Not eaten enough today? Watch out, you might get hangry…

If you’re hungry, it’s a normal physical reaction to get a bit aggressive and snappy – you could say ‘hangry’… 

We all know it seems to be easier to get stressed and snap at the people closest to us when we are hungry. None of us wants to be grumpy so why is it that just being hungry can make us angry?

Well, a story published recently by Associate Professor Amanda Salis from Sydney University, explains the whole process of getting ‘hangry’ and how you can avoid it.

How hanger develops

Firstly, it’s good to remember that not everyone gets hangry – but many of us do. When we eat food, everything is digested into simple sugars (such as glucose), amino acids and free fatty acids. These goodies go into your bloodstream and are used by your organs for energy.

As time passes after you have eaten, the amount of these goodies or glucose in your bloodstream drops. If the level falls far enough, your brain will register this as serious because, unlike many of the other organs in your body, your brain needs glucose to do its job.

You’ve probably noticed that simple things become hard to do when you’re hungry. Students often find it hard to concentrate at school and at work, people can make mistakes if they are hungry.

On top of all this, you may find that while you can summon up the energy not to snap at someone you don’t know too well, it may be a different thing with those closest to you. We often don’t mean to do it but we snap angrily at those we love most when we are feeling hangry. If this sounds familiar, take a look at this info.

But there is more to it all – it’s not just your low glucose levels which can make you hangry. It could be the hormones your body releases into your bloodstream

When your glucose levels drop to a certain point, your brain tells your body to release hormones that increase the amount of glucose in your bloodstream. These are called glucose counter-regulatory hormones and the main ones are: glucagon from the pancreas; and adrenaline and cortisol from the adrenal glands.

It’s easy to see that if your body is flooding your bloodstream with adrenaline and cortisol, you may get a bit snappy or hangry. These are the hormones which give you energy in ‘fight or flight’ situations and while they give you a boost, they can also make you react more quickly and aggressively.

The easiest way to avoid hanger is to eat something before you get too hungry

We are all different

The reason some people don’t get quite as hangry as others is the fact the link between hunger and anger is controlled by common genes. The product of one such gene is called neuropeptide Y and this is a natural brain chemical released into the brain when you are hungry. Neuropeptide Y will make you want to eat a whole lot straight away (like binge-eating) but as we are all different, the amount of this chemical released and the rate it is released, will be different for each of us.

Dealing with hanger

The easiest way to avoid hanger is to eat something before you get too hungry. But don’t reach for the junk food because generally this type of food will give you a quick rise in blood-glucose levels – or a quick fix – but then your blood-glucose levels will come crashing down fast.

So you will end up hangrier than ever. It’s far better to go for the healthier foods that will satisfy your hunger for a longer time – complex carbohydrates like whole grain breads and cereals, green vegetables, starchy vegetables, beans and pulses.

If for some reason you can’t eat something healthy straight away, just remember that, with time, your glucose counter-regulatory hormones will kick in and your blood-glucose levels will stabilise. So if you can get through the tricky, hangry part, then you will get to the other side.

Once you get over your hanger and you have gone without food for some time, your body starts breaking down its own fat stores for energy and this is when you can lose some weight if you need to.

But if you find you are getting hangry a lot, best to try and deal with any stressful or difficult situations after food – and not before!

To read the full story about hanger by Associate Professor Amanda Salis, go to The Conversation.