Hunger pangs: what are they and what do they mean?When food is present in the stomach, peristaltic or wavelike, muscle contractions sweep through the walls of the stomach and help to mix food with gastric juices. However, another kind of intense muscle contraction, called hunger contractions, occur when the stomach has been empty for several hours. Hunger contractions are peristaltic contractions, mainly restricted to the body of the stomach. They can often be particularly strong, resulting in a contraction that lasts for two to three minutes! Hunger contractions are usually most intense in young people, who often have a higher degree of gastrointestinal "muscle tone" than older people. In addition, these contractions are increased by a low level of glucose in the blood, which usually occurs when an individual has not eaten for several hours.
///Textbook of Medical Physiology, ninth edition, by Arthur C. Guyton and John E. Hall.
No comments:
Post a Comment