Grumpy When Hungry?
Do you ever snap at someone or get angry when hungry? A possible explanation is the “hangries” an amalgam of hungry and angry. While psychosocial factors have a role there is plenty of physiology to explain this phenomenon.
Everything we eat has carbohydrates, proteins or fats which are digested into simple sugars (like glucose), amino acids and free fatty acids. These pass from your gut into your bloodstream and ultimately into organs and tissues. If you blood-glucose levels fall far enough your brain senses this since it is dependent on glucose. A lack of glucose in the brain may make it difficult to concentrate but also behave appropriately. While you may have enough brain power to avoid being grumpy at work, you may snap at family or friends (guilt here).
Another reason people can become hangries the glucose counter-regulatory response. When blood-glucose levels drop, your brain sends signals to several organs to synthesize and release hormones that increase the amount of glucose in your bloodstream. The hormones include: growth hormone from the pituitary gland, glucagon from the pancreas, and adrenaline and cortisol from the adrenal gland. These last two are stress hormones. Stress hormones increase our tendency towards anger as a “fight or flight “response.
(Did You Know? One of the best ways of keeping blood-glucose levels steady is to eat six small meals each day.)
Hunger and anger are also connected by common genes. A product of one gene is neuropeptide Y which is released when you are hungry. It also helps in regulating anger or aggression. People with high levels of neuropeptide Y in their cerebrospinal fluid also tend to show high levels of impulse aggression.
Healthy living,
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