Hunger Hormones - Explained
- Aug 15
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 8
Despite all the information available, hunger and satiety are intuitive bodily functions. Yet, there is still much confusion about how they work. Understanding how to balance hormones is crucial. We want them to work for us, not against us.
In this blog, I will cover the major hormones involved in digestion. I will focus specifically on hunger hormones and explain why the absorption of nutrients is more important than how healthy or how much you eat.
Understanding the Gut and Its Hormones
The gut is its own organ, rich with hormones that radiate different colors. These hormones signal the gut to receive food, digest, and empty. They communicate messages back and forth between the gut, the brain, and other organs in the body.
The gut has more endocrine cells (a collection of cells that secrete hormones) than any other organ in the body.
When hormones shine brightly, food moves smoothly. Nutrients are absorbed, and you feel nourished and alive.
In the digestive tract, there are five hormones that regulate this process: Gastrin, Secretin, Cholecystokinin, Gastric Inhibitor Peptide, and Motilin.
This list does not include the hunger hormones, but it gives you an idea of how many hormones are involved in digestion. It’s a lot! Now, let's get back to those hunger hormones.
What are Hunger Hormones: Ghrelin and Leptin
Ghrelin - signals that it's time to eat (increases appetite)
Leptin - signals that it's time to stop eating (decreases appetite)
So why hasn't the pharmaceutical industry bottled up leptin and sold it as a blockbuster weight-loss drug? It's more complicated than that. However, there is good news. We don't have to rely on drugs or peptides like GLP-1s. We can increase the body's natural production of leptin (which decreases appetite) through nutrition and lifestyle changes. Here are some effective strategies:
Eliminate highly processed foods (sugar and flour) and focus on real food.
Practice intuitive intermittent fasting and honor your natural hormonal flow.
Engage in intuitive movement and lifestyle choices.
All of these strategies are covered in the Hunger Hormone Reset Program (Join Now) if you'd like access.
Hunger Hormones: Absorption of Nutrients Explained
Even if you're eating healthy, you could be absorbing anywhere from 10% to 90% of your nutrients!
It's true, and I've seen it in my own coaching practice. Some clients have battled unwanted weight gain for decades due to likely malabsorption of nutrients. This means they eat and eat but do not absorb food properly. Their bodies remain hungry, seeking more food because they are starving for essential nutrients, even after consuming enough calories.
Should you supplement or take medication? Even with those, they must be absorbed.
Therefore, absorption is either health or disease.
Think of it this way: just because you eat or swallow food doesn't mean you'll utilize it as nourishment if hormones are not balanced and signaling properly.
Absorption of nutrients depends on digestive enzymes, mucus, fluids, and motility. Nutrients can be absorbed through blood vessels, either by passing through the mucosal wall of the small intestine or by attaching one molecule to another for transport.
When the body absorbs nutrients properly, it means food is metabolized (the end product of digestion, absorption, utilization, and storage of food) as energy by each cell in the body.
The Importance of Hormonal Balance
Digestion is a beautiful natural process that the body performs intuitively to keep us alive. When hormones signal properly, we experience balance.
Hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin, are appetite signaling hormones. When they work correctly, we eat when hungry and stop when full. This balance can help eliminate unwanted weight and promote a healthy metabolism.
Eating all the healthy food in the world won't matter if malabsorption occurs due to imbalanced hormones in the gut. This can lead to unwanted weight gain and eventually metabolic diseases like diabetes.
If you'd like to reclaim your health and take charge of your appetite, weight, and energy, check out my Hunger Hormone Reset Program for more details.
In this program, we practice intuitive nourishment with real hormone-supporting foods. We cleanse, we intuitively fast, and we reset hunger hormones to absorb all the nutrients food has to offer. And we do it together.
Real women, real results.
Women have lost excess unwanted weight, improved their energy, and enhanced their sleep.
I work alongside you because everything I preach, I also practice with my clients.
Come join us; enrollment is open now. I can't wait to welcome you inside the program.
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