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7 Types of hunger

7 Types of hunger

Mireia Cervera 30 April 2022

Did you know that there can be 7 types of hunger? In this post we explain how to identify them to avoid overeating and / or unhealthy.

In the phrase "food enters through the eyes" there is a lot of truth. The senfeelings, emotions and hunger are closely related. That is why we explain the keys to identify each of them to know how to control the senses and emotions to coemer when we are really hungry .

Jan Chozen Bays, pediatra de Harvard y autora del libro "Mindful Eating: a guide to rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food", identifica en total
Who has not felt like eating a chocolate ice cream when they see it in a television commercial? Or who can resist some popcorn when going to the cine? Or go into a bakery to buy bread attracted by the smell of fresh bread?

Does this type of behavior towards food respond to what we understand by hunger , or rather to the desire for a specific food? How many times a day do we eat or think about food without being really hungry ?

Smell, mouth, eyes, stomach, mind, feelings, instincts, condition different eating behaviors, which Jan Chozen identifies with 7 types of hunger . Many times, although notwe realize, we eat without thinking, as a reflex action and without being aware of the moment.

  1. Eating through the eyes: sight is a powerful appetite stimulant and the food industry takes advantage of this. This type of hunger makes us eat even when we are full when we see the image of a dessert,Soda or a juicy hamburger ... Who has not felt like eating a freshly baked pizza when seeing it advertised on television?
  2. Hunger for smell: in ancient times, the sense of smell told us where they werefood, and this sense is heightened when we are fasting. We are continually exposed to tempting food aromas: freshly baked croissants, freshly brewed coffee, or popcorn at the cinema entrance. Who has not dwhat ever: "it smells that it feeds"?
  3. Hunger in the mouth: it is caused by the sensations we enjoy when eating food: something crunchy, something soft, something refreshing, spicy ... For example: potato chips many vSometimes we eat them for their texture. This type of hunger is very well defined in the phrase "it makes my mouth water."
  4. Stomach hunger : it is physical hunger, when our guts ring out. No orHowever, the author explains that in reality the stomach complains out of habit, that is, because of the eating habits that we have. Anyway it is something that we cannot ignore, although sometimes it can be simply anxiety and not hunger
  5. Cellular hunger: the hunger that living beings experience that leads us to look for food tosurvive. It arises when our body unconsciously asks us for certain nutrients. For example: in summer we choose more hydrating foods while more caloric in winter. It is what we call a "craving" for a certain food.
  6. Mental hunger: the one that is governed by our beliefs, by all that information that we have received over the years about what we should eat and what not. Thoughts like "I have to eat less sugar", "I shouldn't eater fried "," I should eat more antioxidant foods "," it's 2 o'clock and it's time to eat "...
  7. Hunger of heart: it is sentimental ambre. When we search for our favorite foods to fill the void that saddens us. WhenWe detect this type of hunger, the ideal is to fill hearts in different ways, such as serving friends, calling a loved one, giving a gift, enjoying nature ...


Before eating, ask yourself which of the7 types of hunger is. Which part of your body is the one that you really want to eat, and decide whether or not to indulge it, but being aware of whether it is real hunger or just a craving.

Mireia Cervera Nutritionist Teresa Carles Healthy Foods Group - Flax & Kale