To think some amount of pain when hungry is not necessarily a problem?

[Carla786]

So I was talking about food with my DM the other day and I was surprised at the different ways we see hunger.
She feels strongly that if you have gnawing/growling etc feelings in your stomach this is unhealthy and means that acid is hurting your stomach. I argued that some mild amount of this, let's say half an hour before you eat, isn't a problem, provided you have nutritious and filling meals.

Essentially she feels that the only healthy way to feel hungry is to feel a mild empty sensation but not pain, but any amount of pain is unhealthy and means you should eat something straight away or you will harm your stomach, and if it happens often, you should go to the GP to see if something is wrong with the stomach lining.

Who is BU?

I was always taught that you shouldn't get to the point of being ravenously hungry/stomach ache hungry but wasn't sure why that was.

Personally, I've found that if I get to that stage of hunger I am more likely to make unhealthier choices about what I eat.

Pain? I don't think I have ever been in actual pain from hunger, is that considered normal?

I would consider anyone who is experiencing pain on a regular basis from not having enough food to be someone who is seriously lacking in money and resource, and who needed support in order to feed themselves properly.

I think it's good to feel hunger. Your body should have periods of hunger.

It depends on what a person's definition of pain is. There is a middle ground between discomfort and needing painkillers which people describe differently.

Stomach growling and discomfort, desperate to eat - all fine in the hour or so leading up to a meal.
Actual pain, not fine.

In my twenties I used to have actual pain if I let the stomach growling stage go on for more than half an hour. It was painful enough that I wouldn't actually want to eat any more, despite still being very hungry. I never found out what caused it, but it went away after a few years. Now I get normal growling and mild discomfort when hungry. There's a difference between these two, and I suggest that actual pain is not normal if only hungry for an hour or so.

I think people just experience hunger differently. I get the aching pain, I often wake up with a hunger tummy ache and on a regular basis I can’t concentrate on anything else except how hungry I am. I’ve always been like that, my dad was the same. (Other than when I’ve had a severe tummy bug) I have never missed a meal in my life. I just can’t imagine what it’s like to forget to eat!

However I eat very healthily and I’m a healthy weight, have no health problems so I don’t think it’s a problem it’s just bloody inconvenient!

Hunger pangs are just peristalsis - it’s usually the cue for me to eat something. I don’t eat unless I feel hungry. It’s really not a symptom of anything IMO, just a sensation that you feel when your body is telling you it’s time to eat.
This only happens a couple of times a day for me with several hours in between. That’s different from the very uncomfortable gnawing sensation that can be associated with a stomach ulcer, if your Mum is feeling that she maybe needs to be checked out for an ulcer.

Why?

Feeling hunger is one thing. I’m hungry right now, but I know I’ll go home, go on a run and then eat something.

But feeling actual physical pain from hunger isn’t normal.

A few hunger pangs that’s fine - actual
pain no! I’ve not experienced pain, hunger for me is more feeling light headed, lack of concentration and just really wanting to eat.

I’ve never felt pain from hunger, and commonly do intermittent fasting (naturally) and have done 24 hour fasts before.

Stomach acid is produced in presence of food not in the absence of it. Hunger pangs are contraction of the stomach in response to raised ghrelin. If your mum were right, civilisation wouldn't have survived as all primitive people would die from stomach ulcers in their caves.

I’ve had pain from hunger.

i don’t manage well with big gaps between meals. I start getting tired, difficulty concentrating, if it’s really bad my movement slows down, and yeah my stomach growls and churns and that’s a painful feeling.

i am disabled and have multiple things wrong with my body.

I never really feel hungry. I do intermittent fasting and every other week I do a 48 hour fast.

How can you go on a run when you’re hungry! I’d have a very small snack at least.

chewing gum can cause your stomach to work hard, all that saliva.

rumbling is fine. a funny feeling then is fine, in your tummy area just above the belly button

actual gnawing pain especially at the front where your bra sits right in the middle is likely acid rising and burning your gullet. not good. your stomach is flameproof kind of thing but your gullet is not. That kind of pain needs investigated.

I've never felt pain from hunger unless you count headaches

I do 5:2 fasting and I quite enjoy that empty stomach rumbling feeling, and I look forward to the next meal. I have never experienced anything I would describe as pain when hungry.

If your stomach acid is hurting your stomach lining you aren't hungry, you have an ulcer.

I’m not very fit so they leave me feeling quite unwell 🤣 I’d probably throw up

This is really fascinating!

I can feel that gnawing hunger pain. Not so much now but when I was young it was terrible! In my 20s I’d carry an “emergency Mars bar”. I don’t get light headed (afaik).

It happens less as I get older. But now that I’m getting the dreaded ‘meno-belly’ I’m trying to go back to feeling my hunger.

But it’s really interesting to read others descriptions of hunger.

My last ex (who was on the spectrum) used to struggle with any kind of physical discomfort. So he would eat every four hours, because even the feeling of a slightly rumbling stomach was too much for him. He'd also sit indoors with all the curtains drawn on sunny days because he couldn't cope with being even slightly sweaty.

So I have deduced that different people have different tolerances for the same thing. I only eat one meal a day, at the end of the day. By the time that comes around my stomach is grumbling but I don't feel in pain of any kind, just ready for my dinner. But to someone else that feeling might register as acute pain.

If I leave eating to the point of physical pain, I will definitely binge. I plan my meals ahead of time to prevent mindless overeating. But if you can feel really hungry and then eat a normal amount it isn’t going to do you physical harm.

I can let myself get hungry, feel hunger pangs, but I’ve never felt actual pain, so I’d agree with your mum, if you get to the stags you feel physical pain you should eat.

I googled and discomfort is what you should feel, but not pain.

www.dietlicious.com.au/blog/why-it-s-ok-to-be-hungry/

Does anyone else ever feel sick when they're hungry?

I find I feel like I'm gonna (and sometimes do) throw up if I go too long without eating, it happens.

It actually happened today so I stopped and got a drink and chocolate bar from the corner shop between jobs.