How to Reverse Leptin Resistance

For the past few weeks, I have been actively pursuing my research into the phenomena of weight loss and the factors that can lead to losing excess body fat that you don’t need. This research eventually led me to take an interest in leptin.

Over the past five years, scientists have demonstrated, through a plethora of studies, that poor leptin signaling is the cause of major problems, including insulin resistance, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular pathologies, reproductive and thyroid disorders, fibromyalgia, cancers, as well as reduced cognitive functions. Leptin resistance also plays a major role in age-related metabolic decline.

Role of leptin in causing obesity

Leptin and Leptin Resistance: Everything You Need to Know

leptin (satiety hormone)

Many people mistakenly believe that weight gain (and weight loss) is a matter of calories and willpower. However, obesity research disagrees on this point… and scientists have increasingly pointed the finger at a hormone called leptin. Being resistant to the effects of this hormone (called leptin resistance) is now considered the number one factor in fat gain in humans.

Leptin nutranews

The hormone that regulates metabolism: leptin

Leptin is a regulatory hormone that communicates with the hypothalamus and essentially gives the body the “on/off” signal to use fat tissue for energy. Decreased calories and adipose tissue reduce leptin, thereby increasing appetite through NPY and reducing basal metabolism and fat oxidation. The body thus preserves its homeostasis.

The Lasting Effects of Proper Leptin Signaling

- a loss of fat mass;

- weight loss;

- a reduction in food intake;

- a decrease in blood sugar and insulin levels;

- an increase in energy expenditure;

- a rise in body temperature;

- an increase in locomotor activity.

Leptin is a hormone that regulates body weight

Leptin is a hormone that is produced by fat cells in the body, it is often referred to as the “satiety hormone” or “starvation hormone”. Leptin’s primary target is in the brain, specifically, an area called the hypothalamus.

Leptin is supposed to tell the brain that we have enough stored fat, that we don’t need to eat, and that we can burn calories at a normal rate. It also has many other functions related to fertility, immunity, and brain function.

However, leptin’s primary role is the long-term regulation of energy balance…the number of calories we consume and expend, and the amount of fat we store in our bodies.

A lot of leptin tells the brain that we have a lot of stored fat, while low levels of leptin tell the brain that fat stores are low and that we are in danger of starving.

Leptin vicious circle

Leptin resistance may be the main biological abnormality in obesity

Obese people have a lot of fat in the body because fat cells produce leptin in proportion to their size, obese people also have very high levels of leptin.

Given the way leptin is supposed to work, these people shouldn’t be eating…their brain needs to know they have a lot of stored energy.

But… the problem is that the leptin signal doesn’t work. There’s a ton of leptin going around, but the brain doesn’t “see” it’s there. This situation is known as leptin resistance. It is now considered the main biological anomaly of human obesity.

When the brain does not receive the leptin signal, it mistakenly thinks the body is starving, even though there is enough stored energy.

Leptin 1

Eat More: The brain thinks we need to eat so we won’t starve.

Reduced energy expenditure: The brain thinks we need to save energy, so we feel lazier and burn fewer calories at rest.

This way…eating more and exercising less is not the cause of weight gain, it is the consequence of leptin resistance, therefore a hormonal defect.

For the vast majority of people, trying to exert cognitive inhibition

Losing weight lowers leptin, so the brain tries to gain the lost weight

Most “diets” don’t work well in the long run. This is a well-known problem in weight loss studies. There are many possible reasons for this, but research shows that leptin may be linked to such cases.

Weight loss reduces fat mass, which leads to a significant reduction in leptin levels, but the brain does not necessarily reverse its leptin resistance.

When leptin decreases, which leads to hunger, appetite increases, motivation to exercise decreases, and the number of calories burned at rest decreases.

Basically, the reduced leptin tells the brain it’s starving…so it initiates all sorts of mechanisms to regain that fat loss, mistakenly thinking it’s protecting us from starvation. In other words, the brain defends the greatest amount of fat mass, using the biochemical forces that compel us to eat to regain the lost weight.

Most dieters are familiar with this…weight loss is often easy at first, especially when motivation is high, but soon hunger, cravings and a reduced desire for exercise wear off. install.

Obesity and complications

What Causes Leptin Resistance?

Several cellular mechanisms behind leptin resistance have been identified.

These include:

Inflammation

Inflammatory signaling in the hypothalamus is likely an important cause of leptin resistance in animals and humans.

Free fatty acids

Having elevated free fatty acids in the blood can increase fat metabolites in the brain and interfere with leptin signaling.

A high level of leptin

Having high leptin levels in the first place seems to cause leptin resistance.

Pretty much all of these factors are increased in obesity…so it can form a vicious cycle where people get fatter and more and more resistant to leptin over time.

How to Reverse Leptin Resistance?

The best way to tell if you are leptin resistant is to look in the mirror.

If you have a lot of fat, especially in the belly area, then you are leptin resistant. A key to preventing (or reversing) leptin resistance is to reduce diet-induced inflammation.

There are several things you can do:

Regulate the hypothalamus and optimize your intestinal flora

Avoid processed foods

Processed foods can compromise gut integrity and cause inflammation.

Soluble fibers

Eating soluble fiber may help improve gut health and may protect against obesity.

Exercise

Physical activity can help reverse leptin resistance. (But not just any)

The sleep

Poor quality sleep has been implicated in issues with leptin.

Leptin and sleep

Lower your triglyceride levels

Having a high level of blood triglycerides can prevent the transport of leptin through the blood and into the brain. The best way to reduce triglycerides is to reduce carbohydrate intake.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to do this.

Eating real food, maintaining good gut health, exercising, sleeping well, etc…these are all endeavors that require a drastic lifestyle change.

Take home message

Obesity is not caused by greed, laziness, or a lack of willpower.

There are strong biochemical forces at play…which are primarily driven by changes in the environment, and in particular the Western diet.

The truth is… junk food and an unhealthy lifestyle lead to obesity and chronic disease.

Not because this diet turns people into gluttons and lazy people, but because it changes our biology in ways that change our behavior.

Although the causes of obesity are complex and varied, leptin resistance is the main reason for gaining weight and having difficulty losing it.

* NaturoEnergetician and Nutritherapist ….. in constant training, I can advise you and accompany you seriously in your change of life with personalized advice ….. proven solutions that are really adapted to you because you are unique and your problem must be defined holistically. This is possible even remotely