What does hunger have in common with breathing?

I love analogies and metaphors.  Sometimes they don't work out so well, but often I find them the best way to make a (seemingly) complex point simple to understand.I've been trying to find a clean and concise way to explain the concepts the underpin our approach to nutrition for some time now.  And, let's face it, the biology lessons get a little - well - dry.  I mean, who wants to muddle through this:

Clear as mud, right?

But recently, it occurred to me that we can learn a lot about hunger and nutrition from another set of organs frequently focused on in training and exercise: the lungs.  

Everybody knows that exertion causes us to breathe more deeply and heavily.  So much so, that being out of breath is often associated with a "good workout".  But why, really, do we breathe hard during activity that crosses the aerobic threshold?

Soldier, do you even HIIT?

Extended exertion relies on the body's ability to get oxygen to working cells and transport away the CO2 generated in the process.  Oxygen is free-flowing through your arteries at all times (remember red arteries and blue veins from middle school biology?)  But, when the existing stream isn't enough, your cells are "starved" for the needed oxygen to continue the energy-supplying reaction.  Like the AT&T commercial, "you want more, you want more!"  The call goes out.

The central nervous system signals "more oxygen please" and, in response, your breathing rate and depth increases.  In short, you don't breathe harder because your lungs are empty, or even because your lungs asked for more; you breathe harder because your cells demand it and put the call out to your brain.  The lungs are the supplier in the system - not the driver.

Now your breathing is an autonomic reaction.  You can't very well stop it.  And nobody accuses you of poor willpower because you can't choose to reduce your oxygen intake.  

With me so far?  Let's look at how this relates to nutrition.

The same kind of processes go on with regards to replenishing your body with nutrition.  Cells need amino acids, fatty acids, and energy to continue their daily activity, and even more if you're stressing them through strenuous activity.  Instead of the lungs, our digestive system is the supplier for nutrients and energy the body demands.  When things get low, the brain signals "more nutrients please" and you get hungry - biologically, truly hungry.

The problem with us as humans is, we've convinced ourselves that the stomach is the driver of hunger, that "full" and "empty" are simply based on the contents of our gut.  We've stopped listening to our brain about when more is needed.  Obviously, the act of eating is voluntary, in contrast to breathing, and that gets us into trouble.

Another parallel: people perform "cardio" exercise in order to improve the capacity and efficiency of their oxygen processing system.  But how many of us work to "optimize our gut efficiency"?  We wouldn't consider breathing "junk air", because it just wouldn't give our body what it needs.  But food?  Nutritional density, quality, availability, and efficiency just aren't given a thought.  We know a growing number of people have sensitivities involving gluten - especially in excess.  And the skyrocketing popularity of probiotics would seem to indicate that gut problems are fairly wide-spread.  Our go-to foods contain preservatives and chemicals, foods so refined that they last a year on the shelf.  What do they do to our digestive process?  

Okay, so now what?

If you've hung around this long, you might be saying "I see your point, Mike, but what am I supposed to do about it?  Well, we need to change our relationship with food.  Our culture is so centered on food for everything but nutrition.  Whether it's for celebration, rewards, or commiseration, the messages around food are powerfully ingrained from childhood, marketing, and peer pressure.  We all have to wrestle with that in our own way.  But at the end of the day, food is fuel: building material and energy.  To have a healthy relationship with food, you have to put that thought at the forefront.

Next, try to figure out what your real hunger signals are.  For Michelle and I, we slow down a bit, our minds don't work quite as fast, and - if allowed to go on too long - we get shaky and "hangry" (a compound word of our own design, combining hungry & angry).  The problem is, these signs come on very gradually and aren't always easy to notice.  They are also signs of the fact that you're already at a deficit.  To me, this is probably the best case for, like breathing, eating a small, steady stream throughout the day.  You don't get especially hungry at any point, you don't get especially full either.  You're basically doing "healthy grazing".  From pre-workout through dinner, our meals are, at most, three hours apart.  

Finally, make sure that the food you have available and choose to provide your body is of high nutritional quality.  It's simpler, more satisfying, tastes better, and not that expensive, if you plan right.  

So, if you're struggling with your nutrition, dealing with hunger and cravings, just remember: it's as easy as breathing.