Leptin, Weight Gain and Inflammation

Leptin is a major player in the war against “rebound weight-gain.” You know…the weight that you worked so hard to take off that is creeping back on.

Studies prove that there is an important connection between the hormone leptin, weight gain and inflammation.

Because leptin regulates your body’s level of fat by controlling your appetite and metabolism, it’s obvious that the more fat tissue you add, the more leptin is produced by your body. For healthy people this process leads to leptin suppressing the appetite but speeding up the metabolism causing them to feel less hunger and burn more calories resulting in loss of excess fat, the way the process is supposed to work.

However, this process does not work properly in those with chronic inflammation because chronic inflammation impairs the brain’s ability to receive leptin’s message to shut down the appetite.

Inflammation is many times not obvious…but if you are overweight, even if you are not aware of it, you are experiencing damaging chronic inflammation.

For those that tend to be chronic “weight-gainers” after they’ve lost weight, the good news is they can reduce inflammation naturally by focusing on eating the right foods. This will not only improve their body’s responsiveness to leptin but as a bonus, improves their heart health as well.

It’s not surprising that eating leafy greens and other colorful vegetables is high on the list of foods that can help you to reduce inflammation. Berries, citrus fruits, low-fat dairy products, lentils, in-the-wild caught fish, leans meats such as beef and pork are also on the “good” list.

And, let’s not forget the oils and spices…they too play important roles in the weight loss war. “Hot’ spices like garlic, chili peppers, ginger and curry are all good as well as olive-oil. You can also enjoy green-tea as often as you like because it has a very potent anti-inflammatory effect.

The important thing is too enjoy these foods often…not once in a while.

Other foods that help but should be enjoyed in moderation (some are high in calories like nuts and seeds) are whole grains, tropical fruits, eggs, poultry, beans, seeds and nuts cheeses and white potatoes.

Foods that should be avoided are veal, high-fat dairy, farmed fish, margarine and shortening, organ meats of all kinds, vegetable oils, refined sugars and flour as well as fried and fatty foods.

The benefits you’ll gain from eating foods that control blood sugar levels and inflammation are many. You’ll experience better sleep, relief from depression and anxiety brought on by imbalanced in the brain’s neurotransmitters and the best part of all…you’ll lose weight easier and keep it off.

To take that stubborn weight off and keep it off once and for all, you’re eating plan needs to be a healthy one…one that controls inflammation. Without inflammatory health issues, your weight should normalize.

If losing weight really was as easy as consuming fewer calories than you burn, why are nearly three-quarters of all Americans overweight or obese?