Visualization for Weight Loss -The Gabriel Method

Appendix: The Chemistry of the FAT Programs

being that most overweight people do not have significantly ele- vated cortisol levels. However, the relationship between elevated cortisol levels and leptin resistance extends beyond plasma corti- sol levels. Cortisol levels can be elevated intracellularly. Elevated corti- sol levels within the cells may not show up in a blood, saliva, or urine test, causing professionals to discount this relationship too quickly. The 11-beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase-1 enzyme (11-BHSD-1), present in some fat, liver, and brain cells, converts inactive cortisone to active cortisol, increasing the cortisol levels inside the cell. 16 The over expression of the 11-BHSD-1 enzyme can cause a kind of intracellular hypercortisolism. Studies have shown the 11-BHSD-1 enzyme is very active in the fat cells of most obese people. 17 Studies with mice have also demonstrated that, when this enzyme is overly active, obesity and leptin resistance will result. 18 What causes the body to acti- vate this enzyme is a question that many experts are now trying to answer. Researchers today, backed by substantial funding, are targeting this enzyme as a potential obesity treatment. Because of this enzyme, many people are now calling central obesity “Cushing’s Syndrome of the fat cells.” 19 Leptin Resistance and Triglycerides An interesting study conducted in 2004 showed that triglycerides can cause a type of leptin resistance by binding to leptin in the blood stream and preventing it from crossing the blood–brain barrier. 20 As a result, the brain gets an inaccurate assessment of the actual amount of leptin that is circulating in the blood stream. Since many of the leptin receptors in the brainstem exist before the blood–brain barrier, this is clearly not the only mechanism at play. Nonetheless, it would certainly have some affect on the brain’s energy homeostasis regulation and could easily cause a set-point shift. Insulin Resistance and Leptin Resistance Insulin resistance and leptin resistance are also highly correlated in obesity. While leptin resistance can cause insulin resistance,

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