The word appetite might be familiar to nearly everyone. Appetite can be defined as the urge of eating with or without feeling hungry. The measure for appetite as a disorder might be challenging because the both extreme and low desire for food can be attached to signs of health challenges.
Recent studies indicate that people lacking appetite are more than those with high appetites. Cases for lack of appetite recorded were due to medications, emotional stressors, chronic conditions and loss of either the sense of taste or smell. The mental state is one of the key contributors to the lack of appetite. Whenever someone has a bad mood or experiencing mental challenges such as depression, they are likely to lose their appetite. On the contrary, if you have experienced or witnessed someone exposed to food in a happy mood or a healthy mental condition, they are likely to eat without a problem. However, other fundamental contributors include pregnancy, company, and diet. Here are some of the ways of improving your appetite;
Distract yourself while eating
Skipping a meal or failing to eat can be easy, especially if you are seated alone somewhere without engaging in any other activity besides eating. Therefore, it is advisable to serve yourself as much food as possible and start doing what you like most, such as watching television, browsing social media, chatting with friends, or doing any other activity. Before realizing it, you would have finished the food since your mind’s attention is elsewhere while eating. However, this will not be a solution for you to increase your appetite but only trick your mind into eating while concentration is somewhere else.
Consider taking snacks rather than meals
A huge plate of food in front of you might be scary if you are experiencing a poor appetite. Studies indicate that snacks such as soy might increase your appetite due to their small appetizing quantities that are irresistible rather than forcing you to a plate full of food. According to research, people taking soy snacks ended up taking about five to six snack packs and desired more. Before realizing how many packs you have taken, relative quantities to a plate full of meals would have already been taken. I would therefore recommend you start working on your appetite using snacks, especially those rich in proteins, by taking more of them as you increase your appetite.
Avoid sugary drinks in the drinks
Using drinks such as soda might not be helpful to regaining your normal appetite. The more you keep taking drinks, the more they deceive your stomach to be contented even when it’s not. Soda adds a lot of gas to your stomach and irritates it, interfering with hormones responsible for appetite. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid soda, energy drinks, and juice to maintain or improve your appetite. In relation, taking other forms of glucose, sugar, and fructose might not have similar impacts as one created by soda.
Bring out flavours
If the foods don’t draw attention to your appetite, it’s advisable to add appetizing flavours to make the meals irresistible. In most cases, people who don’t get attracted to various testy foods have health issues, a sign of ageing. Lack of appetite could be altered by involving herbs and species such as sriracha and Tabasco to trick your appetite and allow you to take the food. Although salt triggers flavour, it also results in high blood pressure. Therefore, before considering using high salt levels, ensure you seek doctors advice.
Engage in physical exercises
To improve your appetite, it is important to carry out the daily exercise. Body exercises emit brain chemicals responsible for stimulating and promoting appetite. It is not necessarily a heavy body activity. Enhancing appetite can be easily achieved by taking a walk before eating. This will increase your appetite and might make the food look more appealing.
Improve on the food texture
If you are experiencing trouble with the meals’ texture resulting in loss of appetite, adjust its texture for easy swallowing and chewing. It is advisable to cut your food into small sizes and if its meat, you could mince it to enhance easy chewing without getting irritated. Besides, you could use the help of puree and liquid in the food to make chewing and swallowing much easier. According to nutritionists and other food and beverage experts, the food texture increases appetite considerably. This could be achieved by adding smoothies such as yoghurt, among other enhances that suits your ingredients.
Stock your favourite food
There are specific foods that are irresistible to your appetite even if you are full. Ensure you such foods or snacks around you all the time to make eating them much easier compared to foods you don’t like. Also, it will avoid coming up with unnecessary excuses of going to the supermarket or grocery to satisfy your appetite. Notably, whenever you have your favourite foods stored in the fridge or kitchen shelves, you will end up eating each time you come across either of them. Due to changing times, you can easily order your favourite food, and it will be delivered to your doorstep within a maximum of 2 hours. There, always prefer using your favourite foods or drinks to trigger your appetite and allow you to more than you would on other normal foods.
Having a good or normal appetite is significant to your body because it will give you enough strength to carry out your normal duties and health reasons. Besides the key point out for appetite enhancement, we have outlined more, such as taking water during and after eating. Since lack of appetite is associated with your physical or mental state, it is therefore recommended to visit your doctor whenever you notice signs of losing your appetite. However, the type of medication you are taking might result from your loss of appetite for those taking medication. Therefore, it is important to ask your doctor or chemist to adjust your medicine.
MS, University of Latvia
I am deeply convinced that each patient needs a unique, individual approach. Therefore, I use different psychotherapy methods in my work. During my studies, I discovered an in-depth interest in people as a whole and the belief in the inseparability of mind and body, and the importance of emotional health in physical health. In my spare time, I enjoy reading (a big fan of thrillers) and going on hikes.
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