How to control your hunger hormones

Registered dietitians explain how to get ghrelin and leptin under control in order to promote weight loss and reduce inflammation.


One of the most incredible systems in our body is hungry. We have an integrated system that involves several parts that tell us when we are hungry and signals when we are full.

"The system that regulates body weight is complex and involves the brain, stomach, intestines, etc.," said Hannah Kittrell, MS, RD, a certified dietitian atMount Sinai's Physiolab. "Hunger hormones are hormones that interact with these different parts of the body and have a significant impact on body weight and appetite in response to the energy balance."

And although it may seem like we do not control hunger when you get a breath ofMcDonaldsThere are ways to control your hormones of hunger and, finally, your hunger.

What are the hormones of hunger?

The two most well-studied hunger hormones are Ghrelin and Leptin. Both have a long-term influence onappetite and are linked to the energy balance.

  • Ghrelin ("I'm hungry" hormone): "Ghrelin is produced in the stomach and signals to your brain as the storage of food and sugar in your body is weak, so you must find you and eat food to restore your stores," says Kittrell.
  • Laptin ("I am complete" hormone): Leptin, on the other hand, does the opposite. "The leptin, mainly produced by adipose tissues, is an anti-hungry hormone," Kittrell said. "When liberated, he signals the brain that the body has enough fuel for the moment and you do not need to go for food."

How Ghrelin and Leptin work to control your hunger.

Ideally, laptin and ghrelains work together in balance so that your body has the fuel it has to survive. "In a healthy person, laptine and ghrelins work together to maintain the balance and weight of energy," Kittrell said.

However, the coherent relationship between Ghrelin and Leptin begins to unravel in people dealing with obesity or diabetes. Similar to how people with obese and / or diabetes are developing insulin resistance, they can also develop a resistance of laptin.

The resistance of laptine means that the "body always produces a leptin but does not react properly," explains Kittrell. When your body does not recognize the hormone "I am complete", your brain does not receive the message that your fuel stores are full. The result? Youeat too much. The too due to the resistance of laptine can exacerbate your weight gain and your obesity, which makes it even more difficult to lose weight quickly.

In fact, the leptin is closely linked to insulin, so that the resistance to a hormone goes hand in hand with resistance to another.

"To exacerbate the resistance of laptin, insulin will also stimulate the liberation of ghreine in response to very low blood glucose," said Kittrell. The low blood sugar levels are common in diabetes and uncontrolled obesity. The Ghrelin then reports your brain to search for food, despite a large amount of fuel storage available in the body.

Are hunger hormones responsible for foodworthy?

Despite their connection with hunger, hunger hormones do not play a role in the desires of food. The brain hormones regulate rather cravings of food.

"While hunger hormones like Ghrelin and Leptin contribute to the regulation of appetite, brain hormones such as dopamine and serotonin are the main regulators offringales"Kittrell said." Dopamine and serotonin interact with reward and pleasure centers in the brain, areas charged with making us feel good. "

Sugar is the largest food component that leads to new foods andSugar desires. "Your body learns to combine eating sugar eating with the feeling of feeling good and begins to want to believe the euphoric feeling associated with sugar consumption. The same goes for fat foods, although in a lesser extent, "says Kittrell.

"Very sweet and high food tolerance develops over time, which means we need more and more people to reach the same feeling of good. So you create a vicious cycle," adds she. Once you have identified, you have sugar cravings, you do not need to fear: there are ways toRecycle your sugar desires banish them for good.

How are hunger hormones linked to your microbiome?

Intestinal health is not just a trendy way of wellness. This really has an impact on your hunger hormones.

"Intestinal bacteria can affect Ghrelin's production levels and leptin. This could change your appetite and your impact body weight," saysNancy Farrell Allen, MS, RDNSpokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The trillion trillion in our gut are involved in the digestion of our food and our drinks. This, in turn, can then affect body weight.

"When gut bacteria digest foodstuffs, such asinsoluble fibersSome body compounds are released to improve weight loss, "says Farrell Allen." There are companies that can evaluate your specific intestinal microbiome (through a stool sample), then offer the preferential foods so that you can eat / digest specifically. [This can help better manage your insulin levels and weight. "

The GUT microbiome plays a role in inflammatory responses. "Inflammatory diseases such as diabetes and heart disease are often associated with a consumption of high fat and high sugar," explains Farrell Allen. "These, in turn, would influence the levels of insulin blood. Due more insulin to digest digesters can assimilate with an excess body weight. So, the management of inflammation would be wise [if you want Get hunger hormones in control and lose weight]. "

How can you regulate your hunger hormones and encourage weight loss?

There are in fact many ways that you can help manage your hunger hormones of lifestyle changes to mental advice to medical intervention.

Here are 13 ways recommended by the expert that you can control hunger hormones to lose weight quickly.

1. Eat on planning or decrease your restore window with intermittent fasting.

This can help prevent large fluctuations at hunger hormone levels by circulating, which can cause extreme hunger and too much meal. A recent study of theBiomedic Research Center in Pennington from the University of Louisiana State found that meal timing strategies such asintermittent fast Or eat earlier in the day seems to help people lose weight by lowering appetite, rather than burning more calories.

The participants followed two different restoration schedules: (1) eating three meals between 8:00 and 20:00, or (2) eat the same amounts and types of food between 8:00 and 14:00. Those who have eaten an earlier dinner (eaten between 8:00 am and 14:00) had lower levels of ghreine and an improvement in appetite

2. Get enough sleep.

"Someresearch Spell indicates that Ghrelin helps promote sleep, "says Farrell Allen." Lack of sleep, less than 6 hours of sleep One night, increases the ghreine (hunger hormone) and decreases leptin (satiety hormone). Kind of like a double whammy. This suggests that to help us manage weight, we must constantly get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep / night. "

3. Eat a separate protein breakfast.

"Ahigh protein breakfast may be better atDelete naturally higher Ghreline levels Your body is experimenting after fasting overnight, "says Kittrell.

4. Eat many fibers and protein.

"In general, a high diet in fiber and protein suppresses Ghrelin (hunger hormone) and so the desire to eat," says Farrell Allen. "Science has recommended for years that choose to follow aHigh fiber diet is the best for weight management and we now understand that it is the best for the health of the intestine. "

To eat more fiber to control hunger hormone, consider:

5. Eat moreprebiotic andFoods Probiotics.

Prebiotics feed healthy intestinal bacteria. Probiotics-sources of good intestinal bacteria - are naturally found in fermented foods (marinated beets, jump, etc.), yogurt and kefir, suggest Farrell Allen.

6. Reduce processed foods.

"Eating highly transformed foods containing additives and conservatives will reduce the diversity of microbiome and promote inflammation, which has a negative impact on hunger and overall health," Kittrell said. "Emulsifiers such as carboxymethylcellulose and carrageenan,Artificial sweeteners Like aspartame and sucralose, as well as antibiotics and hormones used in dairy products and meat products can have a negative impact on the GUT microbioma. "

7. Avoid buying tempting foods.

If you keep them in your home, you are more likely to eat them.

8. Do not make groceries when you are hungry.

It's true ... people who grocery stores when they hungry buy more junk food, according to a2013 study.

9.Keto diet can be worth trying.

There has been a lot of research on the ketogenic regime (high fat and very low glucose) and theBeneficial effect it can have on hunger hormones. "Essentially, the ketogenic regimes affect the brain signaling that ketones become the main source of energy (as opposed to glucose)," said Kittrell. Following a Keto diet, you can harvest potential benefits as increased insulin sensitivity. The body usually increases Ghrelin levels while weight loss in response to reduced caloric consumption because it wants to bring you back to the amount of food you eat. Following a Keto regime, an increase in insulin sensitivity leads to increased sensitivity of leptin, which can compensate for the increase in ghrelin.

10. Change your routine to avoid food triggers.

"For example, enter your gateway home (rather than the garage door) to avoid walking in the kitchen," says Farrell Allen. "Head to the right upstairs without stopping to find a snack in the kitchen while you enter the house."
Keep food snacks at the counter or office. It means saying no to the bowls of candies and walnuts.Research found that humans eat more if they are exposed to food, they are really hungry or not.

11. Leave the room when food commercials come on television.

Ato study found that just hear that tempting food words actively actively eating food simulation. "Try to make 10 jump jump jumps or 10 sit-ups for each food business", suggests Farrell Allen.

12. Look in the drugs.

Most hormone-hormone regulating drugs are still in the experimental phase. However, there is a drug approved by the FDA on the market: Saxenda. "The Saxenda is essentially a synthetic version of one of the GLP-1-dimensional appetite hormones. It works to reduce food intake by decreasing gastric emptying," Kittrell said. "It means that the food takes longer to let the stomach during the digestion process, making you feel longer. Although the FDA has approved this medicine for safe use, remember it is always better to take a first diet approach. "

13. Bariatric surgery.

"The most noticeable improvement after bariatric surgery increases the levels and sensitivity of GLP-1," said Kittrell. "After surgery, you do not eat as much food and sugar. [Lower lower calorie consumption leads to better insulin sensitivity and a better sensitivity of the leptin (because both are linked). The Increased GLP-1 levels promote better insulin sensitivity as the body needs GLP-1 to make insulin. "


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