Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Many will celebrate with sweet treats and decadent deserts. Even if you don’t have a special someone, do something special for yourself anyway.
Before you take the first bite, be sure to check the ingredients for high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and all of it’s aliases: natural corn syrup, isolated fructose, maize syrup, glucose /fructose syrup and tapioca syrup (not from corn, but still fructose). Why? HFCS disrupts the hormone that tells you to stop eating. Leptin is a cell-signaling hormone that regulates appetite, food intake, and energy expenditure. Iit sends signals to the hypothalamus in the brain to help regulate body weight. HFCS disrupts this signal and leads to overeating.
Fructose is processed solely in the liver where is it turned directly into fat, some of which is stored in the liver and over time may lead to fatty liver disease. HFCS is widely used in processed food, not just sweets but unsuspecting items such as ketchup, salad dressings, pasta sauce, beverages, bread, crackers, and even potato chips.
Choose foods that enhance leptin performance by increasing your leptin sensitivity so that your body reacts better to it’s signal. Here are a few foods that will help you increase your leptin sensitivity.
Leptin Enhancing Foods
1. Oatmeal/Steel-Cut Oats
Eating unprocessed oats, steel-cut or meal, is one of the best ways to boost your metabolism and decrease leptin resistance.
2. Grapefruit
Experiments show that eating grapefruit can lower insulin levels. Reduced insulin levels after meals helps your body process food more rapidly and effectively.
3. Apples
Apples are one of the best known whole food sources of pectin, and research suggests that pectin may help battle leptin resistance. Dr. Leonard Galland’s much-acclaimed book, The Fat Resistance Diet: Unlock the Secret of the Hormone Leptin, lists apples as one of the best 30 super foods to help re-establish your body's sensitivity to leptin.
4. Hot Peppers
Hot peppers such as jalapenos contain a chemical called capsaicin, which gives these peppers their spice and heat and cause a rise in metabolism.This chemical also keeps calories burning long after eating.
5. Broccoli
This veggie decreases leptin resistance, and is rich in both vitamin C and calcium which work in conjunction to help you burn calories rapidly and more efficiently. Calcium stimulates your metabolism, while vitamin C facilitates calcium uptake.
6. Fish
The oil present in fish like tuna and salmon has been shown to boost leptin sensitivity levels, regulate energy levels, and help your body metabolize foods more effectively.
7. Almonds
Zinc, protein, essential fats and dietary fibers found in nuts are vital for stimulating leptin production, metabolism, and increasing your satiety. A small amount is all that's needed.
8. Tumeric
The active element in turmeric, curcumin, is known as a natural remedy for everything from allergies to arthritis, and now studies suggest that is also enhances leptin sensitivity. Other foods that increase leptin sensitivity include spirulina, sesame seeds/meal, eggs, olive oil, and other watery fruits and vegetables like watermelon, berries, lettuce and raw zucchini. Like those listed above, these foods will be found primarily in their natural organic state and not processed into a “food product.”
Additionally, scientists have discovered that about half of all commercial HFCS is contaminated with mercury. So remember to show your body some love. Schedule your next appointment by calling us at 213. 213. 9414 or by emailing us at info@essentialblu.com.
Sources: Foods that Increase Leptin Sensitivity, The Many Names of High Fructose Corn Syrup, Dr. Andrea Middleton
Before you take the first bite, be sure to check the ingredients for high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and all of it’s aliases: natural corn syrup, isolated fructose, maize syrup, glucose /fructose syrup and tapioca syrup (not from corn, but still fructose). Why? HFCS disrupts the hormone that tells you to stop eating. Leptin is a cell-signaling hormone that regulates appetite, food intake, and energy expenditure. Iit sends signals to the hypothalamus in the brain to help regulate body weight. HFCS disrupts this signal and leads to overeating.
Fructose is processed solely in the liver where is it turned directly into fat, some of which is stored in the liver and over time may lead to fatty liver disease. HFCS is widely used in processed food, not just sweets but unsuspecting items such as ketchup, salad dressings, pasta sauce, beverages, bread, crackers, and even potato chips.
Choose foods that enhance leptin performance by increasing your leptin sensitivity so that your body reacts better to it’s signal. Here are a few foods that will help you increase your leptin sensitivity.
Leptin Enhancing Foods
1. Oatmeal/Steel-Cut Oats
Eating unprocessed oats, steel-cut or meal, is one of the best ways to boost your metabolism and decrease leptin resistance.
2. Grapefruit
Experiments show that eating grapefruit can lower insulin levels. Reduced insulin levels after meals helps your body process food more rapidly and effectively.
3. Apples
Apples are one of the best known whole food sources of pectin, and research suggests that pectin may help battle leptin resistance. Dr. Leonard Galland’s much-acclaimed book, The Fat Resistance Diet: Unlock the Secret of the Hormone Leptin, lists apples as one of the best 30 super foods to help re-establish your body's sensitivity to leptin.
4. Hot Peppers
Hot peppers such as jalapenos contain a chemical called capsaicin, which gives these peppers their spice and heat and cause a rise in metabolism.This chemical also keeps calories burning long after eating.
5. Broccoli
This veggie decreases leptin resistance, and is rich in both vitamin C and calcium which work in conjunction to help you burn calories rapidly and more efficiently. Calcium stimulates your metabolism, while vitamin C facilitates calcium uptake.
6. Fish
The oil present in fish like tuna and salmon has been shown to boost leptin sensitivity levels, regulate energy levels, and help your body metabolize foods more effectively.
7. Almonds
Zinc, protein, essential fats and dietary fibers found in nuts are vital for stimulating leptin production, metabolism, and increasing your satiety. A small amount is all that's needed.
8. Tumeric
The active element in turmeric, curcumin, is known as a natural remedy for everything from allergies to arthritis, and now studies suggest that is also enhances leptin sensitivity. Other foods that increase leptin sensitivity include spirulina, sesame seeds/meal, eggs, olive oil, and other watery fruits and vegetables like watermelon, berries, lettuce and raw zucchini. Like those listed above, these foods will be found primarily in their natural organic state and not processed into a “food product.”
Additionally, scientists have discovered that about half of all commercial HFCS is contaminated with mercury. So remember to show your body some love. Schedule your next appointment by calling us at 213. 213. 9414 or by emailing us at info@essentialblu.com.
Sources: Foods that Increase Leptin Sensitivity, The Many Names of High Fructose Corn Syrup, Dr. Andrea Middleton
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