How Proper Leptin Hormone Function Creates An Ideal Bodyweight

What Is Leptin?

Leptin Hormone Function

Leptin Dysfunction

How To Create Proper Leptin Hormone Function

What Is Leptin?

Leptin is a hormone that is actually created from our fat.  It is directly connected to body fat and obesity.  When someone is struggling with obesity or weight issues, the excess body fat can cause hormonal issues. 

The hormone, Leptin, is released from the cells located in the adipose tissue (fat), and sends signals to a part of your brain called the hypothalamus. 

The Leptin hormone helps to regulate appetite and long-term food intake.  It also helps to regulate calories burned. 

The main focus of the Leptin hormone is to maintain weight. 

Leptin Hormone Function (What Does It Do?)

Leptin has been called the “Master Fat Burning Hormone” as well as the “Hunger/Starvation Hormone.” 

When the body has enough stored fat, it will create more Leptin and send a signal to the brain and tell it that you don’t need to eat more and that you have a sufficient energy balance. 

When you are low on stored fat, there is less Leptin produced by the fat cells so the signal the brain gets is to increase hunger and slow down calories burned so that the body can have adequate fat stores. 

When Leptin is low, it makes weight loss more difficult. 

Leptin also carries out numerous other important roles. 

Like we mentioned, it regulates appetite and helps to control the metabolism.  It also plays a role in decreasing glucose-stimulated insulin release as well as helps to regulate the synthesis of the thyroid hormone.

The Leptin hormone can help to activate immune cells and help to regulate bone mass along with the menstrual cycle.

As you can see the hormone, Leptin, plays an important role in our body. 

There is a problem with this hormone though.

It can become dysfunctional or what is commonly called Leptin Resistance. 

Leptin Dysfunction

If you recall earlier, I mentioned that when we have enough stored fat, the excess fat cells produce more Leptin which reaches the hypothalamus in the brain, and tells the brain to decrease the appetite and allow the body to use fat stores for energy.

When someone is obese or significantly overweight, the body produces more than enough Leptin.  The issue that arises is that Leptin never reaches the brain to tell it that there is enough stored fat. 

Instead the brain thinks the body is starving and will increase hunger and slow down the metabolism to increase stored fat, until it gets the Leptin signal that there is enough fat. 

The problem is it never gets the message and this is what is called Leptin Resistance.

This is one of the primary contributors to why so many people are obese and overweight. 

There are a few explanations as to why this occurs.

When there is excess fat floating around in the bloodstream which tends to happen when someone is obese or overweight, there is also an increase in fat metabolites in the brain.  Researchers believe that these fat metabolites may interfere with the Leptin hormone signaling in the brain. 

Another explanation is inflammation. 

Too much excess stored fat causes the fat cells to become inflamed.  This elevation in inflammation will also occur in the brain.  The inflammation may reduce the sensitivity of the brain’s Leptin receptor site which then causes signaling issues. 

A by-product of higher inflammation levels is something called c-reactive protein (CRP).  CRP tends to attach itself to the Leptin hormone when it is in the bloodstream and on its way to the hypothalamus in the brain. 

When this happens it doesn’t allow Leptin to cross the blood-brain barrier and reach the hypothalamus. 

So regardless of how much Leptin the fat cells produce, if it never reaches the hypothalamus then the brain is always going to be trying to increase the appetite and consume more calories. 

This is why obese and overweight individuals have such a hard time losing weight because the body ends up in a vicious cycle that is hard to break.

Proper Leptin Hormone Function

The best way to fix Leptin Resistance or Dysfunction and achieve an ideal bodyweight is to follow an anti-inflammatory diet.  Reducing the inflammation in the body seems to work the best in lowering CRP levels and allowing Leptin to cross the blood-brain barrier, so that it can reach the hypothalamus and tell the brain to decrease appetite as well as speed up the metabolism.

Some foods to include in an anti-inflammatory diet are soluble fiber foods to help improve gut health. 

Increase intake of lean protein to allow Leptin to become more sensitive. 

Also, avoid processed foods that can promote inflammation. 

Start adopting these changes to eating to set the foundation for a healthy body and proper Leptin Hormone Function. 

Another tip you can do along with the anti-inflammatory diet, is to consume research supported nutrients such as the nutrients in LeptiSense.  These nutrients have been shown to lower C-reactive protein (CRP) levels which, I mentioned earlier, binds to Leptin and doesn’t allow it to cross the blood-brain barrier. 

To learn more about how specific research-supported nutrients can help lower CRP levels and improve the Leptin-Brain communication click the next page button below.