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| The Hormones that Affect Weight Loss |
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Any efforts at losing weight whether you are aware of it or not, will will affect the body hormones that greatly affect our metabolism. This information is published in scattered bits and pieces across the internet and sometimes the relationships are not explained too clearly. I will try to offer a brief but hopefully more complete explanation of the hormones affected in not only weight loss but also in weight gain. One of the key hormones that affect weight management is insulin. Insulin is a blood sugar regulator. High carbohydrate intake leads to higher blood sugar levels. This leads to an increase of insulin output by the body. Insulin production is the bodys natural response to excessively high sugar levels in the blood. If that sugar is not getting converted into energy fast enough to maintain safe levels in the blood, insulin will resort to an alternate to that conversion to energy. This results in the conversion of that blood sugar into fat that will be stored by the body. The often used term lipogenic refers to simply means an element exhibits fat producing qualities. In addition to insulin being lipogenic, it also exhibits another quality that is undesirable to weight loss programs. Insulin is also antilipolytic. This simply means that it works to fight against the breakdown of fat. As you now see, a diet that stimulates high insulin output will certainly be encouraging natural body activities that are not desirable in your efforts to lose weight. When the body is stressed due to any number of reasons, insulin production also increases in order to stimulate the production of cortisol, which is a stress response hormone. The body then responds to high cortisol by reducing the levels of the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). This hormone is very influential in the production of muscle. Producing more muscle than fat is our ultimate goal. So you can see that stress can lead to the production of fat instead of muscle. Chronic stress stimulates fat cells into storing fat. Fat cells located in the abdominal wall, characteristically possess more cortisol receptors on their cell membranes. So in turn, stress will encourage these cells to retain more fat. Leptin is produced by adipose tissue and leptin binds to nucleus cells of the hypothalamus, a region of the brain known as the satiety center. Binding of leptin to these cells, tells the brain that the body has had enough to eat thus providing the sensation of being full. In a small number of humans, mutations of the leptin gene are present that stimulate a constant demand for food. This typically leads to severe obesity. Unfortunately this condition often encourages a vicious circle. As the body produces greater and greater quantities of leptin to fulfill the requirements of the process it sometimes causes higher tolerances and reduced efficiency. Although management of this hormone has yet to be understood fully, there have been some short term benefits experienced by the administration of recombinant human leptin by way of injection. The hormone serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain made from the amino acids found in proteins, like leptin, it also sends messages that the body is satisfied and that we have eaten sufficient to meet our bodys needs. Low serotonin levels cause depression, obesity, lethargy, and a greater desire for refined carbohydrates. Low levels of serotonin leads to overeating because the brain believes the body is starving. A diet that restricts protein-rich calories can one of the causes for low serotonin levels. Many people that produce very high levels of cortisol also tend to experience lower serotonin levels. Another glandular condition called hypothyroidism may affect as high as 30 percent of the population. Reduced thyroid activity reduces our fat burning rate and causes fatigue, and lowering of our energy levels. The thyroid is small gland at the base of your neck that controls energy flow. A reduction or low level of thyroid hormones leads to lethargy or lack of energy. The incidence of slowed digestion causes constipation and diminished metabolism leads to weight gain and elevated cholesterol levels. The brain also needs thyroid hormones to stimulate the production of hormones like serotonin that we talked about earlier. So you see hypothyroidism can lead to depression and lethargy and weight gain. Often not mentioned in the discussion of weight loss and hormones, testosterone and estrogens are also important players. These are usually considered male, female hormones. The production of these hormones tends to diminish with age. The male hormone, testosterone stimulates high energy and associated fat burning benefits. On the other hand the female hormone estrogens actually encourage the storage of fat. A decrease in estrogens levels therefore would seem beneficial in your weight loss program. Unfortunately a number of conditions call for the addition of estrogens to ease women through the menopause process. Although quite effective for that purpose, they will adversely affect weight loss or weight control efforts. As you can see, there is a very wide variety of hormones have a role in weight control. Some of these hormones interact with each other. Some hormones can be manipulated with drugs or by careful meal planning. Learning more about hormones and weight loss may help you better plan the phases and objectives for your weight loss program. Start working on that flat belly with a better understanding of the complex issues involved in the body that effect your weight. About AuthorTom is a retired electrical utility worker and fishing charter captain on the canadian shore of Western Lake Erie.For more information about Weight Loss please visit Lose Weight Quickly To lose weight and get 6 pack abs please visit Flat belly and 6 Pack Abs Source: ArticleTrader.com Read more at: http://www.articletrader.com/health/weight-loss/the-hormones-that-affect-weight-loss.html. |
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