eli5: Why does nicotine suppress hunger/appetite?

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I know most stimulants suppress hunger, but why?

Edit: mot corrected to most

In: Biology

7 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I reccomend you all the upcoming documentarie “You dont know Nicotine”.

Smoke is bad, nicotine itself not.
Most people just dont know nicotine and automatically thinks about the harms of the tobacco, which are real and nasty but not for the nicotine.

Anonymous 0 Comments

None of these really answer your question.

Nicotine (as well as caffeine, or other stimulants like cocaine) is a stimulant—it triggers the release of *adrenaline*.

Adrenaline is a natural hormone that your body uses to signal that it’s going into high performance mode. Sometimes this is the result of your body’s fight or flight response. Your body prioritizes alertness and response and directs blood flow to the brain rather than the stomach while deprioritizing hunger and other biological functions that can wait for a more relaxed moment.

Anonymous 0 Comments

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Anonymous 0 Comments

The none scientific answer is when you’re hungry you crave food but when you smoke you crave nicotine, smoking fulfils your main crave, you’ll still feel hungry but for the time being you’re just happy to smoke.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Nicotine suppresses hunger because when it’s taken into the body, it fires these particular neurons called POMC neurons. These neurons are responsible for appetite suppression/satiety (feeling full), so it makes sense that when nicotine enters the body you don’t feel hungry. This might not be completely correct but i learned it in my psychobiology class this semester and i hope it is 🙂

Anonymous 0 Comments

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Anonymous 0 Comments

For one, carbon monoxide (I believe but may be wrong) dulls taste buds, so the reward for eating is less. Additionally, nicotine apparently triggers a small flight or fight response that causes the body to hold back on using energy by decreasing nonessential functions