A little about hormones

Leptin: The hormone that tells the body that it is full.                                                                                                   Ghrelin: The hormone that tells the body it is hungry

A few ways to help control Ghrelin and Leptin hormones would be as follows:

  •  Avoid MSG: MSG messes with your leptin hormone, making you want to eat more and you get hungrier sooner. MSG is typically in fast foods, processed foods and more. (for a comprehensive list of common foods with MSG go to www.msgtruth.org)
  • Avoid or minimize fructose: Fructose prevents leptin and insulin from elevating to normal levels after a meal, which then increases your ghrelin and triglyceride levels, and you eat more. Fructose is in fruit juices and soft drinks.
  • Avoid low-calorie (1000 calories or less a day) diets: Eating foods helps balance hormones that trigger uncontrollable hunger and weight gain.
  • Eat every four hours: Ghrelin is produced and secreted on a four-hour cycle. To keep ghrelin low, eat on schedule every three to four hours. Leptin levels are decreased after fasting 24 to 72 hours.
  • Eat high fiber foods: Ghrelin levels remain high until food stretches the wall of your stomach, making you feel full. High-volume, low-calorie, nutrient-dense foods reduce ghrelin and increase leptin levels long before you have eaten too much. Salads are good.
  • Get at least seven hours of seep a night: Less sleep means higher ghrelin levels, lower leptin levels, greater hunger, and higher body weight.
  • Eat proteins at every meal: Protein takes longer to digest and lowers your ghrelin levels.
  • Reduce stress: take short walks. meditate, take a bath, do yoga, listen to soothing music.
  • Increase omega-3 fats: This both boosts leptin and helps knock out leptin resistance. Grass-fed meats, walnuts, salmon, anchovies, sardines, trout, chia seeds, flax seeds, summer squash, and kale are good.
  • Heal your gut: This helps with appetite issues.

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