So Leptin is a BIG deal. I was reading a formal paper on leptin this evening, and it just blew me away to see the number of receptors that are somehow influenced by Leptin. When reading about purchasing leptin lab tests for use in a clinic (I cannot, because in GA a chiropractor cannot draw blood), the selling point is to test every infertile person you come across for LEPTIN!
Beyond that, there was this piece…
In male mice, it blunted the starvation-induced marked decline of LH, testosterone, thyroxine and the increase of ACTH and corticosterone. In female mice, leptin prevented the starvation-induced delay in ovulation (16).
What that is really saying, is that Leptin, in starvation mode, maintain normal hormone function. Another way of saying it, is that in metabolically dysfunctional people whose bodies are acting as if they are in starvation mode (hording body fat), that the presence of leptin being received by the hypothalamus will balance their hormones in addition to providing a fat burning stimulus.
Wikipediashows this lovely image of Leptin!
So what should your leptin levels be. It is accepted clinically that blood leptin levels should be between 4-6 as optimal. I believe that they should be on the lower side at 4 – 4.5 , though I also believe they are responsive to a number of things including what is in your blood stream by the way of sugars, and what is the recent activity level been like. If your leptin levels are over 10, then there is an issue with leptin not being heard. Many people have leptin levels over 20. This is a clinical problem, that requires treating the Healing Diet as a clinical solution, not just “some diet”.
Now there is another type of person who exists, though not very common, and it is the leptin DEFICIENT individual. This situation is more difficult to correct, in that the production of leptin seems to have ceased. Leptin is primarily synthesized in fat cells, so the understanding of WHY it is deficient, is very immature at this time, and theories have done little to really peg a good reason.
It could be that there has been such an incredible amount of unresponsiveness to leptin, that there is a feedback signal saying STOP producing it. It might be that there is a bio-chemical pathway that has been disrupted. It is hard to say.
We know for certain, the absolute best way to FIX leptin receptors, is to follow a VERY strict diet of healing… thus we have the Healing Diet. The focus of this month’s Total Food Makeover. The Healing Diet is simply, no sugar or anything that readily turns to sugar (grains, fruit, legumes, high glycemic veges). Sounds difficult, it really is for most, but if you have a hormone issue, that requires a clinical fix. Then just do it.
So, if the big question is, “when am I going to lose weight”, then the big answer is “when you are hearing leptin again, and producing it normally”. When… I have no idea.