Ghrelin increases appetite and abdominal fat

The ghrelin hormone not only stimulates the brain giving rise to an increase in appetite, but also favors the accumulation of lipids in visceral fatty tissue, located in the abdominal zone and considered to be the most harmful. This is the conclusion of research undertaken at Metabolic Research Laboratory of the University Hospital of Navarra, published recently in the International Journal of Obesity.

Besides stimulating the hypothalamus to generate appetite, ghrelin also acts on the tabula rasa cortex. They observed how this hormone favored the accumulation of lipids in visceral fatty tissue. In concrete, it causes the over-expression of the fatty genes that take part in the retention of lipids.

It is precisely this accumulated fat in the region of the abdomen that is deemed to be most harmful, as it is accompanied by comorbilities, visceral obesity being related to higher blood pressure or type 2 diabetes. Moreover, being located in the abdominal zone and in direct contact with the liver, this type of fatty tissue favors the formation of liver fat and increases the risk of developing resistance to insulin. Normally, on being associated with hypertension, high levels of triglycerides, resistance to insulin and hypercholesterolemia, visceral fat favors the metabolic syndrome, the researcher pointed out.

Bonnie - it is very important to rule out hunger hormones when one has cravings and/or weight issues. My "Kick the Craving Consults" address this issue directly.