|
Balancing Leptin - the Hunger
Hormone
Frequently Asked Questions
|
| |
What is leptin? |
| |
Leptin is a hormone produced by the
fat cells. Leptin is essential for survival, guiding the proper response
to starvation. Problems with leptin are a major cause of the obesity
epidemic. Leptin tells the brain when you need to eat to get energy. |
| |
How do leptin
problems cause obesity? |
| |
The brain must sense the correct level
of leptin for it to know how much fat should be in storage. The brain
calculates how fast metabolism can go, based on the accurate sense of
how much leptin is in the body. When the brain fails to sense the leptin
hormone correctly, it thinks that more fat is required, even though
we have enough, and fat begins to accumulate and the metabolism slows
down. |
| |
What is the cause
of leptin problems? |
| |
Eating too much, eating too late in
the evening or at night, snacking between meals, lack of exercise, and
stress. |
| |
Is there any
guidance for when and how I should eat to balance leptin? |
| |
Yes. Nutritionist Byron Richards
has devised The Leptin Diet, which he explains in his book Mastering
Leptin. He and his wife Mary, who is a Woman's Health Educator,
teach a straightforward "Five Rules" eating plan, which maximises
proper function of the leptin hormone. These Rules help healthy weight
loss and maintaining an optimum weight. |
| |
I've tried every
diet, and each time I stop I put on even more weight. |
| |
The Five Rules eating plan is more
a realistic way of life than a weight loss diet. And as you follow it
and lose weight, other benefits usually occur, such as lowering of high
cholesterol and lowering of high blood pressure. |
| |
Will this stop
me yo-yo dieting? |
| |
Leptin is the cause of yo-yo dieting.
Leptin is designed to replace the body's store of fat after a period
of deprivation. In evolutionary times, this was necessary for survival.
In modern days, this is the genetic response to a low-calorie diet.
The only way to avoid having this problem is to eat in such a way as
to not upset leptin balance. |
| |
Do overweight
people have too much or too little leptin? |
| |
They have too much leptin in their
blood and not enough leptin entering their brain. This imbalance is
called leptin resistance. It means that fat cells are overproducing
leptin, but the brain does not recognise it, and thinks that the leptin
levels are still low. This creates the desire to eat. |
| |
Does leptin cause
other problems? |
| |
Yes. When leptin malfunctions, other
major health problems are created. These include insulin resistance,
high blood pressure, high cholesterol, metabolic syndrome X, diabetes,
heart disease, thyroid problems, fibromyalgia, reproductive problems,
sex hormone imbalances, increased risk for cancer, and increased risk
for memory loss and Alzheimer's disease. Leptin plays a primary role
in all these problems, and appears frequently to be the main cause of
them. |
| |
How can leptin
cause so many problems? |
| |
There are three main ways leptin causes
problems, according to Byron Richards, CCN, author of "Mastering
Leptin - The Leptin Diet: Solving Obesity and Preventing Disease":
- Leptin problems enforce starvation
metabolism and slow metabolic rate, resulting in adverse consequences
in using energy everywhere in the body, which affects everything
in an adverse way.
- Low leptin in the brain exposes
brain cells to excessive damage, resulting specifically in damage
to NMDA receptors. This increases the risk for Parkinson's disease.
It also provokes an inflammatory chain of events in the brain leading
to the accumulation of plaques that cause Alzheimer's disease.
- Extra pounds of fat give off excess
inflammatory signals that cause all diseases of ageing.
|
| |
Why hasn't my
doctor told me about leptin? |
| |
This hormone wasn't discovered until
1994, and up until recently the critical information about how leptin
works has been confined to complex scientific journals. This information
has been used primarily in an effort to develop leptin drugs, which
do not work for a variety of reasons. Your doctor may not yet know about
leptin. Mastering Leptin is the first book to clearly explain
the subject to the public. |
| |
Can leptin problems
be overcome, including obesity and the risks for other diseases? |
| |
Yes. This is fully explained
in the book Mastering Leptin. |
|
Click on the picture of the book to
learn more
Related articles:
Newsletter:
Breakthrough in Understanding Weight Loss
Five Rules for
Mastering Leptin, the Hunger Hormone
Hunger Hormone
Linked to Memory
Waist to Hip Ratio
Information
Body Mass
Index Information and Chart
|
