Visualization for Weight Loss -The Gabriel Method

Appendix: The Chemistry of the FAT Programs

towards being fatter, and consequently, the relevant areas of the brain and body have become more leptin resistant.

FAT Program Triggers The question then becomes, what causes our set-point to shift and what causes our bodies to become more or less sensitive to leptin? In other words, what controls the FAT Programs? There are a number of chemical and hormonal signals that can cause or influence leptin resistance. Among them are: • Chronically elevated cortisol levels (either plasma cortisol 9 levels or intracellularly, in adipose tissue 10 ) • Elevated triglycerides 11 • Insulin resistance 12 • Proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor- alpha (TNF-alpha), Interluken-6, and c-reactive protein 13 Cortisol and Leptin Resistance The relationship between cortisol and leptin resistance is unde- niable. A condition called Cushing’s Syndrome causes chroni- cally elevated levels of cortisol in the blood stream. People who suffer from Cushing’s Syndrome are characteristically obese and have leptin resistance. 14 Similarly, people who take medication which artificially elevates cortisol levels are also characteristically obese and have leptin resistance. However, when they stop tak- ing the medication, the situation reverses. The relationship between cortisol and leptin resistance goes even further. Adrenalectimized rats have no adrenal glands and are incapable of producing cortisol. These rats do not easily get fat nor will they become leptin resistant. Administering cortisol intravenously to adrenalectimized rats will cause them to gain weight and to become leptin resistant in a dose-dependent fashion. 15 That is, the more cortisol they are given over time, the fatter and more leptin resistant they will become. While the relationship between cortisol and leptin resistance is widely acknowledged, it is frequently discounted. The reasons

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