Get To Know Leptin — The “I’m Full Hormone”
Are you frustrated beyond belief that your efforts to bust the fat from your gut and butt don’t work?
Have you given up the battle to lower your weight because no matter what you do it just doesn’t happen?
Are you tired of people telling you to just “get motivated” and eat less cause they just don’t get it?
If you answered yes to any of those questions then you must get to know the hormone called leptin.
In a previous article titled, This Hormone is the Reason You’re Fat, I explained how this hormone should work to keep us alive and healthy and the role leptin plays in our food intake.
Leptin, which is produced by fat cells, tells us when we are full by signaling the brain that our cells have plenty of fat on board to keep us alive in case of famine. At that point we would stop eating because our brains, in response to leptin’s urging, would signal fullness. Unfortunately, our hormones were conditioned to respond when dinosaurs roamed the earth and the motto was “eat or be eaten.” Our physiology hasn’t evolved nearly as much as our daily lives. The endocrine system-our hormones– that keep us alive do not respond any differently in the 21st century than they did when we hunted down our pork chops and survived on less food. This spells trouble for the average eater.
Speaking of food, the prehistoric menu was composed of saturated fat, protein, and some naturally occurring carbs from berries and the like. Yet humans survived and thrived til some saber toothed tiger surprised them during a nap.
Notice I did not mention sugar in the above prehistoric diet? Sure there was sugar; berries and other fruits have sugar even protein has sugar, that’s what turns color when you put meat on the grill. The sugar was naturally occurring though and in balance with the other nutrients, not added.
Enter the modern diet. Foods are processed, abundant and available 24/7. The most prevalent foods found in the modern grocery store are not only processed but carbohydrate dense. For years we were encouraged to eat a high carb, low-fat diet for health. Judging from the rates of obesity and overweight people in the world I’m thinking that didn’t work so well.
Why? Our bodies were designed to be fat, not sugar, burning machines. Although the cells-which is really who we are feeding when we eat-can eat either, fat is the better, more nourishing fuel.
When I say sugar I am referring to any carbohydrate except fiber not just table sugar or sweetened foods.
If you eat sugar and fat together-Snickers or cheese and crackers anyone?-the body will burn the sugar and store the fat. Why? Because the body is hard wired to burn sugar first according to Dr. Ron Rosedale in his book, “The Rosedale Diet, Turn Off Your HUNGER SWITCH!”
Rosedale writes, “My hunch is, the body probably burns off sugar first as a defense mechanism to protect you from the potentially lethal effects of sugar.” He says further on, “Being a chronic sugar burner can have serious health consequences, but the primary one is that it causes weight gain, (Because you rarely burn up your fat) which can have serious health problems, including insulin resistance.”
Not to diminish the issue of serious health problems but did you see the part about weight gain?
So what’s this got to do with leptin? Remember that fat cells release leptin and in a normal metabolism the brain “hears” the signal leptin and tells the brain to tell the body “I’m full.” Unbalanced eating creates more stored fat and hence more leptin production but the message can’t get through. So much leptin banging on the door of only a few receptor sites overwhelms the brain and it becomes resistant to the leptin message.
You’ve heard of insulin resistance? This is a similar situation. There is too much of something that is ordinarily a good and necessary thing floating around trying to do its job and the body can’t hear it, it’s too noisy in there.
What can be done? For one watch the amount of carbohydrate foods you eat. You can also purchase Dr. Rosedale’s book for a full diet program on restoring healthy leptin function.
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