How Our Hormones Control Our Hunger, Eating & Satiety

This episode I discuss how hormones from our gut, liver, pancreas and brain control our appetite-- and the specific tools we can use to adjust those hormones in order to achieve specific goals. I explain the brain areas that control our desire to eat, and our desire to stop eating. I discuss a hormone we all can make that is regulated by UV-rays from sunlight that reduces our appetite. I also explain that when we eat controls our appetite and not the other way around (and how to leverage that fact). I describe how we are basically always eating until we reach a threshold level of fatty acids and amino acids in our gut and the factors that can alter that signaling and make us eat far more than we need. I also explain how insulin, glucose and glucagon work, why cholesterol is so key for ovary, adrenal, liver and testes function and how the ketogenic diet impacts glucose and thyroid levels. As always, I describe many tools: specific supplements, prescription compounds, specific types (and timing) of exercise to regulate hormones, specific timing and types of eating, ways to reduce sugar cravings by triggering the release of the hormone CCK, and more. Note: A future episode will cover Thyroid hormone. Also, I misspoke when explaining POMC neurons. I said “P-M-O-C” but should have said “POMC”. Apologies. The name I gave for what POMC is, however, was correct: "proopiomelanocortin". #HubermanLab #Hunger #Hormones Thank you to our sponsors InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman AG1 (Athletic Greens): httpS://athleticgreens.com/huberman Supplements from Thorne: http://www.thorne.com/u/huberman Social: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Twitter - https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab Website - https://hubermanlab.com Join the Neural Network - https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network Website: https://hubermanlab.com Join the Neural Network: https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network Links: Dr. Lustig’s Lecture - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxyxcTZccsE Paper In Cell Metabolism On Processed Food Effects - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.05.008 Timestamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:06:59 Hunger: Neural & Hormonal Control 00:08:32 Chewing & Hunger 00:11:05 Siamese Rats Reveal the Importance of Hormones In Hunger 00:13:08 Neurons That Powerfully Control Hunger by Releasing Specific Hormones 00:16:28 Anorexia & Extreme Overeating 00:16:57 Why Sunlight Suppresses Hunger: a-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (a -MSH) 00:20:03 Blue-blockers, Injecting a-MSH: Instant Tan & Priapism 00:22:30 Ghrelin: A Hormone That Determines When You Get Hungry, & That You Can Control 00:24:40 Meal Timing Determines Hunger, Not the Other Way Around 00:27:20 Satchin Panda, Circadian Eating & Intermittent(ish) Fasting 00:29:35 How To Rationally Adjust Meal Schedules: The 45min Per Day Rule 00:33:02 CCK (Cholecystokinin): A Hormone In Your Gut That Says “No Mas!” 00:34:55 Eating For Amino Acids, Fatty Acids & Sugar 00:39:05 L-Glutamine: Stimulates the Immune System & Reduces Sugar Cravings 00:43:42 Things To Avoid: Emulsifiers; Alter Gut Mucosa & Nutrient Sensing 00:49:32 “A Calorie Is NOT A Calorie” After All 00:52:36 Insulin & Glucose: Hyperglycemia, Euglycemia, & Hypogylcemia 00:56:12 The Order Your Eat Foods Matters: Managing Your Blood Glucose & Glucagon 01:02:40 Movement, Exercise & GLUT-4 01:04:50 Why Sugar Stimulates Your Appetite 01:05:40 Keeping Blood Sugar Stable With Specific Exercises, The Power Of Insulin Sensitivity 01:07:55 High-Intensity Exercise, Glycogen & Metabolism 01:10:28 Cholesterol, HDL, LDL & Glucose Management: Ovaries, Testes, Liver, Adrenals 01:15:00 Prescription Compounds That Reduce Blood Glucose: Metformin 01:16:45 Berberine: A Potent Glucose Buffer That Also Adjusts Cholesterol Levels, Canker Sores 01:22:05 Chromium, L-Carnitine, Ginseng, Caffeine, Magnesium, Stevia, Vitamin B3, & Zinc 01:24:34 Acids: Vinegar, Lemons & Limes & False Alkalinity 01:26:40 Ketogenic Diets (In Brief): Effects On Blood Glucose, Thyroid Hormones 01:28:10 Diabetes, Filtering Blood, Sweet Urine 01:31:08 The Power of GLP-1 & Yerba Mate For Controlling Appetite, Electrolytes 01:35:19 Summary & Notes About Thyroid, Estrogen, Testosterone 01:37:20 Zero Cost & Sponsor-Based Ways To Support The Huberman Lab Podcast Please note that The Huberman Lab Podcast is distinct from Dr. Huberman's teaching and research roles at Stanford University School of Medicine. The information provided in this show is not medical advice, nor should it be taken or applied as a replacement for medical advice. The Huberman Lab Podcast, its employees, guests and affiliates assume no liability for the application of the information discussed. Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac https://www.blabacphoto.com

Andrew Hubermanhost

Apr 18, 20211h 39mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Hormones, Hunger, and Processed Foods: Rewiring Appetite Through Biology

Andrew Huberman explains how hormones and brain circuits jointly control hunger, meal timing, and satiety, then turns that biology into practical tools. He covers key neural regions like the hypothalamus and insular cortex, and hormones such as ghrelin, CCK, melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), insulin, leptin, and GLP‑1. A major focus is how food composition, order of eating, light exposure, movement, and processing (especially emulsifiers and hidden sugars) dramatically alter appetite and body weight regulation. He also reviews blood sugar–modulating tools ranging from omega‑3s and glutamine to berberine, metformin, exercise, intermittent fasting, and yerba mate.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Light exposure to the eyes helps curb appetite via MSH.

Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha‑MSH) from POMC neurons and the medial pituitary suppresses appetite. Its release is driven in part by ultraviolet/bright light entering the eyes. Getting regular, safe sunlight exposure (especially morning and daytime, without unnecessary blue-blockers or sunglasses) increases MSH and makes it easier to keep appetite in a healthy range, particularly in brighter seasons.

Your hunger schedule is trainable through ghrelin and meal timing.

Ghrelin, released from the gut when blood glucose dips, creates a clock-like, anticipatory hunger at habitual mealtimes and activates AgRP neurons that drive eating. You can shift this clock by about ~45 minutes per day: gradually delaying or advancing your first meal over several days retrains ghrelin secretion and makes intermittent fasting or new meal schedules far more tolerable.

Certain fats and amino acids drive satiety by boosting CCK.

Cholecystokinin (CCK) from the gut powerfully reduces appetite when it detects specific nutrients. Omega‑3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and essential amino acids—especially glutamine—stimulate CCK release and blunt overeating. Ensuring adequate intake from whole foods or (where appropriate) supplements supports natural satiety and can also reduce sugar cravings.

Ultra-processed foods and emulsifiers actively break satiety mechanisms.

Emulsifiers found in many processed foods damage the gut’s mucosal lining and cause gut-innervating neurons to retract, impairing the gut’s ability to sense nutrients and release CCK. Combined with hidden sugars that spike blood glucose and dopamine, this produces a double hit: fewer ‘you’ve had enough’ signals and stronger ‘eat more’ drives, promoting weight gain even when calories are nominally matched.

Order of foods and post-meal movement strongly shape blood sugar spikes.

Eating fibrous vegetables first, then protein, then carbohydrates flattens the blood glucose curve compared to eating carbs or mixed macros upfront. Movement around meals—especially a 20–30 minute walk after eating or having exercised earlier—activates GLUT4 pathways that shuttle glucose into muscle and glycogen, blunting spikes and reducing fat storage pressure.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Regularity of eating equals regularity of ghrelin secretion equals regularity of activity of these AgRP neurons, meaning you will be hungry at very regular intervals.

— Andrew Huberman

Emulsifiers from highly processed foods are limiting your gut’s ability to detect what’s in the foods you eat and therefore to deploy the satiety signals, the signals that shut down hunger.

— Andrew Huberman

It really proves that a calorie is not a calorie. That’s absolutely absurd because of these emulsifiers and the content of these highly processed foods.

— Andrew Huberman

If you want to have a more modest increase in glucose or you want to blunt the increase in glucose, then have at least some of the fibrous thing first and then the protein and then the carbohydrate.

— Andrew Huberman

Yerba mate has been a big help to me in extending that early morning fasting window out to about noon or so when I eat my first meal.

— Andrew Huberman

Neural circuits of hunger and satiety (hypothalamus, arcuate nucleus, insular cortex)Key appetite hormones and peptides: MSH, AgRP, ghrelin, CCK, insulin, glucagon, GLP‑1Meal timing, ghrelin entrainment, and intermittent fasting strategiesRole of dietary fats, amino acids, and micronutrients in triggering satietyImpact of ultra-processed foods, emulsifiers, and hidden sugars on overeatingBlood glucose regulation: insulin sensitivity, exercise, and supplement strategiesPharmacological and supplemental tools: metformin, berberine, chromium, yerba mate

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