Ghrelin: your hunger hormone
Each time you felt hungry, your body produced a hormone known as ghrelin.
So what is ghrelin and how does it regulate hunger?
Commonly dubbed the hunger hormone, ghrelin is a peptide predominantly produced in the stomach. But its role goes far beyond just regulating hunger.
Ghrelin levels rise before meals and fall post-ingestion.
This rhythmic secretion activates the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the command center for appetite. It stimulates hunger and prepares the digestive system for incoming nutrients.
In this way, ghrelin is crucial to energy balance and survival.
It also plays a key role in stimulating the secretion of growth hormone (GH) from the pituitary gland.
Why is this important?
Growth hormones are not just for height. It also supports tissue repair, muscle growth, and fat metabolism. In periods of fasting or calorie deficit, ghrelin helps conserve energy and direct resources toward essential physiological processes.
Emerging research has also shown that ghrelin influences insulin regulation and glucose metabolism.
Paradoxically, while it increases appetite, ghrelin also blunts insulin secretion, potentially increasing blood glucose levels.
Understanding ghrelin’s role opens up possibilities.
Fasting increases ghrelin temporarily, which may partly explain the improved metabolic markers seen in intermittent fasting.
Conversely, chronic overeating suppresses ghrelin, disrupting natural hunger-satiety rhythms.
In my experience advising clients, I have often advised them to work with instead of fight hormones.
Ghrelin is not your enemy. It’s a messenger. Its role is to inform you about energy balance, growth, and recovery needs.
So what should you do?
Learn to listen. A well-functioning ghrelin rhythm is the body’s intelligent signal system.
Eat when you get a signal. Stop when you are done. Both your waistline and your body will thank you for it.
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