Question:
Anyone familiar with the chemical in our bodies that triggers hunger.

I am pre-op and heard an interesting "factoid" at the pre-op informational meeting my dr. gave. He stated that there was a chemical that our bodies produced that triggers hunger. The level increases as you move towards a meal, peaks at meal time and then significantly drops after you eat. He also stated that this chemical no longer rises and falls after WLS and that it is steady at a much lower level than the "after meal" level pre-op. He said the name of the chemical was ghitlin or ghitin or something very similar to that (I did not spell it very clearly in my notes). I had never heard about that chemical before so I was off to the Web to learn more about. I cannot find any reference to it even with 4 different spelling variation. Anyone heard about this or know where to get additional information about it. It is not that I don't trust my dr but I like to double check info I am given. Any heal is greatly appreciated. ~~Hugs~~    — Maridee B. (posted on July 2, 2003)

July 2, 2003
The chemical you're looking for is spelled ghrelin. I had a good article about it, but I'm not sure where it is at the moment. you'll find tons of stuff online. From what I remember they think that dieting makes this chemical more prevalent and it increases your hunger, of course, making it harder to lose weight!
   — Momma C.

July 2, 2003
It's Ghrelin--pretty neat stuff!
   — Heylove

July 2, 2003
Here's a pretty good article that covers it (about 1/2 way down the page): http://bariatrics.ucsf.edu/patient/causes.html
   — [Deactivated Member]

July 3, 2003
Try looking this up... Neuropeptide Y. I did a search for hunger chemical and that is what it gave me. Good Luck!!
   — dl_roark

July 3, 2003
I read an article on medscape.com about it while researching gastric bypass. It is called grelin and it contols hunger. The article I read compared dieters and gastric bypass patients. It was interesting that the dieters had a surge in ghrelin, resulting in the constant hunger that you feel while dieting. The gastric bypass patients had extremely low ghrelin levels, explaining why many patients aren't hungry. I thought it was all very interesting!
   — Sasha A.

July 3, 2003
The hormone you're looking for is called ghrelin. It is synthesized by the stomach itself, which is why gastric bypass patients do not feel as hungry. Elevated ghrelin levels are associated with hunger. But you can trick your brain into ignoring it because as the ghrelin receptors interact with the peptide itself, eventually the signal is weakened. Which is why if you wait a long enough time after your brain says "I'm HUNGRY", you won't be anymore. At least not until your liver metabolizes the ghrelin and your stomach makes more. It's a truly fascinating mechanism. I am a "reformed formerly obese person" but I didn't have gastric bypass. So I just dealt with the hunger and ate more low calorie-dense foods to trick my stomach. Oh yeah, your stomach only produces the ghrelin when it is empty :)
   — Brittany C.