Sapolsky Suffering

Coming down with a sickness can be very disheartening for individuals who anticipate the symptoms to come. It’s expected to experience aches and pains, a fever, the chills, exhaustion, and a lack of interest in participating in natural occurring activities - including eating. Why do we experience a loss in appetite when we are fighting off a cold or sickness? Sapolsky claims that it is unclear since it is necessary that we conserve our energy to heal. While the reasons for losing appetite vary upon specific illness, there are clear reasons in each case as to why we lose our hunger to eat. Sapolsky claims that the reason is unclear as to why we lose our appetite when sick since most of the symptoms that we experience are geared toward conserving energy. (Sapolsky, 1997). He continues by claiming that the theory that hunger is reduced to reduce our need to go out foraging for food and thus placing ourselves in potential danger of attack is not valid. This does make sense in an instinctual way. When we do not consume a sufficient amount of food, we become weak, making it more difficult to fight off these threats in the wild. Our body is constantly trying to protect itself and maintain a balanced state so that we can thrive and survive. On the most basic level, we
As primates, we still function with an instinctual base that we are often unaware of. Our bodies work around the clock to help us survive, which sometimes means altering our levels of hunger. Further, certain infections and illnesses are known to cause the brain to reduce hunger levels in order to preserve energy or prevent further sickness. It is important for us to acknowledge these urges, yet still recognize that it is important for us to continuously get the nutrients we need, especially when we are weak due to