Could Imbalanced Hunger Hormones Be Causing Your Excess Weight?
The hormone leptin is a major regulator of body fat. Leptin is made by our fat cells and is released into the blood and circulates to the brain where it crosses the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to act on receptors within the central nervous system to affect appetite and fat burning (thermogenesis). In humans and in many rodents, resistance to leptin appears to be a prime cause of obesity. In leptin resistance, the leptin is not able to pass through the BBB to get into the brain. Overcoming leptin resistance is fundamental to developing strategies for successful weight loss.
Leptin resistance leads to high levels of leptin. Sustained high levels of leptin disturb hunger signals so you do not know if you have genuine hunger or need to eat. Leptin does not affect food intake from meal to meal but, instead, acts to alter food intake and control energy expenditure over the long term. Leptin tells our brain that we have enough body fat, so we should eat less or stop eating.
Ideally, the fatter you are the more leptin you make; thus, you will eat less food and have a higher metabolic rate. Conversely, the less fat you have, the less leptin you make, and your hunger will increase.
Leptin correlates to fat mass — the more fat you have, the more leptin you will produce. Under normal conditions, leptin tells the brain that you are not hungry, and it tells the body to burn fat. Leptin decreases hunger and for weight loss — the more leptin the better!
However, if leptin resistance develops, this control of hunger is disrupted – the result is a gnawing, constant hunger that cannot be satisfied.
Your leptin levels can be measured with a blood test when you are fasting (nothing but water for 12 hours).
- Ideal fasting leptin levels are between 4 to 6 ng/dL, but fasting leptin levels up to 9 ng/dL are considered normal.
- Leptin levels of over 10 ng/dL are considered to be too high.
- The majority of obese people have very elevated fasting levels of leptin from 20 to 80 ng/L.
Extremely low levels of fasting leptin are below 3 and are a sign of inadequate body fat; this can be due to malnutrition or intensive exercise.
The Weight Loss Detective programs will regulate your leptin levels to optimize weight loss.
Leptin is designed to regulate hunger so that you stay in the healthy weight range – but the system is not perfect, as signals get messed up with long-term weight excess. As you become more and more overweight, and the longer you are overweight, the signals from hunger hormones become more and more deranged and eventually stop working. If the system worked perfectly, you would think that overweight people would somehow naturally stop eating or start losing weight once their leptin levels were high enough. Unfortunately, you can become leptin resistant.
In leptin resistance, the brain is not listening to the leptin, so there is no drop in appetite. Your brain might even think you are starving, because as far as it’s concerned, there’s not enough leptin. So, you become even hungrier.
Leptin resistance is similar to insulin resistance
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Insulin resistance occurs when there is excess insulin being produced, but the cells of your body and brain have stopped “listening” to insulin. This is common in people who consume a diet high in refined carbohydrates.
C-peptide and insulin are released from the pancreas at the same time in approximately equal amounts. A blood test for C-peptide levels can show how much insulin your pancreas is making. This test can be a more accurate way to measure insulin levels because C-peptide stays in the body longer than insulin.
High levels of insulin increase hunger and cravings for high carbohydrate foods. High levels of insulin tell your body to store fat and also prevent you from burning fat. Insulin resistance often leads to fatty liver. Insulin resistance is known as Syndrome X or the Metabolic Syndrome.
Insulin and Leptin resistance are very common reasons why people become overweight and find it hard to lose the excess weight. Both insulin and leptin resistance seem to occur together in overweight people. Even a small reduction in body fat can improve insulin and leptin sensitivity.
In summary, once the amount of fat you have reaches a critical amount, having slightly more body fat can mess up your appetite signals and actually make you hungrier.
There are herbs and nutrients that support the function of insulin – thus your pancreas needs to make less insulin, which is good if you are insulin resistant. This applies also in type 2 diabetics.
The best herbs and nutrients are:
- The herbs gymnema and bitter melon.
- The nutrients chromium, lipoic acid and magnesium.
- Another excellent herb is berberine which has been proven in clinical studies to reduce insulin resistance and to reduce fatty liver.
For more information email help@weightlossdetective.com
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Reducing insulin and leptin resistance
Reduce the amount of dietary carbohydrate you consume and replace it with protein, healthy natural fats, and vegetables.
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Eat plenty of protein and healthy fats at each meal to keep you full and satisfied for hours. Protein keeps your blood sugar stable and does not need insulin to be used for energy. Including some good fats in your diet will also help to keep you full and satisfied for longer. Dressing a salad with olive oil will make it more palatable and help you absorb more antioxidants from the vegetables.
Increase exercise levels to obtain good improvements in insulin and leptin sensitivity.
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Most doctors prescribe the drug Metformin to reduce insulin resistance. I prefer to use the herb Berberine, which has been studied extensively and shown to reduce insulin resistance and fatty liver. Berberine can be taken in a dose of one to two capsules twice daily with food. Overcoming insulin resistance is essential to reverse fatty liver and to lose excess body fat. Ask your weight loss detective about these helpful supplements.
Many people with fatty liver struggle for years trying to lose weight and they find it incredibly difficult to overcome this problem. We can now make it much easier for most people with a fatty liver by reducing insulin resistance and optimizing the function of their thyroid gland.
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