we sometimes continue to feel food cravings even though we have eaten more than enough during a meal. Researchers have even found that a diet high in sugar or fat can disrupt brain signals in animals. The interruption can release hormones that reduce feelings of stress and unhappiness. Stress reduction could very well explain why we want “comfort food” in times of stress.[7] [8]

How can you control hormones and reduce cravings?

Dealing with cravings can be challenging, especially if you experience a lot of stress. Fortunately, there are a few ways to reduce your cravings for less healthy foods.

Reduce the number of sugary drinks consumed
Include a protein source with every meal. Fish, grass-fed meat and chicken work well. Otherwise, try high-quality fats, including nuts, seeds, coconut, olive oil or avocado
Give yourself time to de-stress at the end of the day
Get enough quality sleep. A lack of sleep can disrupt your body's production of peptide YY and ghrelin.[9]
Avoid long periods of not eating. Try to eat something nutritious every three to four hours. Feeling extra hungry after long periods without food can lead to overeating and severe cravings for sugary or salty foods.
Try activities known to trigger the release of dopamine, such as jogging in the park, dancing, or watching your favorite movies.[10]

[1]Johnson, J. (2020). What Causes Food Cravings? [online] medicalnewstoday.com. Available at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318441#:~:text=A%20food%20craving%20is%20an,they%20get%20that%20particular%20food. [Accessed July 2. 2021].