Why do we lose our appetite when we're sick?
We tend to be very consistent in how much and regularly we eat. Most people don't miss a single meal - and if they do all hell can surely break loose...
We've been convinced about the necessity of constantly and overdo our food intake, since a very young age. Can you remember any phrases like:
"finsish your plate"
"breakfast is the most important meal of the day"
"if you want to become strong you need to eat a lot"
"I know you are sick, but try to eat as much as you can, it's good for you"
All of these advices are surely meant well, but do they make any sense in terms of benefitting us?
The worst consequence of this type of thinking is that it goes against our instinct and bodily sensations and signals: If we wake up in the morning not feeling hungry, should we force food down our throats when our body doesn't need it? Why not listen to our intellegent body, instead of doing things out of habit?
Loss of appetite = don't eat
It sounds simple, but still, most of us are conditioned to always eat even though our body is telling us not to. We're even told to especially eat when sick, because it will give us energy - is that true?
What if we're thinking about it upside-down? Our body actually requires lots of energy to digest food, processing the food takes more energy than anything else we do. So maybe we should act in alignment with our loss of appetite, instead of against it? As our bodies want to efficiently deal with an issue, and don't instantly gain energy from the food - it needs to be digested first.
If we do so the body can dedicate more energy and resources to fight the virus, handling stress, focusing on healing or processing emotions.
Because it's not only while we're sick we loss our appetite, but very often also when under mental and emotional stress - So next time you're feeling ill or having a stressful day, dont worry about eating - you'll eventually get hungry, just give your body the time and energy to focus on healing first.
Less is more
Most people have eaten their whole life, minimum three meals a day. Their digestive system is most likely to get super-happy for a well-deserved rest. The human body is an unimaginable advanced and intelligent thing, and can do wonders with extra energy gained from fasting.
Looking at nature there are hundred thousands of animal species when sick or badly injured, will rest and stop eating. Why don't we also act from this intutive wisdom? Instead we eat out of habit, or past conditioning. Why not learn to trust our bodies again, maybe its intelligence is greater than what we imagine?
“There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.” - Friedrich Nietzsche
A few other ways of benefitting our digestive system:
- Stop eating meat as it is very energy-consuming to digest
- Adopt a vegan diet
- Eat lots of raw fruits and vegetables
- Only eat when hungry
- Intermittent fasting
- Juice or water fast
An interesting perspective. From childhood onward, you're right we are constantly told to eat three times daily and to snack in between. Your article offers a gateway to a different mindset which is very thought provoking.
Agreed. It’s also good to see that juice fasting and intermittent fasting is more widely understood and acknowledged now too. Also makes it easier to meal prep 😂
So true, our body needs all its energy for healing when we are sick and if we are eating although we are not hungry, the body it too occupied with digestion and can‘t take care of curing our disease.
This is also one of the reasons why we hear stories about people who managed to heal themselves of very serious illnesses by fasting or juice fasting.
So our body is much smarter than we might think, listening to our true sensations and needs can work wonders for our health and well-being. Thanks for the great post!!
If we eat three times daily our body is totally exhausted with digestion! We do not let our body to 'clean' itself. The more body is clean the more energy we have! :) Fruit and vegetables are the best 'brooms'. (especially for people who eat lots of meat is good not to jump all of a sudden on fruit only. They should combine it with vegetables also) When we are ill it means that our body is working hard on cleaning itself, and that's why we are not hungry. That is my point of view on that subject.
Fantastic post and information! I intermittent fast everyday... my body has transformed inside and out.... and im vegan :D <3
Hi, I totally agree! By eating in order to finish our plate, we lose our connection to our natural hunger feeling.
And I also agree that the digestion process requires a lot of energy from the body, energy that might not be available for the healing process. I am a big fan of water fasts as they are done at the True North Center. Do you know it?
CU, Chris
Yes, heard about that one - did you do a water fast there?
No, but I know that Dr Doug Lisle and Dr Michael Klaper work there and I admire them both. CU
I actually eat like a beast when I'm sick, I'm always hungry. Each person is different but yeah, listen to your own body :)
The obsession with food in our society is just amazing. The problem is, though, that bodies that are being regularly stuffed with junk food eventually loose their capacity to feel their needs. And if you don't feel it, you better listen to the experts, right? Not quite, especially knowing what they've got to say.
But I totally agree: if you do not feel like eating, don't eat. There's a long list of documented benefits of fasting. It can even help to heal some chronic diseases.