Loss of Appetite
Why would you not want to eat?
“I can’t bear the sight of food.” Do you know someone who said this?
How strange for a living creature to utter such words. Food is sustenance. You will die quickly, without food and water.
So then why would the sight of a meal offend?
We need to delve into what happens to your body when you see food.
The body is designed to respond to nutrition positively. Even the thought can stimulate these responses.
Known as the cephalic phase of digestion, your body secretes acid in the digestive tract at the mere sight.
The digestive system secretes approximately twenty percent of the acid before your pizza or sandwich enters.
Done to begin the process of digestion, your body wants to waste no time in breaking things down.
The vagus nerve plays a critical role.
For those who are not aware, the vagus nerve is also known as your rest and digest nerve. It stimulates the feeling that all is well with the world and you can sit down and eat in peace without being attacked by someone.
So in this case, the vagus nerve triggers the production of acid.
But we are trying to understand why someone is offended by their favourite meal.
One possibility is that the body and mind are stressed. Stress is the opposite of your rest and digest mode, also known as the fight-flight-freeze mode.
So if your fight-flight-freeze mode is at heightened alert, it is hard for your rest and digest system to kick in. Your body simply will not let it.
It is the equivalent of mid-run, while escaping a tiger, trying to take a break to bite on the apple. You get the picture.
Your body would rather turn away from the feast than die from the sabre of the tiger.
There are obviously more reasons than one.
Infections are another possibility. An infected stomach does not want to be tasked with digesting more when it is still dealing with the ill effects of your prior.
Lack of appetite is a signal that something is amiss. If it prolongs for more than a day or two, take it seriously.
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