Leptin Resistance

Stress and high cortisol levels are a Major Factor in Leptin Resistance...

Now as you know, I have been quite aware of how stress affects our health … I wrote an entire book on the subject!  The research I had done on stress had taught me that stress is implicated quite strongly in insulin resistance and fluctuating blood sugar levels.  This in turn sets up a vicious cycle resulting in inflammation, with the inflammation triggering the release of yet more cortisol which is an anti-inflammatory hormone.

As I wrote about in my book on stress, cortisol actually causes the body to store more fat, especially in the abdominal area.  And the more fat and the more inflammation you have, the more leptin resistance you have.  So basically, chronic stress sets up a vicious cycle between cortisol production, insulin resistance and leptin resistance … all of which triggers weight gain and many health problems.

It is extremely important to learn how to cope with stress and how to decrease stress levels naturally because if you can’t reduce your stress levels, the chances are that no matter how successful you are in your diet, you will probably always have problems with weight gain because the stress will continually sabotage your weight loss efforts and trigger continual Leptin Resistance and Insulin Resistance.

There are many ways stress and cortisol triggers Leptin Resistance and weight gain, especially in the abdominal area.

In simple English, stress elevates Cortisol, which causes fat cells to grow, especially in the abdomen.  And this fat gain triggers more inflammation which perpetuates the vicious cycle.  There are a number of symptoms caused by elevated cortisol levels including inflammation, high blood sugar levels, water retention (especially in the extremities), high blood pressure and increased risk of heart disease, problems concentrating as well as memory problems and “foggy brain” and much, much more.

Elevated cortisol also decreases a hormone called adiponectin.  This hormone is produced by the fat cells and is responsible for:

•       Suppressing appetite

•       Speeding up metabolism

•       Increasing fat-burning capabilities in your muscles

•       Preventing high blood pressure and protecting the heart and blood vessels

•       Lowering your fat levels and weight

•       Decreasing inflammation

Following this Liver Detox Diet Program will not only help to reduce Leptin Resistance, it will also help to increase the hormone adiponectin which has tremendous health benefits.

It is interesting that the medical community is finally acknowledging the importance of chronic systemic inflammation and more and more doctors are now testing for it. 

Another important by-product of stress is insomnia and sleep deprivation, and the less sleep you get, the more leptin resistant you get.  Sleep deprivation also increases the release of a hormone called ghrelin, which is produced in the stomach and triggers hunger and increased appetite.  So as you can see, lack of sleep is another major trigger for weight gain and obesity.

So what is one of the main causes of inflammation?

Leaky Gut Syndrome would be one of the most prevalent causes, and this includes factors that may cause Leaky Gut Syndrome like NSAIDs (Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs), aspirin, antibiotics, the birth control pill, food intolerances, candida, and poor nutritional diets of junk food that are full of preservatives and chemicals and trans-fats.

How does Leaky Gut Syndrome trigger chronic inflammation?

Mainly this is caused by the immune system targeting the toxins and partially digested food particles as foreign substances (or antigens) and attacking them, which as time goes on often triggers auto-immune diseases where the body is attacking its own tissues.  It is also complicated by the fact that high cortisol levels suppress the immune system and makes it harder to do its job.

On top of that, the body’s detoxification organs (liver, kidneys, lungs, skin, etc.) can’t keep up with the increased levels of toxins travelling around the body, which means these toxins get deposited in tissues, accelerating inflammation.  This increased amount of inflammation triggers more cortisol to try to decrease inflammation.  (And yes, this Liver Detox Diet program can break this vicious cycle!)

Higher levels of cortisol, especially at night, triggers insomnia, which means your body can’t repair itself during sleep as it should be.  (The high cortisol usually causes you to wake up around 2:00 to 3:00 in the morning, while it can take you anything from one hour to several hours to fall back to sleep because your mind just won’t shut down.) 

The cortisol also triggers food cravings, especially for sweets due to insulin impairment, as well as salty foods, due to interfering with sodium / potassium levels controlled by the adrenal glands.  This causes you to eat uncontrollably, which of course, causes weight gain.  And let’s not forget that you can’t comfortably exercise because of the high levels of pain and inflammation you have, which of course again makes it harder and harder to control your weight!

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