Sometimes we feel thirsty and sometimes, hungry. How does our brain know that apart?
In: Biology
It’s quite complicated and not well understood.
Thirst is primarily controlled by salts concentration in the blood. If you eat a bunch of really salty food you’ll feel thirsty even if you have been drinking a lot of water. It’s a pretty quick response because water is important.
Hunger is the more complex one. Blood sugar levels, stomach stretching, a whole bunch of hormones, psychological factors, etc.
They are definitely different sensations, so the brain can tell them apart as easily as heat vs pressure. However, sometimes aspects overlap (like stomach stretching and psychological factors). For example stomach stretching affects hunger, but you could stretch your stomach by drinking a ton of water.
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