Medical Reasons You Always Feel Hungry

Depression:

Eating can be a coping mechanism for people with depression or anxiety. Part of this might be because they don’t have enough of feel-good hormone serotonin, and eating comfort foods like pasta and bread can bring those levels up, says Holly Lofton, MD, weight management specialist and director of the medical weight management program at NYU Langone Medical Center. “You’re not treating depression with celery,” she says. “It’s whatever your mom gave you to feel good.” Here's what else your food cravings reveal about your health.

Stress:

During fight or flight mode, the stress hormone cortisol floods your body, which convinces your body to eat, even if you don’t physically need the calories, says Shanna Levine, MD, clinical educator at Mount Sinai School Medicine. “It’s not out of necessity, but cortisol tells your brain you’re not full,” she says. “That’s why stress causes people to overeat.” These are the best foods to eat when you're stressed.

Hyperthyroidism:

If you’re eating more than usual but are somehow still dropping pounds, your thyroid could be overproducing hormones, triggering your body to kick things up. “Think of the thyroid as an endocrine hormonal organ that speeds everything in the body up,” says Dr. Lofton. “So you would also speed up metabolically, and increase their hunger as a result.” The thyroid is also involved in satiety, so you might find your cravings harder to satisfy if it’s overactive, says Dr. Levine. See if your hunger is paired with fatigue, moodiness, brittle nails, or hair loss—they’re all signs of hyperthyroidism. Try these little habits for a healthy thyroid.

Obesity:

Overeating can lead to weight gain, but in a vicious cycle, obesity itself can also make you hungry. Excess fat could cause your insulin levels to skyrocket, making your appetite go up in response, says Dr. Lofton. Plus, fat cells make your body less sensitive to the satiety hormone, leptin, says Dr. Levine. “Because fat produces its own hormones, part of obesity is that people tend to feel more hungry than someone with higher metabolism and in better shape,” she says. (Related: These sneaky things could affect your weight, regardless of diet and exercise.)

Hypoglycemia:

Low blood sugar can come from a number of causes, from meal skipping to pancreas problems. But the result is the same: a growly tummy while your body begs for an energy boost. “The body produces hunger as a signal to the brain to tell you to take in more food to have enough blood glucose to enter the cells,” says Dr. Lofton. Here are more ways to treat low blood sugar.

Diabetes:

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes both mess with sugar levels, which can create a cycle of hunger when people try to get their blood sugar back on track. Low blood sugar triggers appetite, but going overboard can make those cravings worse. “What happens is people overeat and get too high of sugar levels, which also cannot be satiating,” says Dr. Levine. “It’s a cause and effect that goes back and forth.” Try keeping your blood sugar steady with foods by staying away from carb-heavy or refined, processed foods, she says. Don't miss these symptoms of high blood sugar.

Your Period:

Hormonal changes during your period could lead you to polish off a dozen cupcakes, but you also need more calories to keep up with your body’s extra demands that time of the month. “It’s a high-energy state for your body, which is why women tend to feel tired, and dehydrated,” says Dr. Levine. “In any type of high-energy state, the body physically requires more calories.” Should you talk to a doctor about your period problems?

Medication:

Increased appetite is a side effect of some medications, including SSRI antidepressants, steroids for conditions like allergies or lupus, and anti-seizure medications. Don’t stop taking your medicine though—ask your physician about switching prescriptions. “Any medication you take is a chemical that you’re putting in your body,” says Dr. Lofton. “Talk to your doctor and see if there are any alternatives less likely to cause side effects.” Read these other questions to ask before taking medication.

Dehydration:

Even if you feel hungry, you might just be misinterpreting your body’s plea for water. “When you’re dehydrated, before you become physically thirsty you will feel hungry, and often people mistake that,” says Dr. Levine. She recommends starting the day with an eight-ounce glass of water, then carrying a water bottle with you so you can get 1.5 to 2.5 liters throughout the day. Try to stick with plain water over sugary drinks, which can trick your brain into thinking you’re hungry, despite the extra calories you’re sipping. Find out why you're always thirsty.

Insomnia:

Without your recommended seven to eight hours of sleep every night, your body will find it harder to regulate the hormones that control your hunger levels when you wake up. The hunger hormone ghrelin will spike, making you reach for food, even when your body doesn’t need the calories. “Every day, you’re getting up and have metabolic demands,” says Dr. Levine. “It’s a form of stress when you deprive yourself of sleep and cause hormone disregulation.” Don't miss these clear signs you'll sleep badly tonight.

Read More

Silent Signs Your Body Might Be in Big Trouble

Subtle clues—from handwriting to snoring—can reveal the earliest warnings of illness. Here's how to read your own distress signals.

Unintentional weight loss

If you've lost more than ten pounds with no diet or exercise changes, get it checked out, says Richard Wender, MD, chief cancer control officer at the American Cancer Society. This happens most often with pancreatic, stomach, esophageal, or lung cancer. These are other cancer symptoms people easily ignore.

Damage to your teeth

“I often get referrals from dentists with patients who don’t feel heartburn or other reflux symptoms, but their teeth enamel is completely worn down,” says Evan Dellon, MD, a gastrointestinal (GI) specialist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Many are shocked to learn they have acid reflux. While sugary drinks wear down teeth at the front of your mouth, acid from your esophagus tends to dissolve enamel of the teeth at the back. Other subtle but suspicious symptoms of reflux include a persistent sore throat, coughing, unexplained wheezing, or a frequent foul taste in your mouth. If you or your dentist notices any of these warning signs, see a GI specialist promptly. Untreated reflux not only leads to tooth decay but can also increase your risk for esophageal cancer.

Itchy, blistery skin rash

This reaction, which breaks out on the elbows, knees, butt, back, or scalp, may look suspiciously like eczema, but it could be a more serious issue: celiac disease, an autoimmune condition in which ingesting even the tiniest amount of gluten causes your body to attack its own intestines. Up to 25 percent of people with celiac have this rash, known as dermatitis herpetiformis. Many patients have no digestive symptoms. When someone with celiac consumes gluten, the body releases an antibody known as IgA, which attacks the intestines; sometimes IgA also collects in small blood vessels underneath the skin, triggering the telltale rash. Unlike people with other forms of celiac, patients with dermatitis herpetiformis don’t have to undergo an endoscopic biopsy for a definitive diagnosis. A doctor can biopsy the rash and look for antibodies that indicate celiac. Once you start a gluten-free diet, the rash should disappear, and you’ll protect your body from other long-term, serious damage of celiac disease, such as osteoporosis or small intestine cancer.

Bowel or bladder changes

Peeing more or less than usual could indicate bladder or prostate cancer. Constipation or diarrhea may signal colon or ovarian cancer. These are other sneaky colon cancer symptoms. You may attribute gassiness or bloating to your diet, but talk to your doctor if it lasts more than a week.

Hemorrhoids

About one third of patients with Crohn’s disease—an inflammatory disorder of the GI tract—have a form that affects just the anal region. It manifests as sores, ulcerations, or fleshy growths outside the area, which can be mistaken for hemorrhoids. “Patients will say sitting is so unpleasant, it’s like they’re perched on top of a marble,” says David Rubin, MD, chief of gastroenterology at the University of Chicago Medical Center. This type of Crohn’s disease is often the most painful and has the worst prognosis, says Dr. Rubin. (If left untreated, Crohn’s can lead to bowel obstruction, painful fissures, and even colon cancer.) If you have what appear to be hemorrhoids that don’t respond to treatment, Dr. Rubin recommends seeing a GI specialist for a second opinion as soon as possible. He or she can run blood tests to check for white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, and other markers that can indicate undiagnosed disease.

Changes in handwriting

When you think of Parkinson’s, you probably think of tremors, but a more telling early Parkinson's warning sign is handwriting that gets much smaller. Handwriting analysis identified patients in early stages more than 97 percent of the time, a 2013 Israeli study found. "I have patients write a sentence such as 'Today is a nice day ten times,'" says Michael S. Okun, MD, national medical director for the National Parkinson Foundation. “As they write, each sentence gets smaller and smaller, and the words become more crowded together.” Parkinson’s disease occurs when nerve cells in the brain become damaged or die off. They stop producing as much dopamine, a chemical that sends signals to produce movement; this causes muscle stiffness in hands and fingers, which affects handwriting. Two other early red flags of Parkinson’s: loss of smell—so you don’t notice mouthwatering odors—and really intense dreams in which you thrash, kick, and punch during sleep. If you notice any of these symptoms—and they last more than a couple of weeks—see a neurologist. The earlier Parkinson’s is diagnosed, and the sooner you get control of symptoms, the better your quality of life will be.

Random bursts of anger

For many people, depression doesn’t translate to weeping or lying listlessly on the couch. More than half of patients with depression have irritability and anger; in fact, those depression symptoms are associated with a more severe, longer-lasting form, according to a 2013 University of California, San Diego, study. “A classic case: Someone never suffered from road rage before, but now if they get cut off, they get so furious, they go crazy blaring their horn,” says Philip Muskin, MD, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center. Women are found to have depression more often than men, but men are more likely to experience the disease through irritability and anger, according to a 2013 University of Michigan study. If you’re constantly snapping at your spouse or the slightest annoyance gets your heart racing—and these reactions have lasted for more than two weeks—there’s a real chance that depression is the culprit. Many cases of major depression respond well to a combination of antidepressants and cognitive behavior therapy, a short-term therapy that teaches skills to avoid damaging thoughts or actions. A British study published this past April found that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, which helps increase awareness of negative spirals, was as effective as meds in preventing a recurrence of depression over a two-year period.

Nagging cough

Coughs don't usually mean cancer, but if you develop a cough that won't disappear, even though you've never had allergies, asthma, or sinus problems, take note. It could be lung cancer, or, if accompanied by hoarseness, cancer of the larynx or throat. Are you eating these 30 proven cancer-fighting foods?

Difficulty managing finances

When University of Alabama researchers followed 87 seniors with mild memory problems, the 25 who went on to develop Alzheimer’s showed declines over a yearlong period in skills like managing bank statements and paying bills. “One question we often ask: ‘You’re out to lunch, and the bill is $60. What’s a 15 percent tip?'” says Daniel Marson, PhD, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. “People in the early stages of Alzheimer’s might struggle for a minute or two and then say, ‘It’s $7.’ ” (The answer is $9.) While everyone has an occasional senior moment, “it’s a red flag if these issues persist on a regular basis,” says Marson. As Alzheimer’s develops, the brain’s cortex, which includes areas involved in thinking, planning, and remembering, shrivels up. This makes managing day-to-day finances increasingly difficult. Trouble completing other daily tasks, like following a favorite recipe or driving to a familiar location, is another early Alzheimer's warning sign.

Snoring

It’s a commonly known symptom of sleep apnea, which is associated with increased heart disease risk. But snoring may play a bigger role in cardiovascular disease than experts thought. A 2013 study found that even among patients without sleep apnea, snoring was linked with thickening of carotid arteries in the neck; such damage is a precursor to stroke and heart attack. Snoring was more strongly associated with this wall damage than were smoking, high cholesterol, or being overweight. Why? Snoring may damage the carotid arteries, which supply blood to the brain. “We think the arteries are reacting to the vibration of the snoring, since they’re very close to the throat,” says study author Kathleen Yaremchuk, MD, chair of the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. These are other surprising symptoms of sleep apnea.

Unexplained bleeding

Anytime strange—coughing up blood (lung cancer), unusual vaginal bleeding (cervical or endometrial cancer), blood in stool (colon or rectal cancer), blood in urine (bladder or kidney cancer), or bloody nipple discharge (breast cancer)—should be brought to your doc's attention. These 30 healthy habits are powerful ways to prevent cancer.

Impotence

Men over age 45 who weren’t found to have heart disease but who had moderate to severe erectile dysfunction were up to 60 percent more likely to be hospitalized for heart problems over a four-year period, according to a 2013 Australian study. Arteries to the penis are smaller than elsewhere in the body, so they may become blocked even before a man has any other heart disease signs. “It’s embarrassing. Many men just want to get a prescription and avoid discussing the problem with their doctor,” says New York–based cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, MD. “But it’s really important that they not dismiss it and get evaluated for heart disease.” If men have other risk factors, such as a family history of heart disease, the doctor may recommend advanced screening tests such as a coronary calcium scan.

Inflamed gums

A preliminary University of Florida study found that the same bacteria that cause gum disease also promote heart disease. Other research shows that older adults with high levels of certain bacteria in their mouths have thicker carotid arteries, a predictor of stroke and heart attack. “The link has to do with the body’s response to inflammation,” says Stuart Froum, DDS, director of clinical research at NYU College of Dentistry. Frequent cleanings (every three to six months) by a dentist can usually control early-stage gum disease. Treating gum disease was associated with fewer hospitalizations among people with heart disease or type 2 diabetes, according to a 2014 American Journal of Preventive Medicine study.

Frequent bathroom trips

When you start developing type 2 diabetes, your body becomes less efficient at breaking down food into sugar to use as fuel for energy. As a result, sugar builds up in the bloodstream, where it does silent but significant damage to blood vessels and nerves, says Ashita Gupta, MD, an endocrinologist at Mount Sinai Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. Your body frantically tries to dump the glucose buildup by flushing it out in your urine. Translation: “You’re going to the bathroom more frequently—and producing much more when you go,” says Dr. Gupta. You may find yourself getting up a few times during the middle of the night to pee. Since you’re urinating so much, you may be thirstier. Ask your doctor about getting an A1c test, a blood test that measures your average blood glucose over the course of three months (other tests, such as the fasting blood glucose test, measure blood glucose levels only on the day of the test). “The sooner type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the more likely you can reverse it with lifestyle changes such as weight loss and exercise,” explains Dr. Gupta. These are other sneaky diabetes symptoms.

Forgetting people’s names

Spaced out on your neighbor’s name at a barbecue? It may be owing to stress or fatigue, but forgetfulness about little things such as names or grocery lists could indicate hypothyroidism, or low levels of thyroid hormone. “Patients complain that their brain just feels ‘fuzzier.’ Without thyroid hormone, everything just slows down,” says Dr. Gupta. “I ask whether they still feel tired after a full night’s sleep. If they still feel foggy, it may signal that something hormonal—like an underactive thyroid—is the culprit.” Other low thyroid signs include always feeling cold, low libido, and food not tasting as good as it used to. Because these symptoms are often vague and seemingly unrelated, it’s easy to blow them off. About half of the 30 million Americans who suffer from a thyroid disorder are unaware of it, according to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. But if you have any of the symptoms, it’s worth getting tested. “When patients are treated with thyroid medication, they’re always amazed at how much sharper they feel—that their memory lapses and difficulty concentrating weren’t due to just menopause or aging,” adds Dr. Gupta.

Read More