Gremlins, I Mean Ghrelins

I hope you had a chance to watch the video I made last week of Pandy and me making pan seared fish and wilted spinach salad in her kitchen.  Cooking with friends is fun just like lots of other things that friends do together, so I hope you give it a try yourself. (No, that is not us!) In the process we made a delicious, healthy meal and sat down to eat it with place mats and quiet conversation like good little girls.  But today I wanted to discuss something I started to talk about on the Orange Tree Lane blogsite last week..somthing a little more sinister than the pretty visual picture just painted for you.

GREMLINS TERRORIZE
Gremlins are evil little creatures who terrorize fine, upstanding citizens like you and me, and you would know about that if you were old enough to remember the scary movie in the 80’s.  A ghrelin on the other hand, terrorizes us in a different way, but if you are a visual thinker like me then it feels like that picture.

GHRELINS DO GOOD… 
On one hand the hormone ghrelin could be considered a life preserver in that it shoots hunger pangs into your gut and motivates you to stop climbing trees or whatever and go find something to eat.  That could be a good thing because frankly, without hunger pangs, some of us would not get around to eating often enough.

BUT CAN GET TERRIFYINGLY UNCOOPERATIVE
On the other hand, in our modern world where good tasting food is usually available without much effort to get it, this system is thrown out of whack.  If you have lost some weight and are finding that keeping it off is more difficult then you thought it would be, then realize that your motivation may not be the problem. Studies show that thinner people have less ghrelins in their system, but thin people who have lost weight will have even more ghrelins than they had when they were overweight; almost as if the body wants to recover the fat that was lost! If you think about it, fat is like a full pantry, ready and waiting to be converted to energy, and perhaps the system is designed for survival so its doesn’t give up what it had without a fight.

WATCH FAT AND SLEEP
Anyhow, no need to walk in fear of these little buggers.  There seems to be much more to learn about them, but some things are coming to light which might help.  Studies have shown that fat consumption increases the number of ghrelins sending messages to the brain that say, “I"m starving, feed me!”  “Researchers have shown that either a diet rich in either “good” carbohydrates (like whole grains) or a diet high in protein suppresses ghrelin more effectively than a diet high in fat”.  Another interesting point made by the same author is that sleep is probably another important part of suppressing the ghrelin call of hunger. (2)

So Pandy and I made a meal designed to silence the beasts…law fat protein and high fiber and vitamin rich dark greens.  I will admit, we did put some pretty tasty butter on top of the fish, but it was mixed in heavily with fresh herbs, and besides, there is something to be said for a moderate consumption of high quality fat.

If you’ve never heard of these hormones before, then take a look on the internet…you will find plenty out there and it is very interesting, especially if you feel this battle going on in your own body.  Our recipes this week are a time saving recipe pair using almond crusted chicken baked in the oven and paired with Spring Slaw, and then ground sirloin sliders, also baked and served with a fresh style of tropical fruit salad.  Make some Spring shine if it hasn’t quite come to where you live, and fight of those gremlins, I mean ghrelins at the same time with low fat chicken, vegetable and fruit salads, and plenty of sleep.

Molly

2) http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55992

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