Dopamine Part 3 - How Does Dopamine Affect Us?

Hormones and Obesity

As we get older, dieting will almost always get harder. This is because we’re losing our brainpower that controls hormone production, and hormones play a critical role in weight control. One prominent hormone is insulin, which helps the body turn food into fuel. Insulin is created in the pancreas along with glucagon and somatostatin, two other hormones that aid in digestion and support our metabolism. Incretin is a bioidentical form of glucagon stimulation for the pancreas and blood sugar reversal. Growth hormone or insulin-like growth factor 1 will accomplish the goals of somatostatin. In the end both hormones have amazing effects on weight loss (as much as 10 to 15 pounds a year), with improvement in metabolism, appetite reduction, increase in muscle mass, and better blood sugar regulation.

Hormones Help Control Addiction

The loss of brainpower and subsequent food addiction is your obesity code; your brain is sending signals to choose junk foods to feed your energy needs. Meanwhile, your body’s metabolism slows, meaning you process all this extra food at a slower rate, leading to more weight gain and fatigue. Over time, you might start looking for other ways to boost your energy, substituting other addictions for food including cigarettes,  recreational drugs (such as cocaine or crystal meth), or prescription medications.

Leptin

The hormone leptin is also important for beating obesity. Leptin is secreted by the fat tissue in our bodies and regulates our appetite. The more leptin present, the less hungry we are. It may be possible that our appetite was established in our brains just after birth and may then be set for the rest of our lives. The amount of leptin in our systems in those first few weeks of life is controlled by genetics, not by what we are fed.

Natural Treatments

While increasing your levels of dopamine is essential, several nutrient supplements can reduce total body fat and create a lean body when combined with the proper diet and exercise program.

• Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) facilitates weight loss and reduces the amount of additional fat cells from being deposited in existing body fat.
• Preliminary studies suggest that garcinia cambogia (HCA) may reduce the conversion of carbohydrates into stored fat by inhibiting certain enzyme processes, as well as suppressing appetite and inducing weight loss.
• The precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) has been shown to reduce appetite and to promote weight loss.
• Phenylalanine, a precursor to adrenaline, alleviates obesity by stimulating the body’s brown adipose tissue to “burn up” regular adipose tissue. It also helps to release cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that increases your sensation of fullness.
• 7-KETO is a bioidentical hormone related to dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and may  also work to promote weight loss.
• Essential fatty acids (EFA), such as gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), facilitate weight loss.
• Fish oils facilitate loss of fat, raise serotonin, and decrease appetite.
• Vitamin D and magnesium control metabolic syndromes and help you lose weight.
• Increasing calcium metabolism results in better fat metabolism and helps speed up weight loss.

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