Many people resort to various means to decrease appetite with the sole intention of eating less food so as to lose weight. But a lack of appetite or poor appetite is actually a sign of poor physical condition when not done intentionally. There are many causesof poor appetite like as illness, surgery, depression, stress, anorexia, old age, menopause etc. Loss of appetite is very common in children and old people. At times, it can lead to serious problems like as weakness, poor nutrition, vulnerable to weakness including unintentional weight loss. While prescription appetite stimulants are sometimes prescribed by doctors, natural ways to increase the appetite are also available.
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| Loss of Appetite |
Tips to Increase Appetite
- Foods: Stock your kitchen and refrigerator with simple, quick foods that require no preparation. Cheese sticks, cottage cheese, pudding, yogurt and peanut butter increase your calorie intake and feed your appetite. Never eat plain foods. Always add something extra to food to increase its nutritional value. Try eating a little more food than you actually want at each meal. As your stomach stretches, your appetite will increase accordingly.
- Avoid Fluid Intake Before Meals: This is a very common and easy method of increasing appetite. This is because, when you drink water or any fluids, you feel full and you do not feel like eating more. So avoid drinking unnecessary liquids before eating. This will help you consume larger meals as your stomach will not become full quite as easily.
- Exercise to Increase Appetite: While through exercise, you burn calories to lose weight, it can actually help stimulate your appetite. When you are burning calories, you are actually increasing your desire to eat. You do not have to exercise vigorously to increase appetite. A short, modestly-paced walk several times a day is sufficient. But always remember that you eat a higher calorie food before exercising to ensure that you do not burn off everything you have eaten. Even if you do not feel hungry, which may be the case if you are already suffering from a poor appetite, make sure you force yourself to eat a high calorie snack before doing any sort of physical exercise.
- Zinc Supplement: Studies have shown that zinc plays an important role on a person's appetite. It has been found that people suffering from deficiency in zinc may find that they have bad breath, overall foul taste in the mouth, food tastes differently to them, which results to loss of appetite. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms or food does not taste good to you, you might be suffering from a zinc deficiency. That is why many doctors suggest that anyone, who is trying to increase their appetite and gain weight, take a zinc supplement. Some foods that are rich in zinc are oysters, toasted wheat germ , sesame butter, roasted pumpkin, squash seeds, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, peanuts etc.
- Vitamin B Supplement: A major study revealed that a significant caloric increase in children is seen when they take vitamin B supplements. There are a number of vitamin B supplements that are available on the market.
- Natural Remedies: There are many naturopathic remedies that may be effective in stimulating the appetite. These are Cayenne or red pepper, Green tea, Ginseng, Garlic, Cardamom, Cloves, Fennel, Ginger. Use them in your meals.
- Herbal Appetite Stimulants: There are also a number of herbal remedies that have been known to help people who have a poor appetite. Caraway seeds, when used in tea, or eaten will help stimulate the appetite. There are herbs that have been associated with appetite increase like as French Sorrel, Black Currant Chickory, Dandelion, Goldenseal, Hops, Ground Ivy, Ginseng, Mugwort, Horseradish, Watercress, Safflower, Tarragon, Wood Sorrell, Yarrow, Parsley and Oatstraw. Any of these lwhen made into tea will help increase the appetite. These herbs can usually be found in natural food stores or health food shops. Some of these herbs can even be found on the shelves at your local grocery store.
- Eat More at Night: Eating something extra before bedtime can help make you hungrier the next morning.
- Moderate Fiber Intake: While fiber is necessary to keeping your digestive tract healthy, too much can create feelings of fullness that prevent you from taking in extra food. So reduce your fiber intake.
- Seek Company: Eating with other people may help you eat more.
