1103997 / Pixabay – Selecting the right foods can help you live a longer and healthier life.

Nutrition is key to good health. Achieving nutritional balance in the foods we eat is not difficult, but counter to the guidance given to us by professional and federal agencies and organizations. Nutritional balance should be maintained throughout our lives to maximize our health.

Almost every American is deficient in a nutritional component – vitamin, mineral, amino acid, etc. Deficiencies in nutrition affect the levels of human growth hormone (HGH) production. We should be vigilant about the foods we choose to ensure nutritional balance is attained daily. Our bodies make hormones to help us eat at the right time.

Ghrelin is a hormone produced in the stomach and pancreas. It tells the brain that we are hungry because the stomach is empty. Have you ever experienced ‘hunger pangs’? Ghrelin is giving us that feeling. Ghrelin levels decrease as we eat. Leptin is another hormone – one that directly counters the effects of ghrelin. Leptin is produced in our fat cells. Leptin levels increase after eating a meal.

Olichel / Pixabay – There are many causes of hunger.

A hunger pang might be confused with the emotional desire to eat food. Or, it might be confused with a deficiency of a particular nutritional element, such as, zinc. A diet consistently high in carbohydrates typically leaves us hungry for more carbohydrates a few hours later.

Eating several times every day shuts down your ghrelin production. It also has a more dramatic effect on the other hormones your body produces. Excessive eating increases your insulin and glucose levels. Consistently high glucose levels can lead to serious health problems over time. If you must eat several times a day, choose your food wisely. Choose foods that do not increase your insulin response – foods low in carbohydrates and sugars. Fruits, vegetables, and proteins are more nutritionally dense than carbohydrates.