This sudden slump around 11 a.m., which forces you to devour the first thing that comes along (often sweet), has a name: “Chouquette Syndrome”.
Every morning, it’s the same thing: whether you’ve had breakfast or not, are you hungry at 11 a.m.? Appetite varies naturally throughout the day, in particular because of hormones. A peak of hunger often appears mid-morning, linked to the brain which is already anticipating lunch. Around 10:30 a.m.–11 a.m., ghrelin – the hormone that regulates hunger – increases and stimulates the desire to eat. This is where you shouldn’t fall for sweet treats like chocolate, a cookie or even a chouquette (or even two).
Although they feel good at the moment, these foods rich in fast sugars will have a negative impact on blood sugar levels, in turn on weight, and especially on the liver. This medical argument is often not known to foodies. Now, it is very important. We must also resist the “chouquette syndrome” as nutritionist doctor Réginald Allouche calls it, in connection with chouquettes shared in the workplace, often mid-morning. Because it fattens the liver…
“At 11 a.m., we feel a little hungry. But at that time, don’t eat anything” advises the nutritionist in a video. For what ? “Because this is the moment when your liver will release sugar to compensate. So it will release the glycogen reserve it has. And you have to let it do so” replies the nutritionist. “If you eat a chouquette (when the liver must release glycogen, editor’s note), it cannot release the sugar. So you prevent it from doing its job.” Glycogen is a store of sugar. The body uses it as fuel. It is stored in the liver and muscles. In the liver, it serves to maintain a stable blood sugar level, between meals or at night. In the muscles, it serves to provide energy when we move, walk or play sports.
Dr. Allouche offers a very simple experiment to get through the 11 a.m. slump without eating and putting your liver at risk: “When at 11 a.m. you feel a little hungry, drink a small glass of water. Wait 10 minutes, you will no longer be hungry.” By letting the liver do its job, the body learns to manage energy better. This release of glycogen helps stabilize blood sugar without a sudden spike, which avoids the feeling of fatigue that often follows a sugary snack. In the long term, this mechanism protects the liver from excessive fat storage, a phenomenon responsible for metabolic disorders such as “fatty liver disease”.
Eating sweets in the middle of the morning sends the opposite signal: sugar arrives from outside, the liver goes into standby mode, and the excess ends up being stored. Holding out until lunch without snacking is therefore not a useless ordeal, but a beneficial reflex. A glass of water or an unsweetened herbal tea is often enough to relieve the feeling of hunger. Lunch will be better regulated, with fewer uncontrolled desires and more lasting satiety. Resisting the 11 o’clock rush is not a question of willpower, but of timing. And this timing clearly works in favor of the liver.
