Hormonal balance and fat

Insulin

Produced in the pancreas and released when blood sugar level in the blood is high.
This hormone speeds up the absorption of nutrients primarily in muscle tissue and the liver therefore lowering blood sugar level by transferring sugar out of the blog into the muscles and liver. It also triggers the liver to convert excess sugar into fat , which then gets taken up by the fat cells.

Cortisol

Produced in the adrenal cortex and release in the reaction to stress and/or when blood sugar is too low.
Cortisol triggers the liver to release stored fat and sugar into the blood.
When glycogen level is too low in the liver, cortisol direct liver to convert fats into ketone bodies (benign lipolytic ketosis ) and proteins into the sugar (Gluconeogenesis) to further contribute raising blood sugar levels.
While affected slightly by stress and blood sugar levels cortisol blood levels directed primarily by circadian rhythm which typically reaches a low point at around midnight and thereafter
2 AM begins as steep climb upward until reaching its pinnacle at 8:30 AM.
Levels then turn downward until midnight, with one to three slight rises upward over the course of the day (most notably at midday).

Simultaneous combination of the hormones insulin and cortisol causes the increase in the number of fat cells (Occurs during breakfast).

Ghrelin

-Ghrelin is a hormone produced by specialized cells that line the stomach and the pancreas.
Also called the growth hormone secretagogue (GHS) receptor, the ghrelin receptor was discovered in 1996. The term ghrelin is based on the hormone’s role as a growth hormone-releasing peptide.
In the stomach, cells that secrete ghrelin include the P/D1 cells in the fundus or upper part of the stomach and in the pancreas, ghrelin secreting cells are called epsilon cells.
Ghrelin is one of the main hormones to stimulate hunger. Ghrelin levels increase before meals and decrease after meals, a mechanism that has its roots in the hypothalamus. If the lateral hypothalamus is removed (as seen in animal studies), feeding becomes less frequent leading to severe weight loss and death. If the ventromedial hypothalamus is removed, feeding increases, leading to weight gain and severe obesity.
-Ghrelin direct metabolism to store fat
-Ghrelin increase the number of fat cells by introducing the proliferation and differentiation of adipocytes.
-Ghrelin inhibits apoptosis of adipocytes
-Ghrelin induces the secretion of gastric acid and pancreatic enzymes, thereby increasing energy absorption.
-If one eats fewer calories increased Ghrelin will act to extract more calories out of the smaller portions of the food, such that the body absorbs what it needs for maintaining body weight.
-Total daily Ghrelin production does not affected by the number of meals per day.
-Ghrelin production is increased by sleep deprivation.
-Ghrelin production is suppressed proportionally to the caloric load of the consumed meal.
-High-protein meals reduce Ghrelin more than high-carbohydrate meals.
-Protein is the most satiating micronutrient as it induces prolonged Ghrelin suppression and delay of gastric emptying.
-Relative to other carbohydrates, fructose-enriched meals display a poor Ghrelin -suppressing capacity, promoting increased caloric intake, weight gain, and obesity under conditions of chronic consumption.

Leptin
This hormone was discovered by Jeffrey M. Friedman in 2009.
-This hormone is primarily produced and released by adipocytes, which are like microscopic rubber balloons can fill up with fat.
-Leptin powerfully suppress appetite via the receptors in the hypothalamus.
-Leptin increases energy expenditure by burning more fat, thermogenesis, lipid oxidation in brown fat
-Leptin decreases fat synthesis in white and brown fat leading to a rapid reduction in body weight and adiposity.
-When fat levels inside the fat cells are low they released little on no leptin.
-When fat levels inside the fat cells are normal, – normal amounts of Leptin are released – the more the cells will be filled up and stretched (mechanotransduction), the more leptin they release.
-If fat mass remains constant but the number of fat cells increases, each fat cell will contain a less fat, and therefore stretched less.A hormone that counteracts the effects of ghrelin is leptin, which is produced by the fat or adipose tissue in the body. Leptin induces satiation or a feeling of fullness after a meal. When the leptin level is high, hunger is decreased. Since ghrelin increases hunger, several weight loss procedures aim to reduce the ghrelin level in order to increase satiation, even with a small meal.
Bottom line: more fat cells>less fat in each cell>small size of adipocytes>cell membrane stretched less>reduced production and release of Leptin.
-A new study linked levels of leptin,with symptoms of depression and anxiety independent of weight.
-Another interesting fact about Leptin: it regulate immune system it works within the central nervous system (CNS) to aid the immune system’s defense against sepsis.Patients with Congenital Leptin deficiency have increased frequency of infections.This explain how prolonged can lead to illness.
-Leptin is known to indicate fullness, or satiety, in the brain.
-If the body is exposed to too much leptin, however, it will become resistant to the hormone. Once that occurs, the body can’t “hear” the hormonal messages telling the body to stop eating and burn fat. Instead, a person remains hungry, craves sweets and stores more fat instead of burning it.
-Leptin resistance also causes an increase in visceral, or belly, fat, which has been shown to predispose people to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Total body-weight would fluctuate from day to day between 2 and 3 pounds and from months to months between 10 to 15 pounds. This is homeostatic fat-mass weight fluctuations. And it regulated by hormones Leptin and Ghrelin.
This fluctuation is due to changes in water retention and fluctuation how much food is in the intestinal tract. But at least 5 pounds of fat can be added or lost within normal body-weight fluctuations.This is a normal range of fluctuations.
When certain threshold outside the normal fluctuation of fat mass is changed-
the leptin levels shift dramatically (reduced) to bring the fat mass back into homeostatic range.

When a person’s fat mass changes more drastically from its homeostatic fat-mass weight-the hormonal reaction will proportionally change drastically in an attempt to bring the fat mass back into its normal range.
More or less linear response.

When fat mass reduces beyond the person’s normal fat-mass fluctuation (homeostatic)-the automatic reduction in leptin will occurs and this will lead to increased appetite, preservation of energy and will direct metabolism toward fat synthesis.
In addition, further reduction of the fat mass will lead to reduction of leptin which will sacrifice immune system because leptin regulates immune response to infections.
Reduction of leptin will raise appetite beyond the control and further directing metabolism toward energy conservation and fat synthesis.
Most people will succumbs to the hunger and partially increases their caloric intake.
The hormonal state will quickly force person to gain back all the fat he lost, while his transformed metabolism will continue with it’s momentum toward weight gain, even without raising his caloric intake completely back up to what it was before person began the calorie restriction.
Reduced caloric intake will elevated ghrelin levels, increasing hanger and further directing one’s metabolism toward fat synthesis, compounding the exact same effect of reduced leptin. Additionally, elevated ghrelin will heighten the secretion of the gastric acid in pancreatic enzymes increasing energy absorption. in another words, one absorbs the greater than normal percentage of calories out of the food digested- sometimes one may eat half of the calories that he or she was accustomed to yet not lose any weight.

Too much of ghrelin over a prolong time period increases the number of fat cells. That resets the homeostatic fat-mass set point to a heavier level.
Increase in ghrelin increases the number of fat cells, thereby resetting the homeostatic fat- mass set point to higher levels.
Fat cells “feel” empty unless fat mass is raised proportionally to the higher number of fat cells.
The nature of empty fat cells is that they release lesser quantities of leptin, which directs metabolism and hanger to increase fat mass until the fat cells “feel” satisfied.

Restriction of the calories can lead to weight gain:
1.Increase ghelin: restricting calories and increases ghrelin, which leads to hunger, fat-synthesizing metabolism and more efficient extraction of nutrients from the digested food.