The Hungry Hormone?

In my quest to help you find your "Healthier Me" I am starting to write on more health news as it appears. An interesting article was found on the CTV website about a hormone called ghrelin and how it affects our appetites. Ghrelin is a hormone that the stomach produces to trigger hunger. A study done at McGill university shows that when ghrelin is released and food is in sight the part of the brain involved with pleasure and motivation is stimulated. This makes food more appealing and desirable. Another point to this study is that stress increases the amount of ghrelin released in the stomach.

So what does all this mean? Is it an excuse for obesity and unhealthy eating being out of our control? Definitely not. It does help us to understand what goes on in our bodies and gives us the knowledge to make change. Think about it, if you are running through the grocery store hungry with a hungry and whining child or partner and no idea of what you want to make for dinner you may not make the best choices. That gherlin is going to make everything look good and probably make the bad stuff look best. The most prominently displayed and well marketed items might stand out a bit more. The convenience foods are going to be more and more appealing. Your stress is going to increase and your ability and desire to make a healthy choice is going to decrease. I guess the old wives tale of don't go shopping when you are hungry really has some science backing it.

I think this study is a good thing to help us realize that our bodies hormones can really control our emotions and our actions. Having this understanding does give us power to change. Sure we could say"oh well, there is nothing I can do about it; my hormones are in control and I can't change that so I won't bother trying." This approach will get you nowhere but the couch and some heartburn and extra pounds. We do have control! We can change! We just have to have the desire and some helpful hints. That is where I come in. While this article was helpful to give us a logical understanding of why we feel out of control with our foods choices it needs some pointers on how to make change happen. I think the answer goes beyond trying to create a drug to bypass the effects of this natural hormone. Yes changing advertising and taking advertising out of children's education would be helpful, but even more helpful is what you can do yourself in your own life and your family's.

Here are my tips for you to prevent the ghrelin hunger blues:

1. Yes it is obvious but do not go grocery shopping when you are hungry. Always have a snack handy. Good snacks are an apple or pear with some raw almonds or almond butter or goat cheese, a fruit smoothie with some hemp seeds, a coconut cranberry cookie or a piece of rye toast with avocado. Have some raw almonds and organic dried apricots in your purse, your car and your desk drawer. This will give you a bit of natural sugar to fuel your brain and some protein and healthy fats to keep your blood sugar stable. A good energy bar will work too; just make sure it isn't filled with sugar and artificial ingredients. I will review energy bars in the future.
2. Eat breakfast. Getting a good breakfast with protein will give you long lasting energy and help you make healthy choices throughout the day because your blood sugar will be more stable than having a sugar filled cereal. Try some chopped almonds on plain oatmeal with applesauce and cinnamon or eggs scrambled with spinach and salsa on rye toast or a banana bar with almond butter.
3. Have a plan. Don't go to the grocery store with no thoughts about what you need, no list and no desire to cook. First get inspired with tasty and simple recipes and then make a shopping list. Have a shopping list on your fridge and mark things off as you run out so you don't have to go through the cupboards wondering what's missing and then come back from the store only to realize you are out of olive oil. You can get monthly recipes that have a shopping list done for you plus a staples shopping list that you can check off the items you need here.
4. Try to get your shopping done on the same days at the same time. Plan ahead and do your shopping when you have a bit of time. Don't be fooled by marketing, know your stuff when it comes to ingredients. I will be giving more and more shopping tips and ingredients lists in future blogs. Did you get the shopping tips on corn yet?

I hope that helps to make things easier for you. Just remember that you are the only one that can make you healthy and given the right tools and knowledge you can be A Healthier Me. If you want to read the article about ghrelin, the hungry hormone, you can get it here.

Have fun shopping!