Hangry?!

Whether you’ve heard of the actual term or not, it’s highly likely that we’ve all experienced the feelings associated with this phrase at one time or another. Hangry – is to feel hungry and angry at the same time, and this can occur when our blood sugar or glucose levels drop.  Amanda Salis, a researcher at the University of Sydney, found “that if your blood-glucose levels fall far enough, your brain will perceive it as a life-threatening situation, as your brain is critically dependent on glucose to do its job”.

Salis continues “You’ve probably already noticed this dependence your brain has on glucose; simple things can become difficult when you’re hungry and your blood glucose levels drop. You may find it hard to concentrate, for instance, or you may make silly mistakes. Or you might have noticed that your words become muddled or slurred”. If you are interested in the chemical and physical reasoning behind this, you can read the article in full here at The Conversation.

What this means for us in a day to day situation, is that we could become grumpy, and snap at someone a lot more quickly than may be normal. Those likely to cop it the most are close friends and loved ones.

 Is It As Simple As Having A Snickers?

Modern food advertising would have you believe that the above is easily solvable, and all you need is a sugar-laden chocolate bar to fix the problem. Unfortunately, this is only a short term fix, and eating foods like chocolate or other forms of junk food, when you’ve already headed into the depths of hangriness will only provide short term respite before exacerbating the original problem. This is because you’ll experience an immediate high followed by a crash back to reality.

How Can I Fix This?

Some simple, easy to follow steps are available to help you bring a little balance to your nutritional intake. Our goal is to eat real food. Avoiding processed food is the first step, with the general credo we follow: “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.” In general, that’s the key to success to stabilising your hangriness, and in time losing weight.

AN EASY TRICK: Stick to the perimeter of your grocery store; don’t go down the aisles. Buy starchy vegetables first, then meat and eggs. Stop and get some nuts: you’ll need healthy fats, especially in winter in Wellington. Then go straight to the checkout. Do not pass the junk food aisle!

BONUS – Click HERE To Download Your FREE Nutrition Guide

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