20 Things You Didn’t Know About Hunger (Part 2)

11. Nearly 30% of pregnant women crave non-food substances, known as pica.

12. Some studies trace the craving for high-calorie meals back to cavemen, when hunters and gatherers needed to store energy for unpredictable mealtimes. Modern people crave greasy and sweet foods, which release chemicals that can lead to obesity and diabetes.

13. Refined carbohydrates make you hungrier because they interfere with the messages sent from your digestive system to your brain.

14. Even thinking about your favorite food can trigger the release of dopamine, the hormone that makes people feel happy, a brain imaging study revealed.

15. One study found that women who tried to suppress their chocolate cravings ended up eating 50 percent more chocolate than those who were open about their chocolate cravings.

16. The hormone responsible for suppressing hunger or appetite in the body is called leptin, and in the United States it is a multi-billion dollar industry.

17. Recent studies have shown that people who carry the obesity gene continuously release hunger hormones, which tell the brain to eat more!

18. However, high levels of ghrelin have been detected in some anorexia patients.

19. In the early 1980s, 10 members of the Irish Republican Party and the Irish National Liberation Army were imprisoned and went on hunger strike, lasting between 46 and 73 days before starving to death.

20. Staying a little hungry may help you live longer. A study of 20 mice showed that reducing daily calorie intake by 30% can reduce the risk of cancer and Alzheimer's disease and extend lifespan.