Why do we feel hungrier when it's cold?

Are you the type that just cool a bit, then feel that uncontrollable hunger and the desire for high-calorie foods?

No need to feel bad. Science is on your side: the exaggerated hunger in the cold has an explanation.

When the temperature drops, our bodies need to intensify work to keep warm and keep working properly. In other words, you need extra energy.

Eating more during this period would be a kind of maneuver of our body to prepare for the stress caused by low temperatures and protect us.

It's the same behavior of men of prehistory, they needed to accumulate more fat to create energy reserves and thus prepare for the cooler days when hunting was more difficult and less frequent

Hannah Medici, nutritionist

Another explanation is that in countries where winter is severe and shorter days, the body produces extra doses of melatonin (the sleep hormone) to compensate for lack of light. The result is that people feel more sleepy and their activity levels decrease. With less energy, the body feel cooler. As the metabolization of food generates heat, it is natural that the body needs more food to keep warm.

Besides the physical requirements, increased appetite can also be linked to dismay that some people feel during the winter months if --as a slight depression. By eating pleasurable foods, particularly rich in carbohydrates, the body will produce more serotonin, a hormone that will make you feel happy.

The problem is that these foods also cause spikes in blood sugar, which plummet quickly, creating a roller coaster of emotions in mind.

Explaining about being "fat"

The desire to eat specific foods high in fat and carbohydrate can also come from our ancestors.

When we consume foods that provide more energy, have a better chance to withstand long periods without eating. That made sense when the power depended on hunting or conservation of fruits and vegetables during the winter.

Now that we have preservatives, refrigerator and supermarkets, this process of survival brings other consequences for the body ...