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• Bone Drugs Cause Serious Atrial Fibrillation 30 Oct 2008 • Quercetin: A Rising Star for Nerves, Immunity, and Metabolism 26 Oct 2009 • How the FDA, Big Pharma, and Doctors Cause Injury for Profit 3 Nov 2009 • Vitamin D is Needed to Fight and Prevent the Flu 10 Mar 2010 • The Facts on Magnesium Stearate 9 Apr 2009 • Which Whey to Go 20 Oct 2009 • The Narrow Scope of Flu Vaccine Usefulness 9 Sep 2009 • The Amazing New World of HDL Cholesterol 10 Dec 2008 • Another Thyroid Risk: Did Your Mom Smoke While Pregnant? 27 Jan 2009 • Antidepressants Strongly Linked to Heart Disease 11 Mar 2009 • Big Pharma & Friends Poised for Massive Profits from Health Care Reform 27 Jul 2009 • An Emerging Fiber Breakthrough for Weight Management 17 Jul 2009 • Noni as a Natural Immune Booster 6 Oct 2009 • Michael Jackson is Not Alone 9 Jul 2009 • Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss 16 Apr 2009 • Exercise Tips for Fighting the Swine Flu 6 Oct 2009 • McCain’s Anti-Supplement Bill Appears Dead – For Now 8 Mar 2010 • Flawed SELECT Study Attacks Vitamin E 30 Oct 2008 • Obesity and the Path to Heart Disease 20 Nov 2008 • Tips for Cardiovascular Health 3 Feb 2009 • Omega 3 Fatty Acids Prevent Serious Mental Health Problems 6 Feb 2010 • The Top 10 Health Breakthroughs of 2008 5 Jan 2009 • Pregnant Women at Higher Risk for Severe Swine Flu 29 Jul 2009 • Guar Gum: The Fiber with a Swagger 9 Jan 2009 • Hayflick Comments on Aging 1 Jul 2009 • ADHD Linked to Early Life Instability & Sleep Problems 8 Dec 2009 • DHA, Krill Oil & Green-Lipped Mussel – Which is Best? 23 Feb 2009 • Prostate Cancer & the Androgen Receptor – A Clearer Picture of the Problem 11 Aug 2009 • Surprisingly High Cancer Risk from CT Scans 15 Dec 2009 • Snacking is Damaging Health; Mrs. Obama is Off Target 2 Mar 2010 • Oprah’s Thyroid Problem Explained 21 Jan 2009 • Candida Problems Evolving 9 Apr 2009 • Theanine – A Nutrient for Relaxation 28 Oct 2008 • Folic Acid and Vitamin D Help Allergies and Asthma 12 May 2009 • Overweight People Need Extra Antioxidants for Exercise 25 Jun 2009 • Introducing the Wellness Resources Daily Prenatal Multi Vitamin 8 Feb 2010 • Laughable Type II Diabetes Research Shines Light on Medical Ineptitude 18 Aug 2009 • Cold Weather Mood Shock: Avoid the Winter Blues 13 Jan 2010 • Monsanto’s Toxic and Mutated World – Is Sugar Safe to Eat? 26 Oct 2009 • The Poorly Developing ADHD Brain 2 Mar 2010 • Low Vitamin D Contributes to Thyroid Problems 11 Nov 2008 • Steep Escalation in Minority Obesity and Breast Cancer 3 Aug 2009 • Niacin: Can It Help Your Cardio Health? 20 Nov 2008 • Teen Sleep Problems Lead to Depression & Drug Abuse 28 Oct 2008 • Common Traits of the Long Lived 9 Apr 2009 • Prostate Cancer and Zinc – Can Zinc Be Overdone? 3 Aug 2009 • Desperate Big Pharma Push to Double Statin Sales 13 Nov 2008 • The Colorful History of Colloidal Silver & Other Silver Compounds 6 Oct 2009 • High Intake of EPA/DHA Reduces Risks for Cardiovascular Disease 22 Feb 2010 • Scientists Document How Coumadin Increases Disease Risk 1 Oct 2009 • Obama Tries to Sneak Major Health Care Reform into the Stimulus Bill 16 Feb 2009 • Statin Use Speeds Onset of Coronary Adverse Event Hospitalizations 9 Jul 2009 • hyroid Problems, Alzheimer’s, and Cognitive Decline 23 Jun 2009 • Is Obama Bailing Out Big Pharma’s Bursting Bubble? 4 Feb 2009 • Gamma Tocotrienol in the War on Cancer 25 Jun 2009 • Immunometabolism: The New Frontier 31 Jul 2009 • The Failure Empire: Bob Greene Rakes It In, Oprah Fails 28 Jan 2009 • How Hostile Bacteria Take Up Unwanted Residence 17 Jul 2009 • Brave Oxford Researchers Say Tamiflu is Not for Kids 18 Aug 2009 • What’s in Your Multiple Vitamin? Minerals, Detecting Real Quality. 20 Feb 2009 • A Healthy Lymph System is Vital for Flu Fighting Immunity 6 Oct 2009 • Abnormal Brain Structure in Schizophrenia 2 Mar 2010 • Oprah’s “Crazy Talk" – Bioidentical Hormones – Helpful or Harmful? (Part 2) 25 Jun 2009 • Tamoxifen Shockingly Found to Cause Aggressive Breast Cancer 5 Sep 2009 • The New Flu Vaccine Hype is Over-Rated 14 Sep 2009 • What Are Your Baby Fat Cells Doing? 16 Jun 2009 • A Path Back From Addiction & Mental Health Problems 11 Aug 2009 • Startling Evidence of Brain Decay at Age 39 22 Oct 2008 • Pantethine – Boost Your Brain, Cardio Health, Metabolism, and Detoxification 11 Feb 2009 • Pregnancy Cautions: Caffeine, Stress, & Depression. 6 Nov 2008 • Low Iron Can Cause Chronic Pain 23 Oct 2009 • Glial Cell Function Vital for Learning 1 Oct 2009 • Is Itching a Risk Factor for Cancer? 25 Aug 2009 • Quality Fish Oil 13 Mar 2009 • Citizens Win Huge Supreme Court Victory over Big Pharma and the FDA 5 Mar 2009 • New Insights on Addiction, Mood, Memory, and Cognitive Ability 1 Oct 2009 • Six Months of Smoking is Adequate for Significant Brain Damage 20 Aug 2009 • New Science Questions Theory of Antidepressant Drugs 30 Oct 2009 • Health Costs Relating to Obesity Skyrocket 29 Jul 2009 • Coenzyme Q10, Statins, and Heart Health 26 Feb 2009 • Will Drinking Milk Help You Live Longer? 29 Jul 2009 • Tamiflu Causes Delirium and Suicide in Children 1 May 2009 • Talk About Pulling The Plug On Grandma 25 Aug 2009 • More Proof that Statins Damage Muscles in Many People Taking Them 9 Jul 2009 • Oprah’s Weight Is National News – Again 10 Dec 2008 • How Imbalanced Digestive Bacteria Cause Obesity & Heart Disease 12 Mar 2010 • The FDA’s Peramivir H1N1 Swine Flu Experiment 26 Oct 2009 • Using Nutrition to Help Perceive and Combat Swine Flu 14 Sep 2009 • Steve Jobs’ Wasting-Away Health Problem 7 Jan 2009 • Health Scandal of the Decade – Monsanto’s GMO Perversion of Food 25 Jan 2010 • Utilizing Quality Calcium for Health 19 Mar 2009 • Top Thyroid Stories of the Past Year 21 Jan 2009 • BDNF Prevents and Reverses Alzheimer’s Disease 11 Feb 2009 • Thyroid, Adrenals, & Immunity – A Clear Path to Surviving Swine Flu 6 May 2009 • Vitamin D – A Gene-Regulating Super Nutrient 6 Nov 2008 • Oprah’s Crazy Talk – Bioidentical Hormones – Helpful or Harmful? (Part 1) 22 Jun 2009 • Avandia is Killing Americans, FDA Negligence Comes Front and Center 22 Feb 2010 • Natural Dietary Supplements for Weight Loss 16 Apr 2009 • Low Vitamin C Impairs Early Brain Development 5 Sep 2009 • DHEA Helps Older Women Build Spinal Bone Density 24 Jun 2009 • The Swine Flu – Are Pigs to Blame? 1 May 2009 • Grape Seed Extract Restores Insulin Sensitivity 19 Jun 2009 • Massive Brain Drugging of Children Now Underway 11 Aug 2009 • Omega 3 Oils Slow Aging by Preserving Telomeres 6 Feb 2010 • How PCBs Damage the Developing Brain 22 Apr 2009 • Mainstream Sounding Alarms on Alternative Thyroid Treatments 9 Apr 2009 • Swine Flu Tip – Don’t Be Your Own Petri Dish 30 Apr 2009 • Are Vaccinations Causing Early Alzheimer’s? 19 Nov 2008 • What is the Leptin Diet? 12 May 2009 • What is Leptin? 21 Jan 2009 • Can Vitamin D Help Prevent H1N1 Swine Flu from Spreading? 20 Oct 2009 • Common Phthalate Exposure Linked to ADHD 8 Dec 2009 • Leptin Now Directly Linked to the Pleasure of Food & Human Behavior 18 Aug 2009 • Glutamine Helps Stomach Ulcers 24 Jun 2009 • Jump Start Your Weight Loss in 2009 21 Jan 2009

I have spent more than twenty years on the front lines of clinical nutrition helping thousands of people solve very difficult health problems - naturally. In all these years I have never encountered more powerful principles of health than those relating to leptin.

Leptin is the king of hormones, the commander and chief of virtually everything that takes place in your body. Understanding how leptin works and applying that information to your day to day life can totally change your health. This is especially true regarding issues of weight management, thyroid function, stress, mental capability, inflammation, immunity, reproduction, and cardiovascular health.

Leptin is actually a hormone - meaning that once it is released it will travel to another area of your body to make things happen - similar to the idea of placing a phone call to someone you wish to speak with and asking them to do something. In the case of leptin it is actually made in your white adipose tissue or stored fat. This finding alone has revolutionized the entire field of endocrinology - as previously stored fat was just thought to be a warehouse for extra calories. Our new understanding means that your stored fat is actually a metabolic organ, much like your thyroid gland or adrenal glands.

Once leptin is released from your fat it enters your blood and travels up to your brain, delivering a message as to how much fuel you have on hand. When your brain answers the leptin phone call and listens to the message, it tells you how fast you can run your metabolism based on how much gas is in your gas tank. In a sense the leptin phone call to your brain is like a gas gauge in your car. You have no way to see how much gas is in your tank - you rely on the gauge, before you pull over and fill ‘er up. Likewise, your subconscious brain has no way to see how much stored fat you have on hand, it relies on the leptin gauge to determine your state of overall nutrition and fuel reserves.

If the leptin gauge is reading low it means eat more. When you’ve eaten enough, leptin levels rise, and the leptin gauge in your subconscious brain now says your tank is full - resulting in a full signal. One of the most basic leptin problems encountered by any person who is overweight is that their leptin gauge is sticky, or in more advanced cases broken. This means that you will have a subconscious drive to eat more food than you really need, in order to feel satisfied.

Once you do get a leptin-related full signal then permission is given for your body’s metabolism to get in gear and go. Leptin acts like a traffic cop in your brain - when levels are adequate the speed limit is raised and your metabolism can run faster. When leptin levels are too low your brain thinks there is a famine and your metabolic rate is set to hibernation mode so that you don’t perish from malnutrition. Your subconscious brain has no idea that there is food on every corner.

Since leptin is controlling the rate your body makes energy, and since energy is needed by everything in your body to do anything, leptin issues are core to survival and your health. This is why leptin is so powerful, and why I call it the king of hormones.

Now most people will eat until they get a full signal, and many people who are overweight ignore their internal full signal and eat compulsively until all food in sight is gone. This means they are responding to environmental cues - something I call the SEE FOOD diet, meaning any food that is seen will be eaten. Unfortunately, this type of adverse eating behavior actually causes the leptin gas gauge to become sticky which means you will feel compelled to eat more food than you truly need just to get a full signal. This exact problem is tormenting millions of Americans - there is little wonder why we have an obesity epidemic on our hands.

What I have described to you this far are some of the very basic concepts of how leptin works. As it turns out leptin also plays a major role in regulating the function of your brain, the function of your immune system, and the coordinated efforts of all other hormones in your body - including thyroid function, adrenal function and stress, and reproductive function.

Even though there are now over 15,000 studies relating to leptin in the scientific literature, many of you may have never heard of leptin before. The reason for this is rather simple, most of the research on leptin has been done to make leptin drugs for weight loss and such drugs simply don’t work. And as you can guess from such a large number of studies it is not for a lack of research effort.

The discovery of leptin is an interesting story itself. Back in 1994 scientists at Rockefeller University were able to show that a particular strain of obese mice lacked a gene that prevented them from making an important hormone, which they later named leptin. Lacking this gene the mice had no control over their body weight or feeding behavior. These mice became three times the weight of normal mice, developed type II diabetes, lost reproductive function, and always wanted to eat. The researchers synthesized leptin and when they gave it to these mice they lost all their extra weight, became un-diabetic, went back to normal reproductive function, and developed a normal appetite. The science community thought this would be the greatest weight loss discovery of all time, and in many ways you can say that it is - but not in terms of giving leptin drugs to people.

This is because only a handful of people are like the mice who are unable to make leptin at all. 99.9 % of the overweight population make way too much leptin from their extra pounds of fat. All this extra leptin actually clogs leptin function, sort of like a traffic jam, and induces a problem called leptin resistance - which means that even though there is far too much leptin it isn’t getting into your brain correctly and thus your brain is behaving just like the mice that don’t make any leptin at all. You always know you have a problem with leptin resistance because you will tend to be obsessive about food, thinking about your next meal too often, eating foods you know you shouldn’t, and feeling like it is a constant battle of your will just to do the right things to be healthy - that is if you are even trying. If you live to eat, you have a leptin problem. If you eat to live, you are likely in much better control of leptin.

At any rate, you obviously can’t give a leptin drug to someone who already has too much leptin - a problem that continues to baffle those who are looking for the next pharmaceutical blockbuster weight loss drug. No, I’m sorry to say that the only way to get a handle on this problem is to learn the ins and outs of leptin and how to eat to be in harmony with the hormone. It’s unfortunate, but our bodies came without an owner’s manual - and most of your trial and error regarding dieting is error. Well its time for you to learn how to be in charge, there is a right way to live and eat in harmony with leptin.

Welcome to a new world. May you never again be the same.

More information about leptin:

For breaking news on leptin, thyroid, and weight management consult my Weight Loss News page.

Be sure to sign up for my free e-newsletter, which will deliver breaking news on leptin, thyroid, and weight management right to your inbox.

To view dietary supplement products I have personally designed to support leptin management and thyroid, view these pages:
Weight Loss & Leptin
Thyroid & Metabolism

To learn more about the power of leptin read either book I have written on the subject:
Mastering Leptin - the original breakthroughs and how leptin relates to all aspects of health, containing extensive scientific documentation (ideal for health professionals and those who want to understand the detailed science).
The Leptin Diet - an easier read that explains the Leptin Diet® as well as how leptin and other hormones actual behave in your body - so that you can understand how and why you crave food and how to be in charge.

Author: Byron J Richards CNN

Byron J. Richards, Founder/Director of Wellness Resources, Inc., is a Board-Certified Clinical Nutritionist and a world renowned natural health expert. Richards is the first to explain the relevance of leptin and its link to solving obesity.

Contact the Author:

Web: http://www.wellnessresources.com

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