Links Between Coffee And Hunger

Although caffeine can help us control our appetite, we will also be less hungry if we drink decaffeinated coffee, which is why it is better to drink a cup of the latter for breakfast.

A group of researchers wondered if drinking coffee made you hungry more or less. You will learn more about the links between coffee and hunger as you read on. The results are also surprising!

Coffee, a very popular drink

There is evidence that hunger and appetite are controlled by complex systems. These systems are affected by what we eat or what we drink. A group of scientists wanted to know if the world’s most popular drink also affects hunger.

Many people use coffee to control their appetite. It is true that the latter brings us a large amount of energy and makes us more alert. It also improves our physical performance and can also be used to decrease appetite.

However, some studies claim that if we want to lose weight, it is still best to drink decaf.
But be careful, don’t spend all day drinking coffee. You will then be too excited and will not be able to sleep. Experts claim that it is best to consume green coffee bean extract for weight loss.

But then, is coffee healthy? It depends.

Not all people metabolize it the same way. Be aware that this drink changes neurotransmitters and hormones (especially cortisol and insulin). This is why there are people that coffee “wakes up” and others that coffee “puts to sleep”.

This can change depending on the amount ingested, the time of day, age, physical build etc.

Does coffee make us hungry or stop hunger?

Hormones influence appetite and satiety. This is why, at certain times of life or of the day, we may want to eat more than at other times.

Women, for example, eat more when they’re pregnant or having their period. Men can eat more food when they are under too much pressure or when they are “on edge”.

Three hormones have an influence on hunger: greline, leptin and the YY peptide. The first is secreted in the stomach, the second is synthesized in fat cells and the third is present in the intestine.

How can coffee or not help us lose weight? By modifying the production of each of these hormones. The same will happen with mood. Have you found that when you are hungry you can easily get upset or irritable? That you are happier after eating?

Remember the popular saying: “full stomach, happy heart”.

The researchers put forward two hypotheses to determine the link between coffee and hunger / satiety:

• First hypothesis. Coffee (decaffeinated or caffeinated) decreases hunger, the production of leptin and greline, and increases satiety and the secretion of YY peptide.
• Second hypothesis. The same effects as in the first hypothesis, but these would only last 60 minutes after ingestion, or 120 minutes, depending on how long the body takes to digest.

A group of volunteers drank coffee and then detailed all the sensations that followed, for several hours. The conclusions they reached are as follows: 

• They used caffeine to suppress appetite. It turns out that the decaffeinated option showed the lowest appetite levels (with both hormones) and an increase in the peptide.
• More YY peptide means less appetite. Those who followed the experiment reported feeling no hunger for three hours. However, the PYY levels decreased after an hour and a half.
• Another interesting finding of this study is that the decrease in hunger and the increase in peptide are maintained until the ingestion of glucose passes. We can therefore deduce that some of the components of coffee do not affect digestion.

Maybe the reason coffee makes us hungry is because it changes the satiety hormone.

Coffee contains many antioxidants, which are beneficial for health. Some of its components can however also be harmful for some people, especially if they consume in excess. If you are using caffeine as an appetite suppressant, you should start thinking about other strategies.

First, consume decaffeinated coffee, then eat other healthier foods with similar effects in your body. It could be an apple, a granola bar, a banana or a tomato, depending on the person.

You should also remember that there are other factors that make us hungry.

For example, a breakfast that does not include fruits, dairy products and cereals. Getting the stomach used to eating at any time of the day (snacking). Boredom or lack of motivation, anxiety or stress, hormonal or glandular changes (pregnancy, menstruation, thyroid problems), etc.

Don’t wait for coffee to be a quick fix for our appetite. It is indeed likely that our stomachs are starving and that we eat inappropriately if we do not eat properly on a daily basis.