Maybe It's Not A Lack Of Will Power After All

Recent studies have identified a hunger hormone called Ghrelin. This hormone is one of the substances secreted in the stomach that carries messages to the brain and digestive system. Its primary function is to tell the brain the body needs fed. Levels will spike before eating and decrease after food has been eaten. Without food consumption, levels remain elevated for extended periods of time, which increases the urge to eat. Skipping meals and not eating breakfast puts us at an elevated level and that promotes accumulations of lipids in the visceral fatty tissue, which is the most harmful. Visceral fatty tissue, also known as abdominal fat or organ fat, contributes to high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Also, fat that accumulates around the liver increases the risk of developing resistance to insulin.

Ghrelin served an important purpose. It was Mother Nature’s way of telling us to eat when food was only occasionally abundant so we could survive the next famine. Unfortunately, as our bodies have evolved and we now have access to an overabundance of food we have not escaped this trigger. Our bodies still attempt to fight its perceived life-threatening weight loss, which was helpful in days of feast or famine.

More research is being done on this hormone, but in the mean time, the best way to control this is to eat 5-6 small meals per day and always starting your day off with breakfast. This controls the levels of ghrelin and thus avoids triggering the binges of high-fat/high-carbohydrate foods. Keeping yourself moderately full and avoiding getting overly hungry should keep everything in check.

Tammy

www.defined-fitness.com

Speaking of Hormones

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 Dr. Aldino Pierotti Medical Director of the Anti-Aging & Vitality Center of Pittsburgh will be at Defined Fitness to discuss Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy for Men and Women and ways to prevent and protect against cellular aging, disease, and the "Normal" affects of aging. This seminar is free to attend and open to the community. Space is limited so if interested please RSVP by calling 724-698-7897 by Tuesday at 8 p.m. For more on Dr. Pierotti and the Anti-Aging & Vitality Center click here.