Why do we feel thirsty after meal?

[askhan]

It is usually seen we start feeling thirsty after meal why is it so? How it is connected to blood glucose level?

[relaxin]

My guess is that your stomach is full of solid stuff, it needs some liquid to mix the stuff well with digestive enzymes.

[mchlbrmn]

I don't know, but my guess is that it would be more salt concentrations, rather than sugar, in the blood that might trigger thirst. And Relaxin's idea that there could be feedback from the stomach that it needs water makes sense too.

[askhan]

can i get any reference on it?

[mchlbrmn]

Well, since one response started, "My guess is", and the other, "I don't know", I think you can reference me as "mchlbrmn", or "some person" at http://molecularbiology.forums.biotechniques.com. Or, you could go with the popular, "usually reliable sources say", although that may be stretching it.

[CrowSan]

I am pretty sure seeing a program on TV where they link thirst to Sodium/salt concentrations in the blood. High sodium = thirst. When I have time I will have a look around or you could try a "google" on it (or google scholar).

[relaxin]

I guess there are lots of factors for feeling thirsty. Sure, eating salty food will make you thirsty.

Try stuff yourself with bread that is not salty, you still need to drink water.

Eating candy does not make you thirsty. But diabetic patients (who have high blood sugar level) always feel thirsty, because of dehydration (they go to restroom often).

[CrowSan]

This is a nice definition of thirst:
"In 1954, Edward Adolph and colleagues proposed a multiple-factor theory of thirst that has not been refuted to date. This theory states that no single mechanism can account for all drinking behavior and that multiple mechanisms, sometimes with identical functions, act concurrently. Because water is essential to life, the existence of redundant mechanisms has great survival value. Among these, thirst appears to be regulated primarily by evaluation of changes in the concentration of extracellular fluid, measured as the osmolality of blood plasma. (Osmolality is a measurement that describes the concentration of all dissolved solids in a solution, that is, dissolved substances per unit of solvent. In research and clinical laboratories, the unit for osmolality of blood is mOsm/kg or milliosmoles per kilogram of water.)"

Found here: http://www.enotes.com/thirst-reference/thirst