Appetite is a natural desire to satisfy a bodily need, especially for food. Appealing foods (delicious food) can stimulate appetite even when hunger is absent, although appetite can be highly reduced by a feeling of fullness (suppression of hunger) for a time period after a meal. Appetite serves to regulate adequate energy intake to maintain metabolic needs.
A loss in appetite occurs when you have a low desire to eat food. It may also be known as a poor appetite or reduced appetite. The medical term for this is anorexia.
If you develop loss of appetite, you may also have symptoms related to this, such as malnutrition or weight loss. These can cause serious effects if left untreated, so it’s important to find the reason behind your decreased appetite and treat it.
What causes a decreased appetite?
A large number of causes can lead to a decreased appetite. In most cases, your appetite will return to normal once the underlying condition or reason is treated.
Bacteria and viruses
Loss of appetite can be caused by bacterial, fungal, viral, or other infections at any location.
Here few of them which could cause this:
- an upper respiratory infection
- pneumonia
- gastroenteritis
- colitis
- a skin infection
- meningitis
If illness are properly treated, your appetite will return.
Psychological causes
There are various Psychological (Mental) causes for a decrease in appetite. Many older adults lose their appetites, because of general debility.
Your Appetite may also depend on your mental status and tend to decrease when you’re sad, depressed, grieving, or anxious. Boredom and stress, tension have also been related to a decreased appetite.
Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, can also lead to a decrease in appetite overall. A person with anorexia nervosa undergoes self-starvation or other methods to lose weight.
People who have this problem are typically underweight and have a fear of gaining weight. Anorexia nervosa can also cause malnutrition.
Medical conditions
The following medical conditions may cause your appetite to decrease:
- chronic liver disease
- kidney failure
- heart failure
- hepatitis
- HIV
- dementia
- hypothyroidism
Cancer can also cause loss of appetite, particularly if the cancer is present in the following areas:
- colon
- stomach
- ovaries
- pancreas
Pregnancy can also cause a loss of appetite during the first trimester.
What’s the outcome if decreased appetite is not treated?
If your decreased appetite is caused by a short-term condition, you’re likely to recover naturally without any long-term effects.
However, if it’s caused by a medical condition, the condition could worsen without treatment.
If left untreated, your decreased appetite can also be accompanied with more severe symptoms, such as:
- extreme fatigue
- weight loss
- a rapid heart rate
- fever
- irritability
- a general ill feeling, or malaise
If your decreased appetite persists and you develop malnutrition or vitamin and electrolyte deficiencies, you can have life-threatening complications. Therefore, it’s important to seek medical attention if you have a decreased appetite that doesn’t resolve after an acute illness or that lasts longer than a few week.
Ayurvedic view in loss of Appetite
Loss of appetite and indigestion are closely linked entities of digestive disturbance in Ayurveda. Agnimandhya is the term used to denote loss of appetite while Ajeerna denotes indigestion. A harmonious balance of Vata and Pitta holds the essence of a normal appetite.
A vitiation in their mutual balance could lead to a loss of appetite. Irregular dietary habits bring about a vitiation in Pitta while psychic problems like anxiety, fear or physical causes like suppression of impeding urges lead to an imbalance in Vata. Both these sequences lead to disturbances in normal levels of appetite.
CAC HAVE AYURVEDIC MEDICINES for increasing appetite, increase digestion ,metabolism and overall health of the body as it aggravate the agni (jatharagni) Liver care tab ,Trifla Gugglu
Trikatu syrup, Immuno up powder
Description of medicine
1. Liver Care Tablet
These tablet are 100% safe and purely ayurvedic formulation. It maintains the proper functioning of the liver and stimulate the growth of new liver cells. Liver Care Tablets contains Ingredients like Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata), Kutaki(Picrorhiza kurroa), Bhumi amla( phyllanthus niruri), Giloy(Tinopora Cordifolia), Yavakshar( Hordeum vulgare), Imli Kshar( Tamarindus indica), Mukta Shukta pisti etc. These herbs balances excess Pitta Dosha and helps in problems like abdominal bloating, flatulence, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and indigestion.
Recommended Dosage: Take 1 tablet twice daily with normal water.
2. Trikatu Syrup
Trikatu syrup is a purely herbal formula containing ingredients such as long pepper, black pepper, & dry ginger. This herbal syrup shows antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, carminative, & immuno-modulator effects. These properties provide effective results in appendicitis conditions.
Recommended dosage: Take 2 teaspoonful thrice daily before meals.
3. Triphala Guggulu Tablet
Triphala Guggulu Tablet (3 fruits) tablet is a herbo mineral of size 650 mg and is a purely ayurvedic formulation. It is a polyherbal formulation comprising of three ingredients. Each fruit is thaught to positively impact the body’s three doshas. It has been used in ayurvedic medicine since ages. It is thought to support bowel health and aid digestion. As an antioxidant, it is used to detoxify the body and support the immune system. It is known for its antibacterial, antioxidant, antiviral abilities.
Recommended Dosage: Take 1 tablet twice daily with normal water.
4. Immuno up sachet
It is pure herbal formulation. The importance of working on your immunity is now on an all-time high. If a person fall ill easily, it means their body’s immunity is low. This pacifies tridosha (Vata, pitta and Kapha), strengthen your immunity, keeps your digestive system fit and also detox your body. it also works in cold, fever and flu conditions. It consists of effective levels of antioxidants, Vitamin C and E which circulate in the body to protect it against the damage caused by free radicals. it is a natural immune-modulator properties to prevent and ease coughing, sneezing, etc. It provides quick relief from early signs of running nose, Sore throat, body pains, and weakness.
Recommended Dosage: Take 1 sachet twice daily with normal water.
Home remedies for Loss of Appetite
- To help handle your lack of appetite, you might consider focusing on eating small meals after digestion of previous meal take next meal.
- Light exercise may also help increase appetite. To ensure you’re getting enough nutrients from food, meals should be high in calories and protein.
- You may also want to try liquid protein drinks.
- It can be useful to keep a diary of what you eat and drink over a period of a few days to a week.
- Eat food which is tasty and easy to digest
