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If you’ve ever felt like eating with or without feeling hunger, you've experienced appetite. Appetite is important to your overall health, and the lack of one could be a sign of a health problem.
There are a variety of factors that can lead to an increased or decreased appetite. Additionally, you can take steps to stimulate your appetite when it's low, like learning what to eat when you have no appetite.
What Is Appetite?
Appetite is the natural desire a person feels to eat food. It differs from hunger, which is the body’s response to not having enough food. A person can be hungry with no appetite, have a strong appetite with no signs of hunger, or be hungry with an appetite.
Characteristics
While there are many signs to tell if a person has an appetite, the primary one is feelings of hunger. Hunger can show itself in many ways, including:
- • Cravings for food
- • Difficulty concentrating
- • Irritability
- • Lightheadedness
- • Nausea
- • Stomach rumbles
While hunger is a physical feeling and manifests itself in the symptoms listed above, appetite is an emotional and mental feeling which causes a strong desire for a certain type or flavor of food.
Appetite isn't constant—it can vary from day to day. For example. a person's emotional state (such as feeling excitement, stress, or boredom) or the availability of preferred foods (if there are few foods in your home you enjoy, you might not feel as strong of a desire to eat them) may influence it.
Lack of appetite, meanwhile, can be caused by emotional stressors, medications, chronic illnesses or conditions, or even a loss of sense of smell or taste.
Factors That Affect Appetite
Appetite can be impacted by a number of factors:
- Diet: What you eat and how often can affect your appetite. For example, one study from 2011 found that in men with obesity trying to lose weight eating a high protein diet improved appetite control and satiety. The findings from a 2016 study suggest that a low-carb diet is better for satiety than a low-fat diet.2
- Medical conditions: Several illnesses can contribute to a reduction in appetite, namely bacterial and viral infections, cancer, and thyroid diseases. Diseases that cause a loss of taste or smell may also lessen appetite.
- Medications: Some medicines can increase appetite and lead to weight gain, including antidepressants and antipsychotics, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and diabetes medications like insulin.
- Mental health: A person's mood or emotional state may contribute to their desire to eat. Stress can cause a person to over- or under-eat. Certain mental health conditions, like depression and some eating disorders, may also affect appetite.
- Pregnancy: Pregnant people can experience an aversion to certain foods and strong cravings for others. Feelings of nausea or constipation, both common complaints during pregnancy, may decrease appetite.
- Company: The people you eat with can affect your appetite and food choices. A 2015 review of 69 independent studies found that people tend to model the eating patterns and choices of those around them.
How to Increase Your Appetite
If you're losing weight and have no appetite, it could be due to illness, an emotional issue, or a side effect of treatment. You know you need to eat more to gain the weight back (or at least maintain your current weight), but you just don't feel like eating anything.
You can try to force yourself to eat, but that may just add to the stress of being sick. Here are some simple ways you can increase your appetite. This advice is also good for caregivers who are trying to help a loved one with a diminished appetite.
How to Increase Appetite
- • Have favorite foods on hand
- • Eat snacks instead of meals
- • Choose energy dense foods
- • Include lots of flavor
- • Drink water between meals instead of with meals
- • Alter food texture with cutting or pureeing
- • Try liquid meals
- • Increase activity levels
Stock Up on Favorite Foods
You'll find that it's much easier to eat something you really enjoy, so keep some favorite snacks on hand. If you're not feeling up to making a trip to the grocery store, consider a grocery delivery service or asking a caregiver, family member, or friend to pick up some of your favorite foods and stock your fridge and shelves with foods you love to eat.
Eat Snacks Instead of Meals
The thought of a huge plateful of food may leave you feeling queasy, but a small snack probably won't seem quite as bad. So rather than forcing yourself to eat three big meals a day, nibble on six or seven snack-sized meals instead. Reach for high-protein soy snacks, which have been proven to improve appetite.
Choose Energy-Dense Foods
Energy-dense is another way of saying something is high in calories. If you're only able to eat small snacks or infrequent meals, it's a good idea to choose foods that are higher in calories so you can meet your body's daily caloric needs.
Healthy energy-dense foods include cheese, nuts or nut butter, avocados, and legumes. Add your favorite sauce, dressing, shredded or melted cheese, butter, or gravy to a serving of potatoes, rice, or pasta to boost your caloric intake.
Bring Out the Flavors
Perhaps part of the problem is that you can't taste your foods, which can happen as a symptom of some illnesses and even as part of normal aging. Add herbs and spices to your meals to enhance the flavor. Or perhaps a dash of Tabasco or sriracha sauce will do the trick. Salt also enhances flavor, but if you have high blood pressure, you should speak to your doctor before adding more salt to your meals.
Make Mealtimes Enjoyable
A relaxed and happy atmosphere makes eating more pleasant. So bring out your best place setting and light a candle or two if you're up to it, or eat your meal with your favorite music playing in the background. It's even better if you can enjoy meals with friends or family members.
Drink Water Between Meals
Drinking water right before and during a meal might cut back on the amount of food you'll eat due to the volume of the fluid. It's OK to enjoy a beverage with your meal, but just take a few sips so you can focus on the food. Then drink water or suck on ice cubes between meals.
Change the Texture
If you're having trouble chewing or swallowing food, it may help to ​mechanically alter your foods. You can chop or mince meats and raw vegetables into small bits to make chewing easier.
Or you can add liquid and puree your foods so they're easier to swallow. Consume liquids like soup and smoothies and eat soft foods like yogurt and very ripe fruit. Changing the textural makeup of your food may enhance your appetite and increase fullness.
Drink Liquid Meals
If you just don't feel like eating, talk to your doctor about liquid meal replacement products like Ensure or Carnation Instant Breakfast. You can also make your own fruit and veggie smoothies if you have a powerful blender. Add more calories to your smoothies with nut butter or protein powder.
Get Some Exercise
Physical activity releases brain chemicals that can improve your mood and stimulate your appetite. Taking a brief walk about an hour or so before eating may just help make that next meal a bit more appealing.