Taking Back Control of Your Health:

Hunger vs Thirst

Whether you care about your health, your weight, or your general well being, this distraction wasn't obvious to me.

Have you had a sense that you "need a small snack" or a little pick me up. Yeah for snacks. It's very American. We've even introduced "Hangry" into our vocabulary. (USA Today shared research about hunger and anger.)

But is it hunger? Especially for high-sugar or high-carb snacks? While there is much to be said for snacking on nuts with proteins or fruits, consider thirst before hunger.

Corporate Wellness Magazine shared "The same part of your brain is responsible for interpreting both hunger and thirst signals which can often result in mixed messages." This article also has tips for drinking more.

The Seattle Times quoted one recent study where individuals responded “appropriately” by drinking water when they were thirsty but not hungry only 2% of the time. They responded “inappropriately” 62% of the time, in other words they were thirsty, not hungry, and chose to eat something.

The Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation, who have great concern for kidney health, share some common signs of thirst

that you may mistake for hunger:

• ·Dry skin
• Feeling sluggish
• Dry-eyes
• Increased heart rate
• Headache
• Nausea
• Dizziness

You'll notice some of these common hunger symptoms are similar symptoms of being thirsty.

• Empty feeling in your stomach
• Stomach gurgling or rumbling
• Dizziness, faintness or light-headedness
• Headaches
• Irritability
• Lack of concentration
• Nausea

Consider making your 'default response' being to drink instead of eat.

Consider drinking 4 - 6 ounces of water or tea, wait a few minutes, and then decide if you are still hungry. If during that minute, you start doing an activity, that's a sign that you were thirsty and you resolved the issue correctly.

BTW: 4 ounces is equivalent to swallowing a 'comfortable amount' of water in your mouth 7 times, or 2 gulps with your mouth being very full before swallowing.

Cost Savings: Water, even with a slice of fruit, or tea is typically only pennies per quart (4 servings). Snacks from vending machines, and energy bars are typically $1 - $2 per serving. That's well move than 1000% difference -- not to mention the difference in calorie intake.

....keep the water nearby to make it easier to 'grab 4 - 6 ounces'

Caution: I'm not a doctor or medical provider. Please talk with your primary care provider, or telehealth provider, for what's right for you.

While we have much to share, what do you want to know so that we can prioritize that content? It could be about you personally, or about your family or employees. Is it advice from doctors or dealing with the insurance carriers?

You're invited to send a message to [email protected], call me at 770.335.0077 or schedule a conversation because just as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.....and our community sharpens our community. In other words, we need each other to be their healthiest.