Appetite reasons and care
“You cannot buy appetite and sleep as you buy food and bed”
“Work for food & take food for work”
“Eat to live and don’t live to eat”
These are all popular sayings. Appetite and fasting usually refresh the stomach
every time. You can feel good digestion after your appetite returns or after
fasting. Even though people are aware of all these, they take pleasure in
overeating and go for a lot of snacks in between meals while watching TV or
games.
They never let their
stomach be empty to develop a good appetite.
Also out of overwhelming love, some children are brought up without their
having any appetite i.e. they are pressured to eat more, where they will never
enjoy eating or know the need or importance of it. Here one should mind that
habits developed in childhood will usually be followed into adulthood.
Undoubtedly, nutrition plays a major role in health, so does “appetite”.
Appetite is a desire or craving or relish food. It is natural, common for
everyone and felt by everyone. It is well played by the brain considering the
sugar level in the blood, the digestive process, fat deposits, hormones, etc.
Appetite is often mixed up with hunger. To differentiate clearly, appetite has
more to do with the brain and usually gets altered with external factors
whereas hunger is more involved with the stomach and gets modified according to
internal factors. Hunger is a type of pain in the stomach caused by acid
secretion loaded in the stomach for digesting food particles. It indicates a
need for food/energy for our body.
Digestion is a complex phenomenon which is less understood. Altogether, the
entire thing (growth and sustainability) depends on appetite and digestion.
None other than the obese can happy about the loss of appetite. Those who lack
appetite will go from doctor to doctor to get it back, for fear of death or
disease. They should understand that usually appetite comes with eating regularly.
Loss of appetite i.e., lacking in providing nutrients or energy to the body,
may form the foundation for diseases. Oily fats/fatty foods, carbonated drinks,
tinned foods with preservatives, lots of medication, irregular eating habits,
lack of exercise, etc., are commonly rewarded with loss of appetite. Appetite
loss will also follow in case of prolonged sleep, depression, aversion to food,
etc. It varies from children to adults.
Appetiser
Appetizer will create an appetite for food,
i.e., it gives applause for food. From childhood, some would have been given
tonics for for good appetite and for being robust. Developing this habit is not
correct since the artificially created appetite will work till the tonic lasts.
In hotels, soups are served as appetizers or starters to have good intake.
Loss of appetite/decreased appetite – is medically called
‘anorexia’. Lack of appetite may arise from many reasons. Any illness can
affect appetite, from the initial day onwards, Likewise, appetite will resume
as the first betterment symptom while getting cured.
Common causes for loss of appetite are:
- Emotional – anxiety,
mental stress and strain, nervousness, tension, loneliness, loss, aversion
to food, depression, etc., can cause loss of appetite.
- Physiological – pregnancy,
prolonged sleep, laziness, ageing
- Physical – congenital
deformities causing difficulty in deglutition, assimilation and
elimination can cause loss of appetite
- Cosmetic – weight
reduction procedures, fear of obesity
- Pathological – arising from
diseases – TB, jaundice, fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, duodenal ulcer,
oesophagitis, stomatitis, asthma, anaemia, heart diseases, cancer, AIDS,
etc.
- Drugs – steroidal
and hormonal treatments, chemo therapy
- Socio-economic
factors – with
habit of suppressing one’s appetite
Symptoms
Loss of appetite and its other symptoms vary.
Commonly, it is present with
- Dizziness
- Giddiness
- Tremors and
palpitations
- Fear of food or
vomiting
- Even a handul of
food causing aversion
- Weight loss
- Increased acid
secretion in stomach with burning eructations
- Pain in stomach or
fullness of abdomen
Gas trouble
Effects
- Fear of food
- Mal-absorption
- Anaemia
- Recurrent and
repeated illnesses due to lowered immunity
- Indigestion and
frequent diarrhoea
- Weight loss
Stimulants
Physical – Exercise is good to stimulate appetite and utilise food
Special senses – Sight and smell of food can also induce appetite;
sometimes even hearing
Artificial – Drugs and tonics
Natural – Ginger, basil leaves, grapes, honey, pineapple, carrot
Diagnosis – It is important to rule out serious illnesses with
abdominal ultrasound scan, colonoscopy, liver function tests, Barium meal
X-rays and thyroid function tests.
Prevention
TAKE
- Die t in a relaxed
manner, without any hurry
- Easily digestible,
oil-free food
- Nutritious diet for
not more than 3/4th of the stomach
- Water before and
after meal
Diet at regular intervals
or at a particular time
AVOID
- Tension and hurried
life
- Full and heavy meal
- Oily diet and snacks
before meal or bed time
- Smoking, drinking
alcohol, chewing tobacco
- Aerated drinks,
coffee and tea
High fat containing nuts
and biscuits
Caution – To avoid medical emergencies, diabetic patients, low BP
patients, peptic ulcer patients, heart patients, pregnant/nursing women should
go continue eating even though there is loss of appetite. Otherwise, it will
bring complications. Follow routine food habits.
Take food Like a king in the morning, Like a prince in the afternoon
&Like a princess at night.
Common
appetite-related disorders
1. Anorexia nervosa – is one of the common diseases that arising during adolescence with loss
of appetite and depression. It makes the sufferer look thin as skeleton due to
drastic weight loss. Adolescent girl suffer from this more. They usually feel
bad about their appearance and suffer physically as well as psychologically
with fear of food or diseases or death. They crave for an appetite.
Psychological counselling and apt treatment is necessary to restore normal
health.
2. Increased appetite and obesity – Skipping timely meals
will usually bring voracious, canine-like hunger. Sometimes, hunger is felt at
midnight or in the early morning. These peoples are supposed to suffer from
peptic ulcer. The frequent overeating – polyphagia/hyperphagia – will often
bring about obesity, but there are many diseases, where even with excessive
appetite and intake, there would be weight loss: Ex – diabetes, hypertension
(blood pressure), hyperthyroidism, etc. These people should train themselves to
have a regular diet at regular intervals with effective treatment. No one can
eliminate hunger. Obese patients often reduce their weight or obesity by
fooling the stomach with bulky fibre diet that has no calories. They also go
for appetite suppressants to avoid intake. Appetite suppressants commonly used
are:
- Soft drinks,
alcohol, coffee, tea
- Smoking and chewing
tobacco
- Drugs
Want of appetite/hunger in Homeopathic approach
In Homeopathy or in other streams of
treatment, the first question to analyse health is “appetite” since it gives a
better idea about the status of health. From the treatment point of view also
it helps a lot for prognosis of the disease. For example, if one’s appetite is
improving, one can judge by onself that there is improvement in the condition
and the choice of drug is correct. But if one feels decreased appetite after
medication, even if the disease symptoms become better, the drug choice is
probably wrong and it is not actually a real betterment. Betterment will be
temporary and also it denotes that the disease has been driven internally than
getting cured.
Appetite is one of the important general symptoms (others are thirst, stool,
urine, sleep, menses, etc.) for which Homeopathy is good treatment. It is
called a general symptom since it affects the person as a whole compared to the
localised symptom. Appetite and good digestion help build the natural defence
mechanism and the body to act against diseases. Homeopathy increases immunity
and enables the body to fight the infection by itself. After apt Homeopathic
treatment, one can confirm
- improvement of
appetite
- arrestment of weight
loss and tiredness
- weight gain and
feeling refreshed
What is lost usually
seems the most valuable and often praised. Appetite/hunger is one among them.
Once lost, one will make one need/want more of it. Hunger is usually praised by
the rich and cursed by the poor. The excellence of Homeopathy is its ability to
concentrate on the mind, on the craving/aversion for/to food diet and treats
the person as a whole, as always.
It treats according to the totality of symptoms, feelings of the patient and
cause of the disease. Homeopathy can open a new avenue which is straight and
short for having good appetite and good digestion. In case of voracious
appetite alsoH homeopathy makes it normal rather than suppressing or reducing
it by any suppressants. But it is best one cultivates regular food habits
combined with good exercise to keep oneself always healthy.
Homeopathic Medicines should be taken under the advice and diagnosis of a
qualified Homeopath.
for new hope
Dr. S. Chidambaranathan,
BHMS, MD (Homeo)
Laxmi Homeo Clinic
24 E. New Mahalipatti Road
Madurai, TN 625 001
India
Tel: +91-984-319-1011 (Mob / Whatsapp)
Clinic : +91-452-233-8833 |
E-mail: drcheena@gmail.com
(Disclaimer: The contents of this column are for informational
purpose only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional
healthcare advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of
healthcare professional for any health problem or medical condition.)