The Relationship Between Coffee And Hunger

A group of researchers has wondered whether drinking coffee makes you more or less hungry. In the following article, we’ll find out what the relationship between coffee and hunger is. The results will surprise you!

Coffee, the most popular drink

There are facts that show that our hunger and appetite are controlled by complex systems and are influenced by what we eat or drink,  including coffee. A group of scientists wanted to know whether the world’s most popular drink also has an impact on our hunger.

Many people use a regular coffee to control their appetite. It is true that the coffee gives you a good amount of energy and makes you more alert. It even improves physical performance and suppresses appetite. Coffee and hunger seem to be related.

However, there are studies that show that if you want to lose weight, it is best to drink decaffeinated coffee.

Be careful though: you can’t drink coffee all day because you’ll be too awake to rest. Experts in this field say that to lose weight, it is better to drink green tea.

So is coffee healthy? It depends on. Not everyone processes coffee in the same way. What you need to know is that this drink changes your neurotransmitters and hormones (especially cortisol and insulin).

That’s why coffee keeps some people awake while it puts others to sleep. This can change based on how much you drink, the time of day, your age, your build and so on.

Is there a relationship between coffee and hunger or not?

Your hormones affect your appetite and satisfaction. For that reason, you may feel more hungry at certain times of the day. For example, women eat more when they are simply hungry or during their period. Some people actually eat more when they are under great pressure or stress.

There are three hormones responsible for hunger: ghrelin, leptin and PYY. The first is secreted in the stomach, the second is secreted in adipose tissue and the third is produced in the intestines.

Can coffee help you lose weight or not? How? By altering the production of each hormone. The same thing happens with your mood.

Have you ever noticed that when you are hungry you feel angry or hot-tempered, but you are happy again after eating? Don’t forget the popular saying “happiness goes through the stomach”.

Researchers have considered two hypotheses to explore the relationship between coffee and hunger:

• Hypothesis #1: Coffee (decaffeinated or with caffeine) reduces hunger, leptin and ghrelin and increases satisfaction and PYY.

• Hypothesis #2: Same effects as in the first case, but with the exception that they only last up to 60 minutes after eating or for the 120 minutes it takes the body to digest.

Conclusions of the test group

A group of volunteers drank coffee and shared their feelings three hours later. The conclusions that arose are:

• While caffeine is used to suppress appetite, the decaffeinated kind caused the lowest hunger levels (along with the two hormones) and an increase in the peptide.

• More amounts of peptide YY means less hunger. The people who took part in the experiment stated that they were not hungry for three hours, although their PYY levels decreased after an hour and a half.
• Another interesting finding was that the reduction in hunger and the increase in peptide persisted until after glucose consumption. This may mean that some components of coffee do not alter digestion.

Does Drinking Coffee Adjust the Satisfaction Hormone?

Perhaps the reason coffee reduces hunger is that it alters the hormone that affects satisfaction.

It is worth mentioning that coffee contains many antioxidants, which are beneficial for health. However, some components are still negative for some people, especially if they drink too much of them. If you rely on caffeine to suppress your appetite, you may need to consider a different strategy.

In the first place, for example, drinking decaffeinated coffee. Opt for other healthier foods that have the same effect on your body. For some people this is an apple, for others a granola bar. For some a banana and still others prefer a tomato.

On the other hand, you should not forget that there are other factors that make you feel hungry. For example, think of:

• A poor breakfast that contains no fruit, dairy and grains.
• When your stomach is used to eat (‘snack’) at any given time.
• Boredom or lack of motivation.
• Anxiety or stress.
• Hormonal changes (pregnancy, menstruation, thyroid problems) and so on.

You shouldn’t expect coffee to be a magical solution to your appetite. There is a relationship between coffee and hunger, but  if you don’t eat well during the day, your stomach is still more likely to demand more and more food.