Loss of Appetite: Causes, Illnesses, Tips

Brief overview

  • Causes of loss of appetite: e.g. stress, lovesickness or similar, various diseases (such as gastritis, gastroenteritis, food poisoning, hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, gallstones, pancreatitis, appendicitis, migraine, infections, depression, anorexia), medication, alcohol or drug abuse.
  • What helps with loss of appetite? Sufferers themselves can prepare their meals in a way that stimulates their appetite and choose those foods and dishes that they are most likely to crave. Appetite-stimulating ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger or caraway seeds are also often helpful. If a disease is behind the loss of appetite, medical treatment may be necessary.

Loss of appetite: causes

Stress, psychological tension, lovesickness and worries can also affect the stomach and cause loss of appetite (anorexia in medical terms). Despite hunger, many foods then no longer taste good, and those affected just poke around listlessly in their food. If this condition persists, the loss of appetite ultimately leads to weight loss, since food intake is usually limited to the bare necessities – and only occurs when hunger really gets the better of you.

Ultimately, loss of appetite can even reduce the feeling of hunger: If someone has not eaten for a long time and has no appetite, he will rarely feel hungry. The organism gets used to the lower energy intake. Nevertheless, stress-related loss of appetite is often only temporary.

Incidentally, the fact that so many older people have little appetite is probably due, among other things, to a declining sense of taste and smell.

Loss of appetite due to medication

Loss of appetite: What diseases could be behind it?

Loss of appetite and weight loss also accompany many diseases. Both physical and psychological ailments can make loss of appetite a permanent condition. The danger here is that the affected person becomes underweight or even starves to death, as is the case with some anorexics.

The following diseases can have loss of appetite as a symptom:

Inflammations in the mouth and throat area

Diseases of the digestive organs

Many diseases of the stomach, intestines, liver, and gallbladder cause loss of appetite, along with numerous other symptoms.

  • Inflammation of the gastric mucosa (gastritis): usually the bacterium Helicobater pylori causes the inflammation of the gastric mucosa. Stomach pain, loss of appetite up to vomiting, tarry stools (blood in the stool) and stomach bleeding are common signs.
  • Irritable stomach (functional dyspepsia): Typical symptoms are recurrent stomach pain with loss of appetite, heartburn, diarrhea, vomiting, and other digestive complaints with no apparent cause. Psychological factors, gastric motility disorders, increased sensitivity of the stomach to gastric acid or an unhealthy diet/lifestyle may play a role here.
  • Food poisoning: Consumption of spoiled or inherently toxic foods can cause symptoms of poisoning ranging from loss of appetite, dizziness, vomiting, and nausea to hallucinations, circulatory failure, and even death. Examples include poisoning with mushrooms, belladonna, or puffer fish.
  • Food intolerances: These include lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance, celiac disease (gluten intolerance) and histamine intolerance. Depending on the type and extent of the intolerance, for example, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea or hives and itching may occur.
  • Gastric or duodenal ulcer: Stress, too much alcohol, nicotine and coffee, the stomach germ Helicobacter pylori and certain medications are common causes of gastrointestinal ulcers. Possible signs include upper abdominal pain, nausea, bloating and loss of appetite.
  • Inflammatory bowel disease: Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease may present with watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain and nausea.
  • Liver inflammation (hepatitis): Acute hepatitis is usually initially manifested by non-specific symptoms such as loss of appetite, upper abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting as well as fever.
  • Gallstones: If gallstones block the bile duct, this is manifested by severe colicky upper abdominal pain. Jaundice, nausea, vomiting, discolored stools and loss of appetite are further signs.
  • Pancreatitis: Inflammation of the pancreas also causes severe girdling pain in the upper abdomen as well as loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting.
  • Appendicitis: symptoms of acute appendicitis include severe pain, fever, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting.

Psychological causes

  • Depression: it is usually characterized by deep dejection, listlessness, loss of appetite and listlessness.
  • Addictions: Dependence on alcohol and/or other drugs affects appetite. Amphetamines and cocaine even came on the market initially as appetite suppressants.

Infectious diseases

A wide variety of pathogens can cause appetite to disappear when they take up residence in the body. Other possible symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or fever. Examples of infectious diseases that affect appetite are:

  • HIV/AIDS
  • Tapeworm infestation (e.g. echinococcosis)
  • Yellow fever
  • Tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsils)
  • Pfeiffer’s glandular fever
  • Mumps
  • Chickenpox

Other diseases

  • Diabetes: In addition to severe thirst, loss of appetite is a common symptom of diabetes mellitus. In those affected, the blood sugar-lowering hormone insulin is not present in sufficient quantities or is not sufficiently effective.
  • Addison’s disease: In Addison’s disease, there is a chronic functional weakness of the adrenal cortex. This results in a deficiency of important hormones such as cortisol. Typical symptoms of the disease include browning of the skin, salt cravings, low blood pressure, loss of appetite, severe weight loss, nausea, vomiting, and feelings of weakness.
  • Kidney disease: Kidney weakness and kidney failure (renal insufficiency) may also be associated with loss of appetite.
  • Heart disease: Heart weakness (congestive heart failure) and endocarditis in particular decrease appetite.
  • Hypothyroidism: Hypothyroidism leads to a deficiency of thyroid hormones, which are essential for metabolic activity. Thus, affected individuals often suffer from loss of appetite and therefore eat less. Nevertheless, they gain weight because the metabolism is slowed down due to the disease.

Loss of appetite: What helps?

If the loss of appetite is not due to serious causes, the following measures can stimulate the desire to eat again:

  • Sensory perception and appetite: Taste, smell and the appearance of food influence appetite. Therefore, try to prepare and arrange meals in such a way that they make you want to eat them. For example, sprinkle freshly cut chives on your sandwich.
  • Eat small amounts more often: Many small meals are better than a few large ones. Prepare snacks for yourself that you can eat at any time. If you tend to forget to eat, set yourself a reminder, for example in your smartphone.
  • Eat when hungry: If your stomach grumbles, go ahead and eat what you like. Just make sure not to eat too one-sided.
  • Appetizing herbs and spices: The above-mentioned chives can also stimulate the appetite, as can ginger and cinnamon.
  • drink the appetite: A tea from caraway, yarrow, dandelion and cinnamon is said to be able to increase the appetite.

Loss of appetite: What the doctor does

For the physician it applies first to find the cause for the continuous loss of appetite. If this is based on a physical or psychological illness, the physician will treat it accordingly. Then the loss of appetite usually disappears.

First, the doctor will ask you about your medical history (anamnesis). Possible questions are:

  • How long have you suffered from loss of appetite?
  • How much weight have you already lost?
  • Are there any other symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea?
  • Do you suffer from severe stress or insomnia?
  • Are you taking any medications?
  • Do you suffer from any specific diseases?

If necessary, other tests are used to detect the reason for the loss of appetite. These include:

  • other imaging procedures such as magnetic resonance imaging or computer tomography
  • gastroscopy, colonoscopy, or allergy testing
  • allergy test or test for food intolerance

Loss of appetite: When do you need to see a doctor?

During very stressful periods, many people do not even notice that they are eating less and involuntarily lose weight. If you are asked by relatives, friends or colleagues about the lost pounds, you should therefore become alert and pay more attention to your own eating behavior. If no obvious cause can be found for the persistent loss of appetite and weight loss, you should always go to the doctor. It is possible that the reason for the loss of appetite is a disease that requires treatment.