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ghrelin

ghrelin

1 9.9
A hormone made in the stomach that makes you feel hungry and causes the release of growth hormone
  • noun
  • /ˈɡrɛlɪn/
  • Specialized
: ghrelina
  • When you're hungry, you have hunger hormones like ghrelin that are released to tell you to get nutrients from food.
  • ghrelin hormone
  • ghrelin stimulates hunger
  • appetite-rousing ghrelin

But if it drops too low, ghrelin is is secreted from your gut.

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Examples

  • Sleep deprivation affects two hormones that are related to appetite: ghrelin and leptin.

    Blog text (6)
  • Sleep deprivation can lead to higher ghrelin levels and lower leptin, which can compromise the body's ability to properly measure food intake.

    Blog text (6)
  • Too much ghrelin, and you will be very hungry.

    Blog text (14)
  • It takes a while for the ghrelin to completely leave your system.

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  • Ghrelin helps the body know when to eat, and leptin helps the body know when to stop eating.

    Blog text (6)
  • At the stomach, the powerful chemical ghrelin must be secreted in just the right amounts.

    Blog text (14)
  • But when we are sleep deprived, our bodies compensate for the lack of rest by decreasing leptin levels and increasing ghrelin levels, i.e., our appetite goes up.

    Blog text (26)
  • When you need to eat, your stomach produces a hormone called ghrelin to signal your brain that you're hungry.

  • Hunger is driven in part by ghrelin, a hormone produced by cells in the stomach.

  • One explanation is that sleep debt boosts levels of ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating stomach hormone.

Antonyms

3 8.0

The feeling of being full after eating and not wanting more food

appetite suppressant
  • Specialized
2 5.1

A drug or substance that makes you feel less hungry

Surface Forms

ghrelin singular
ghrelins plural

Etymology

The word ghrelin was made from the phrase 'growth hormone releasing', shortened to GHR, plus the common ending -in used for many body chemicals. So its name points to its job: it helps the body 'release' growth hormone and also makes you feel hungry.