Leptin, the fat-burning hormone for weight loss

Leptin is a hormone that reduces appetite. It is produced by adipose tissue, the fat in the human body created after overeating, and its function is to signal that you have eaten enough.

What is leptin

It is a hormone that sends signals to the hypothalamus—the part of the brain, specifically in the encephalon, located at the base of the brain—that regulates the central nervous system and the pituitary gland.

Its role in the body, that of leptin is to function as a fat-burning hormone. According to the description of many weight loss supplements and pills, although in reality, its role is to regulate the endocrine system and the secretion of other hormones.

One of its functions is related to the production of body fat and the feeling of satiety, and here we will look at them in detail.

Function

For it to be produced, adipose tissue, body fat, needs to produce it. While it is also present and synthesized in other parts of the body, the most important place where it is created is in the cells containing fat. As adipose tissue increases, leptin production also increases.

As the presence of leptin hormone in the blood rises, satiety increases. The signal to stop eating sent to the brain is persistent because there is enough food stored to make continuing to eat unnecessary. You have eaten enough.

This is actually beneficial because, otherwise, you would never feel full. When produced hormonally in the body, you stop eating because, obviously, you already have enough nutrients to sustain yourself, and continuing to eat would mean producing more fat localized in the stomach, buttocks, and other secondary areas like the double chin, arms, and legs.

Obese people have little control over the feeling of satiety, so they keep eating. This is either due to anxiety or because the functioning of leptin is abnormal.

This hormone is present in other tissues that interact with the reproductive system, defenses, immunity, and angiogenesis, or the formation of new blood vessels from existing ones, which are related to skin regeneration, connective tissue, and everything related to healing.

Is leptin a fat-burning hormone?

Although it is known by this name, it is not exactly that. The leptin fat-burning hormone is an appetite-regulating substance, but it does not directly burn the fat localized or accumulated in certain areas of the human body.

What it can indirectly cause when taken as a dietary supplement is to increase leptin levels in the blood and therefore make you feel full.

By stopping eating, if the amount of food you have consumed is insufficient to sustain you for the day, meaning that if you consume fewer calories than you need, a negative caloric expenditure will appear. This can translate into the need to metabolize the accumulated fats.

Example of leptin properties

Let’s take a simple example to make it much easier to understand.

If you need 2000 calories per day and only take in 1800, a simple calculation shows that we will be lacking nutrients:

2000 – 1800 = 200 calories missing.

Since the human body is very wise, due in large part to evolution over thousands of years, those 200 missing calories will be taken from the fat you have accumulated over months or even years.

Be careful, though, muscle tissue may also be destroyed if you do not exercise, as well as bone loss, etc.

If instead of taking the 2000 calories you ingested 2200, in this case, instead of missing calories, 200 would remain, and so, in principle, all of the excess could become adipose tissue that the body would store for later. But, and this is the good part, to regulate appetite, leptin is secreted into the blood. As the body creates fat cells, more leptin will appear, indicating that you should stop eating.

So, will taking it make you lose weight?

In theory, yes, but in practice, no. What I mean by this is that it’s not that simple. The body has mechanisms to inhibit fat reserve loss and, at certain times, predispose to increase them.

If you start eating little, whether due to a strict diet to lose weight or by exercising more, you will lose weight. But the negative aspect is that you may enter a state of starvation, and in that situation, when you exceed the food you consume, it will turn into fat to prevent the decay of vital systems.

So any type of dietary supplement should be taken with caution, follow a proper eating plan, and extend it over time so the metabolism detects that it’s a normal situation and balances basic functions to sustain life with the essential nutrients entering daily. It’s crucial to avoid the rebound effect when losing weight. This is something many people suffer from when they stop miracle diets and gain weight back quickly.

Are there foods rich in leptin?

First, it’s important to state that there are no foods with leptin. As mentioned at the beginning of this text, leptin is present in fats (more specifically, fats produce it). So, its natural production occurs within the body.

There are certain fresh and natural products that can help elevate leptin levels in the body. So, indirectly, we can say that foods with leptin are:

• Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, and herring.
• Seeds rich in omega-3 such as chia, flax, and linseed.
• Oils like soybean, hazelnut, walnut, wheat germ, and canola.
• Seafood.
• Eggs.
• Nuts such as chestnuts and almonds.
• Vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and Brussels sprouts.
• Cucumber.
• Lettuce.

Leptin oil

Canola oil is very rich in polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fatty acids and is considered one of the best for health. You can also mix it or alternate it with wheat germ oil, and if you want it from fish, you can try the benefits of cod liver oil capsules.

Although it happens the same way as with leptin-rich foods, which don’t exist, the presence of omega-3 fatty acids will promote better distribution and synthesis in the body.

Eating fats to have leptin

Although you eat foods rich in fats, you won’t increase the level of leptin hormone. What happens is that fats have a very high caloric content, and eating a small amount is enough to provide the energy the body needs.

If you eat a lot of fats, you’ll exceed the amount of food needed. You will create more fat that will accumulate in the stomach and other areas, and at that point, yes, the body will produce more leptin.

Unfortunately, there is also a resistance effect, so you will keep gaining weight without feeling full.

Relationship between leptin and obesity

When the fat in the human body increases, the leptin released into the blood grows, and there are satiety signals sent to the hypothalamus. This suppresses appetite. However, overweight people have a higher index of this hormone because they have developed tolerance, and its effects are less than in lean people. This effect is similar to what happens with insulin resistance.

The mechanism of action of leptin regulates hunger, the desire to eat through anorexigenic peptides, and their opposite version, orexigenic peptides.

Obese people need to regulate leptin consumption over the long term for balance since it interacts with other organic substances like insulin. Recent studies show that appetite is also influenced by the presence of serotonin, ghrelin, and cholecystokinin. So if you suffer from obesity and want to lose weight, it won’t be as simple as just taking it. There are other related factors that also need to be considered.

Taking leptin in pills or capsules

There are a number of medicinal preparations and dietary supplements that stimulate the production of natural leptin. These are intended to help lose weight and reduce localized fat.

Although some people may notice benefits from leptin, others may notice them less due to the body’s resistance to this substance. In Spain, there are a series of supplements and products available in pharmacies with the brand name:

Leptin and ghrelin

Both are hormones related to fat metabolism and the need to ingest food.

Ghrelin is a hormone primarily produced in the stomach. It stimulates the synthesis and effects of growth hormone and participates in regulating the energy metabolism of individuals. Taking ghrelin increases appetite and the sensation of hunger to allow the generation of more GH.

Uses with prebiotics Lactobacillus Gasseri

There are scientific publications linking the consumption of probiotics with the reduction of leptin. These studies involve supplementation with Lactobacillus gasseri and Lactobacillus rhamnosus.

The fat cells under the subcutaneous tissue are the main producers of leptin in its hormone form. The concentration of leptin suppresses appetite in most cases, and its elevated plasma levels suggest it can be used for weight control and the need to ingest food to regulate the body’s energy expenditure.

This feature of leptin suggests that taking probiotics occasionally may improve its action in anti-obesity treatments as it could block hormonal effects, as well as some indices found in people with diabetes due to its relationship with insulin. The administration of L. gasseri reduces adiposity and body weight by increasing or decreasing insulin levels to treat metabolic syndromes. Probiotics often facilitate the permeability of the intestinal wall and the effects related to metabolism.

Opinions about pharmacy and nutrition leptin

You must be clear that there are countless products for weight loss that may have a positive effect on losing weight, but you should always accompany them with a varied diet following the recommendations of a nutritionist. This type of professional, dedicated to taking care of people’s health, establishing a proper eating routine based on your caloric expenditure and lifestyle, is essential.

Naturally, certain foods can promote fat burning and the loss of adipose tissue in localized areas, but to truly verify that leptin works, it is essential to follow this practice.