Leptin and Ghrelin: the Two Hormones to Eating
Leptin: the hormone that makes you feel full; ghrelin: the hormone that makes you hungry. In an age where diet pills and fitness influencers attempt to sell hacks to stay lean or achieve a healthier lifestyle, people often neglect the basic biology of the human metabolism.
Leptin: the hormone that makes you feel full
Leptin is a peptide hormone released from adipose tissue cells (fat cells) in the body that signals to the brain your body is "full." It is leptin's job to help regulate food intake and maintain one's physique. In a healthy body, lower levels of fat decreases leptin release, making one hungrier so they eat more to gain back the mass. Higher levels of fat increases leptin levels to suppress appetite and do the same: return one to their previous physique. However, processed food, altered sleep schedules, various medications, and more change the way hormones are released and regulated in the body. This often leads one to be overweight or underweight.
Leptin resistance is the term for a condition in which an individual does not regularly feel full due to decreased leptin levels. Though the cause is not entirely known, it is thought to be connected to the thyroid gland (responsible for metabolism regulation) and other metabolic syndromes correlated with obesity.
How leptin and ghrelin levels are released and regulate energy balance in the body. Insulin is released by the pancreas when glucose levels rise in the blood.
The various body systems that leptin levels regulate: homeostasis, appetite, bone mass, heart rate, thyroid hormone, etc.
The balance between ghrelin and leptin levels as well as where they are released (stomach and adipose tissue, respectively); increased adipose tissue --> decreased leptin levels.
Food and supplements to help regulate leptin resistance and rT3 (a thyroid hormone).
Leptin and ghrelin levels relative to stomach expansion (before and after meals).
A visual for the bodily stimulants of leptin and ghrelin.
Ghrelin: the hormone that makes you hungry
Unlike leptin, ghrelin is released from the stomach, stimulated by stomach shrinkage (before meals and after sleep). Because ghrelin levels are directly connected to mental and physical hunger, abnormally increased levels of ghrelin can cause obesity over long periods of time.
Ghrelin levels increase after long periods of fasting, in individuals with lower body mass, in periods of sleep deprivation or high stress, or during a diet.
Written By: Siena