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What is Leptin resistance?

Leptin resistance may be a leading cause of weight gain and a primary reason why we have difficulty losing weight.

Leptin is a type of hormone produced by our bodies fat cells. This hormone works with the hypothalamus in our brain to tell us when we’ve had enough to eat to allow our bodies to burn excess calories. The more fat we carry inside our cells, the more leptin they produce which signals your brain to eat less. When our fat cells produce lower levels of leptin, our brain signals us to eat more. It is a type of negative feedback loop system similar to how we breathe, regulate blood pressure, and regulate body temperature.

Naturally, people who are overweight and obese have a lot of body fat stored in their cells. Their levels of leptin hormone are very high. It would make sense that an individual who has excess body fat would limit their food intake because they have plenty of excess calories stored. In this case, leptin signaling (through the negative feedback loop) may not be working. The brain sometimes will not recognize high levels of leptin. This is a condition known as leptin resistance. When your brain doesn’t receive the signals given by leptins your body responds oppositely. Your body is telling you to go into “starvation mode” therefore you start to eat more, and your energy level decreases. This leads to reduced calorie expenditure. Some causes of leptin resistance are obesity, chronic inflammation, poor diet, lack of exercise, or lack of sleep.

If you’re concerned you have leptin resistance, here at Essentials Medispa and Salon, our nutritionist can help you focus on an overall healthy lifestyle to reverse diet-induced leptin resistance. Essentials Medispa and Salon offers nutrition visits in conjunction with (BHRT) Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy, our Lypoburn weight loss program, or an overall Wellness plan.

*Results may vary from person to person