Ghrelin is one of our hunger hormones. When the hormone ghrelin is released, signals are sent to our brain that makes us feel hungry. For most people, Ghrelin is released during times of the day that we would naturally eat e.g dinner time.
However, in people who suffer from obesity, Ghrelin levels are usually higher meaning they are hungry more often throughout the day.
Gastric sleeve surgery patients lose weight in two ways.
The part of the stomach that the surgeon removes contains the Ghrelin hormone. When this is taken away it will mean that not only is the patient full from eating small amounts due to the stomach size. But also the cravings for food will be significantly lower. Patients will feel satisfied with a small plate of food for a long period of time.
Everybody’s weight loss journey is different. There are some gastric sleeve patients who notice significant changes in their hunger immediately after the surgery.
It might seem impossible to think that the gastric sleeve can actually change someone from being hungry all the time to only feeling hungry for small intervals throughout the day. But fully understanding the ghrelin hormone allows us to see how this can make sense.
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