Seven Ways To Identify Sensory Hunger

Sensory hunger is the desire for food that we experience when our senses are stimulated by food, or by pictures, sounds, smells, touch, or mouth feel of food. In her book, Mindful Eating, Jan Chozen Bays, MD lists seven kinds of hunger

Eye Hunger
Nose Hunger
Mouth Hunger
Stomach Hunger (Physical Hunger)
Cellular Hunger
Mind Hunger
Heart Hunger (Emotional Hunger)

Most of these have to do with being stimulated by the effect of food on our senses, hence the name of sensory hunger, which is distinguished from physical hunger and emotional hunger.

Eye Hunger

Does the sight of food stimulate you? Of course it does. Why else would there be people who work as food stylists. There is a whole industry devoted to making food look good because if we see it we will want it and the better it looks the more we will want it.

Click on this link for a more detailed discussion of eye hunger.

Nose Hunger

I don't know about you but when I smell coffee, I want a cup. I love the coffee aisle in the market, and when I am at the mall, the Coffee Bean store haunts me the entire time. These are examples of nose hunger and they often occur without our awareness.

Sensory hunger can be a strong motivater to eat. Have you ever found your car pulling into the bakery or donut shop like its on auto-pilot? Or how about when you are a guest in someone's home and you wake up to the smell of freshly cooked bacon. I actually salivate.

How about the opposite. Have you refused to eat something because you were negatively stimulated by its smell? These are all examples of nose hunger.

Mouth Hunger

Mouth hunger relates to both the taste of food and how it feels in your mouth. Do you like sweet more than sour, or bold flavors instead of mild? Food is appealing to you based on these preferences.

When I was a child and my mom would make cooked pudding, I loved to eat the skin that formed on top as it cooled but I hated the thick rubbery bottom that formed underneath the Jello when it wasn't mixed thoroughly enough. These are examples of how the texture of food influences our desire for it.

One of the reasons processed food is so appealing is because it typically contains a mixture of fat, sugar, and salt and this taste and mouth feel combination has wide appeal. Processed food is also very easy to chew because the processing has already done some of the digestive work for you and the food just glides down the throat.

Do you like crunch in your salad or do you prefer a softer lettuce? Do you like your sandwiches toasted or plain? These decisions and preferences are all a part of mouth hunger and sensory hunger.

Stomach Hunger

Stomach hunger is your body telling you it's hungry and it needs fuel. Our stomach may signal us in different ways. It can be an empty feeling in the abdomen, or constriction in the stomach as if it's trying to digest something that isn't there. Stomach hunger is sometimes accompanied by growling or gurgling sounds.

The stomach also signals us as it fills and becomes satisfied. This is called satiety.

Often, people with disordered eating have trouble recognizing stomach hunger because the other forms of sensory hunger play such a strong role in their eating behaviors. They may think they are always hungry, usually a sign of emotional hunger, or they may overeat routinely so that they never experience stomach hunger.

Click on this link for a more detailed discussion of emotional hunger.

Cellular Hunger

Cellular hunger occurs because of our bodies need for specific nutrients.

When our cells need fluid we experience thirst and drink water, but there can be conditions when water doesn't seem to alleviate the problem. We become lethargic and fatigued in spite of drinking plenty of water. This is our body sending out the signal that it needs sodium.

Do you notice that you prefer lighter foods and less of them in the summer, and heavier meals in the winter. This is our body trying to add extra protection (a fat layer) against the cold in winter and then shedding it in the summer when it's hot.

The body sends signals when it needs certain nutrients. You may get headaches, experience dizziness or fatigue but over time you learn what these signals mean and how to respond to the them to meet the needs of your body.

If you are a diabetic you have to learn how to distinguish the signals from your body when it has taken in too much sugar and the signals it sends when your blood sugar is too low and you need sugar.

These are all examples of cellular hunger.

Mind Hunger

Mind hunger is based on thoughts and with the uncertainty over the nutrition value of many foods, it can drive you crazy. It also has a connection to black and white aka all or nothing thinking - that is the tendency to think in absolutes and place foods in categories. Ice cream is bad. Broccoli is good. sensory hunger

Coffee is bad for you. No, coffee is good for you.
Eggs are high in cholesterol. Wait a minute, eggs are fine to eat in moderation.
You must drink eight glasses of water a day.
You must eat a big breakfast.
You shouldn't eat after 6:00 pm or 8:00 pm or for three hours before bed. Which one is it?

Mind hunger is associated with your inner voice and also has roots in perfectionism. It can't be trusted and it is hard to satisfy because the mind is always changing.

Mind hunger and body hunger don't always agree so when you choose food because of what your mind is telling you, take a look at the food and think about why you've chosen it. Maybe you need a shot of caffeine for the long drive home, or maybe a light breakfast is in order because you're headed for the gym and a big breakfast will slow you down. Take a moment to think about what your body really needs and provide that, in spite of your mind.

Heart Hunger

Sometimes we eat because there is an empty space in our heart and we use food to try to fill it, hence the term "comfort food". The heart also wants food to avoid expressing or dealing with uncomfortable feelings.

No food can ever satisfy this form of hunger. Click on this link to learn more about heart hunger.

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