Maintaining health, both internally and externally, is a common goal for many people. However, the body regulation weighthunger and satiety, happens automatically, without a conscious command. Just like heart rate, digestion or breathing, are some of the unconscious functions of the body. And in that they play a role in specific hormones.
“Some hormones have a role to ensure that we consume the right amount of food we need to feed our body every day. They are responsible for the brain signal – the regulation of hunger and satiety.
Grelin and leptin are two hormones involved in hunger and satiety regulation, in collaboration with other hormones (GLP-1, cortisol and insulin), “said Eleni Komninou Rheumatologist, Director of Autoimmune Clinic:
“The hunger and satiety regulation system is very important as it determines and gives the signals to get food that the body really needs throughout the day. If this is deregulated, then it can lead to increased food intake – more than the body really needs.
This situation in the long run can lead to weight gain and obesity. Hormones, that is, act as chemical messengers to help control the amount of food we eat. Feelings of hunger and satiety are created by the brain as a response to a combination of signals, including the two basic hormones. The amount of these hormones in our blood goes up and falls, signaling in the brain how much hunger is required at any time. In fact there is a complex interaction between the brain, the organs of the gastrointestinal tract and the adipose tissue (ie body fat).
OR ghrelin It has short -term results: it makes us hungry for our next meal. OR leptin It has long -term results: it helps us to maintain our normal body weight by controlling overall levels of hunger and satiety, ”he explains.
Grelin: The hunger hormone
The Grelin hormone is called ‘The hormone of hunger»Because of her key role in hunger. It is used to signal to the brain how long we have been left without food.
Grelin is produced by stomach cells. The more time it has passed since our last meal, the more ghrelin releases the stomach. High levels of ghrelin in the blood are a sign that we have been left without food for a long time. When the ghrelin reaches the brain, the brain responds by increasing our appetite. When we eat, our stomach stops releasing so much ghrelin. The level of ghrelin in our blood falls and our brain stops telling us that we are hungry.
Ghrelin and body weight
Obesity is a condition where the body has stored an unhealthy amount of fat. There are many factors that can cause obesity. Paradoxically, obese people have no more ghrelin, but usually less. Grelin levels increase when people lose weight through diet. This can be one of the reasons people often struggle to avoid putting their weight again. On the contrary, ghrelin levels are low after gastric bypass surgery (weight loss), which can partly explain why this treatment is so successful in the long run.
High levels of ghrelin are also found in people with eating anorexia nerve disorder and cachexia’s disease. As with the diet, this is believed to be an answer to weight loss.
Leptin: The fat controller
Leptin, is one Hormone produced by adipose cellswhich was discovered in the mid -1990s and considered the drug against obesity. It is also known as the hormone of satiety because of its role in suppressing hunger, a function opposite to that of hormone ghrelin, which is also known as the hunger hormone. After production, it travels with blood circulation to the brain and specifically in the center of appetite. There, it signals that the body has sufficient energy reserves. Consequently, it acts by giving saturation signals. That is, it gives the brain signal that the body is full. This helps to limit food intake but also to increase energy expenditure through exercise.
When adipose cells are empty the leptin does not signal to the brain And we eat. In cases where adipose cells are full then leptin signals to the brain and stop eating.
Leptin: What happens when the system fails?
Some people with obesity have a condition called leptin resistance. This means that their brain does not respond properly to it. Then they have very high levels of leptin in their blood, but they still feel they should eat more. There is a break in communication: Their brain does not hear their stomach. A combination of diet and exercise can help in the reversal of resistance to leptin and restore body response to the hormone. Studies have also shown that the combination of nutrition and exercise leads to permanent weight loss.
“Grelin and leptin along with other hormones play a key role in regulating appetite. Understanding the functioning of these hormones is a key objective of researching the development of therapies against obesity and other related diseases, ”concludes Ms Komninou.