3/23/14
02
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE
HORMONES
You are NOT a gluttonous sloth
“Our genetics are nearly identical to those
of our early H. Sapien ancestors from
100,000-200,000 years ago. We are
genetically wired for a lifeway that is all but
gone now, and our health reflects this.”
-Robb Wolf in The Paleo Solution: The Original Human
Diet
Droppin’ Truth Bombs
•  Caloric restriction increases hunger
and cravings by way of turning on the
appetite-regulating hormones NPY
and ghrelin
•  Fat storage is regulated by the
hormone insulin. It is impossible to
lose fat when insulin is elevated.
•  Restoring insulin and leptin sensitivity
through diet and lifestyle is one of the
keys to successful long-term fat loss.
Hormonal Balance
•  There is an interdependency among
hormones
–  When one falls out of balance, others
follow
–  Balance means not too much or too little
–  Key hormones of weight management
•  Insulin
•  Leptin
•  Ghrelin
•  Neuropeptide Y (NPY)
Droppin’ Truth Bombs
•  Your body came with its own
starvation defense system intended to
save you from famine. This very
system is working against you
whenever you go on calorie-restricted
diet, or what your body interprets as a
voluntary famine.
•  Your fat stores are not just energy
storage depots. They are in fact an
endocrine organ that produces the
master hormone leptin.
Getting All Hormonal
•  Hormones play a role in every
regulatory body function
–  Hormones control:
•  When you sleep and wake
•  Heart rate and blood pressure
•  Anxiety and depression
•  Sex drive
•  Blood sugar….
•  STORAGE and BURNING of fat
–  Any attempt to lose fat with out proper
hormonal balance will be in vain.
Fat: It’s Alive!
•  Fat is your starvation defense system
•  Fat secretes hormone leptin
–  Leptin’s role is to monitor storage fat
levels
•  High fat levels = high leptin (decreased
hunger and increased metabolism)
•  Low fat stores = low leptin (increased hunger
and decreased metabolism)
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How Diets Make You Fat
•  Calorie restriction leads to increased
use of fat as a fuel source
–  Hypothalmus senses increased use of fat
stores.
•  Signals thyroid glands to decrease
metabolism (leads to inactivity)
•  Signals release of ghrelin and neuropeptide
Y (NPY) to increase hunger
– Hunger continues until fat stores are
replaced
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Leptin Resistance
•  Leptin acts to keep body in narrow
range of body fat stores.
•  Hypothalamus can become
unresponsive to leptin and therefore
allow appetite and fat storage to
continue
–  Leptin resistance is caused by:
•  Over-eating, blood sugar rushes, high blood
triglycerides, excessive fructose
consumption, and chronic stress
Blood Sugar: Play Me a Song
•  All carbohydrates are composed of
sugar
–  When consumed, there is an increase of
sugar (glucose) in the blood
–  Careful regulation of blood sugar is
essential for life
–  Insulin is the hormone, release by the
pancreas that works to get sugar out of
the blood and into cells
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Insulin
•  Following the consumption of a meal
that increases blood sugar
•  Refined carbohydrates have the most
powerful effect on blood sugar
–  Insulin is released
•  Insulin binds to receptors on fat, muscle and
liver cells
•  In muscle and liver glucose is converted to
glycogen
•  In fat cells glucose is converted to fat in the
presence of Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL)

Insulin Resistance
•  Muscle and liver cells are more
sensitive to insulin resistance than fat
cells
–  Increased insulin:
•  Increases LPL activity
•  Decreases glucagon and hormone sensitive
lipase (HSL) activity
•  Increases inflammation
–  Leads to increased cortisol production

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