Low-carb Lifestyle
THE LEPTIN CONNECTION
Mastering Leptin—
Appetite Hormone Spurs
DramaticWeight Loss
You heard it here first when we reported on
the weight-loss hormone leptin. We told you to
pay attention to leptin because of its critical
rrole in ffat loss.
L
eptin, a hormone-like messenger
protein is produced in relatively large
amounts by fat tissue and in smaller
amounts by other peripheral organs,
and then secreted into the bloodstream,
where
best wayit travels
to useto this
the brain
hormoneand other
as a
tissues, causing fat loss and decreased
appetite. Recently, the taste organ was
found to be one of the peripheral targets
for leptin; it appears to act as a modulator
of sweet taste.
How important is this? Well, ac-
cording to the Center for Disease Con-
trol (CDC), obesity is now the number
1 health risk facing our society today.
In fact, obesity is associated with higher
rates of chronic medical conditions and
bolic rate that is stuck in slow motion
worse physical health than a lifetime of
smoking, poverty, or drinking (American
Journal of Public Health, 2002).
Leptin is so named from the Greek
“leptos,” which means thin. The hor-
mone lives up to its name. The
hunger hormone “has far-reaching
physiological effects on both food
intake and energy expenditure,” Dr.
Steven Heymsfield, a professor of
medicine at Columbia University in
New York City, tells ABC News.
Meanwhile, in the area of clin-
ical research, no less a publica-
tion than the Journal of the
American Medical Association has
reported on the leptin-weight loss
connection. In a randomized, double
blind, placebo-controlled, multicen-
ter study, conducted from April
1997 to October 1998, it was
found that weight loss “increased
with increasing doses of leptin
among all subjects.”
At the highest leptin dose, more
than 95 percent of the subjects’
weight loss was from fat. No clinically
significant adverse effects were
observed on major organ systems.
“A dose-response relationship with
weight and fat loss was observed,” the
researchers say. “Based on this study,
administration of exogenous leptin
appears to induce weight loss in some
obese subjects…”
Manufactured in the fat cells, lep-
tin tells the brain whether the body
has sufficient energy stores, or fat.
Leptin
Weight-loss Breakthrough
This is what we at Healthy Living have discovered about
Lepti-Trim with leptin:
• Used at the right time (lunch and dinner) you will be less
likely to overeat.
•In particular you will lose your craving for chocolate and other sweets
(leptin blunts the craving for carbohydrates).
• You
Y must take two to three capsules. The leptin product we used
(Lepti-Trim) is relatively fast acting.
• There is no stimulant feeling as with other weight-loss products.
The hormone sends satiety signals to Hormone Leads to Dramatic
the hypothalamus—the brain’s eating Weight Loss for Three Cousins
control center—and tells us when we Almost everyone produces leptin—
can stop eating, says Dr. Julio Licinio, that is, almost everyone but for three
a professor of psychiatry and medi- Turkish cousins: Bayrum Donsek, Elif
cine at the University of California Fakili, and Zeynep Fakili. These three
Los Angeles School of Medicine. from Turkey are the only known
Dr. Licinio’s own recent dramatic adults in the world to possess the
study demonstrates how powerful lep-
tin is to control our cravings for food. continued on next page
Volume 7, Number 7/ The Doctors’ Prescription for Healthy Living 33
 T H E L E P T I N C O N N E CT I O N continued
Leptin FAQs
What is leptin?
Leptin is a small peptide hormone
that determines the quantity of food
we consume. When leptin levels are
high, appetite is reduced and energy
expenditure is increased.
Where is leptin found
in the human body?
Leptin is found in gastric epithe-
lium, placenta and adipose tissue.
It is most abundant in white
adipose tissue
What does leptin do
to promote weight loss?
Leptin binds to receptors in the
hypothalamus region of the brain.
When levels are low, the body is
warned of limited energy supplies.
If levels are high, the hypothalamus
senses the body as being over-
weight. This causes us to eat less
and expend energy.
What are the metabolic
effects of leptin?
Leptin inhibits acetyl-CoA carboxy-
lase, the enzyme required for syn-
thesis of fatty acids and triglycerides
and causes an increase in fat burn-
ing. The inhibition of acetyl-CoA
encourages the mobilization of fatty
acids from storage sites and simulta-
neously discourages synthesis.
What is the role of
supplemental leptin
for dieters?
As people lose weight, their leptin
levels naturally decline, causing
dieters to reach a plateau. “The
lower leptin levels associated with
dieting are said to make the body
respond as if in a period of starva-
tion.” Supplemental leptin can
reduce appetite, especially for car-
bohydrates, and increase energy
expenditure. Leptin can also prevent
regaining weight. Administering lep-
tin decreases cravings and speeds
up metabolism to prevent weight
from returning to set point.
34 The Doctors’ Prescription for Healthy Living / Volume 7, Number 7
Appetite Hormone Spurs
Dramatic Weight Loss continued from page 33
genetic mutation that renders them
leptin-deficient—and the conse-
quences have been devastating,
reports ABC News.
“In the absence of leptin, the brain
never receives the message that the
body has sufficient food, believing it
to be in a constant state of starvation.
For this reason, the Turkish family
members have demonstrated vora-
cious appetites, eating and eating
themselves up to weights ranging
from 235 pounds to more than 300
pounds, yet never feeling full.”
Dr. Licinio flew the relatives from
their isolated village to the University
of California Los Angeles to participate
in clinical trials funded by the National
Institutes of Health. Every day for 10
months, the cousins received leptin
injections while researchers tracked
every system in their bodies to record
the effects of the hormone injections.
The results have been dramatic,
says Dr. Licinio. So dramatic that the
same individuals who required two
seats each for their journey to
America will soon return home in
one regular seat each.
“The researchers did not instruct
the subjects to eat more or less of
anything, but because leptin affects
appetite,” explains Dr. Licinio, “the
subjects spontaneously began to feel
much less hungry.
“In addition, leptin stimulates
physical activity, so their activity lev-
els increased as well,” continues Dr.
Licinio. They began to slowly lose
weight, and over time, the weight just
kept dropping off—half of it gone in
less than one year.
More Leptin Benefits
Recently, the taste organ was found to
be one of the peripheral targets for
leptin. The hormone specifically
inhibits sweet taste responses in lean
mice. Thus, leptin appears to act as a
modulator of sweet taste. Purdue
University Professor Ki-Han Kim is in
the forefront of such research on lep-
tin. His research provides new infor-
mation about how this weight-reduc-
ing protein works.
All of the reports and research on
the ob gene and leptin thus far have
assumed that the protein acts by caus-
ing a hormonal response in the brain,
causing the body to feel satiated.
Kim, of Purdue’s Department of
Biochemistry, has discovered that
these findings are only partly correct.
He was able to show that production
in fat cells also was slowed by leptin.
The finding gives scientists the first
indication that leptin suppresses bio-
chemical reactions in fat cells with-
out the participation of the brain.
When researchers injected labora-
tory mice with leptin, previously
obese mice became as thin as rodent
track stars. “It’s true that the animal
isn’t eating as much when it is given
leptin,” Kim says. “But that doesn’t
mean that the brain is initiating this.
Whenever we eat, we alter the hor-
monal status of the body. The body
has to tell its various parts to do some-
thing with this food that has been
ingested. When leptin inhibits fat syn-
thesis, it causes the body to have extra
food in its system, which causes the
hormonal system to send a message
back to the brain saying that the body
is satiated and to stop eating.
“So leptin’s interaction in the brain
isn’t the whole story,” says the Purdue
researcher. “Leptin also appears to act
via pathways that are independent of
the brain. My thinking is that it works
by inhibiting the synthesis of fat in fat
cells and increasing the burning of fat
in muscle cells. It works at an enzy-
matic, cellular level.”
Kim has found that the ob gene
causes the muscle cells to produce
leptin and suppresses a gene that pro-
duces an enzyme known as acetyl-
CoA carboxylase, or ACC, which is
essential for fat production. Not only
will this new information speed the
process of delivering a pharmaceuti-
cal product to consumers, it provides
scientific credibility to the new leptin
supplements such as Lepti-Trim.
 T H E L E P T I N C O N N E CT I O N continued
Understanding
Leptin-based Supplements
One key to using leptin-based supple-
ments is to understand that your
body secretes leptin in a natural
rhythm. There are times when levels
are high and low.
The idea of using leptin as a sup-
plement is to add just enough of the
hormone to your system to support
your body’s natural leptin response.
You don’t want to overload the body
with leptin. It wouldn’t do any good,
anyway, so you should probably only
take leptin during those periods when
levels are naturally high. On the other
hand, as we diet, our leptin levels get
lower and lower, so adding some lep-
tin in supplemental form appears to
maintain or extend weight loss.
The feedback mechanisms with
leptin are complex. High levels of lep-
tin seem to be associated with weight
loss, but then the body goes on to pro-
duce less leptin, which reduces the
chance for any additional weight loss.
A relatively small drop in leptin
production accompanying weight loss
may be sensed by the homeostatic
feedback system that controls energy
balance, with fat mass being increased
in an attempt to restore leptin levels to
some set point, say researchers in the
November 1, 2001 issue of Nature.
In a sense, leptin may be a critical
aspect of the body’s set point, and its
low levels may be a reason why peo-
ple reach a plateau where they just
don’t seem to be able to lose any
more weight, say the researchers.
Adding more leptin at this point, at
the right time, could help.
“When a person loses weight, lep-
tin concentration in the blood is
reduced,” notes researcher Jeffrey
Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., whose own
clinical studies on leptin are being
done in association with The
Rockefeller University. “Low leptin
levels cause the human body to go
through changes that reduce the rate
the human body burns its calories.
The result is a decrease in the rate of
weight reduction, and increased
appetite. Leptin may be involved in
regulation of these processes, and
low leptin levels may explain the
high failure rate of dieting. Leptin
If you don’t think Lepti-Trim
with leptin (in a base of leptin-
treatment may change these effects rich colostrum) from TBR Labs
and result in an increased rate of is everything we’ve said it is…you
should read the letters we are getting from
weight loss and increase the success
users of this unique weight control for-
of maintaining a reduced weight.” mula. Take the letter we received from
Leptin levels rise at night, say the Doris S., of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
authors of Mastering Leptin. “They
peak in the evening hours and are the “Just taking the recommended three cap-
highest during the first two hours of sules twice a day, I have lost two inches
sleep.” They reach their lowest level from my waist, two inches from my hips,
around noon, and then begin to rise and an inch from my bust,” says Doris. “I
again. “When leptin works properly, a have also noticed a tremendous differ-
ence in my appetite. If I order a sandwich
high leptin level tells a person they
at a restaurant, I have to bring half of it
are full and not to eat.” home. If I snack while I’m cooking, I’m
not hungry when dinner is ready.”
Enriched Colostrum:
Key to Leptin Benefits
“In 5 1/2 weeks, I have gone from a size 20
Leptin works best when it is part of the
to a size 15!” writes Michelle Kier, Omaha,
whole package. In this sense, leptin- Nebraska. “I have noticed several things
enriched colostrum, which is already a with this product that are very exciting to
natural source of leptin, makes the me. First of all, when I take Lepti-Trim,
most efficacious choice for the delivery 45 minutes before mealtime with 16
of this weight-loss molecule. There are ounces of water, my appetite is greatly
two very important aspects to the lep- reduced and I am eating a lot less. Second,
tin-weight connection. In order for the I do not have the strong craving for sweets
that I used to have, and I find myself
body to properly utilize leptin, it also
drinking a lot more water throughout the
requires both insulin and insulinlike day. In addition, I actually feel good taking
growth factor-1 (IGF-1). this product. I feel energized—not a false
In fact, if you are obese and produc- sense of energy, like speed, but an alive
ing less leptin (as is often the case in kind of energy. Lepti-Trim is helping
overweight persons), that only is part of me to reach my goals in addition to help-
the puzzle, because the larger part of the ing me improve my overall health as well
puzzle is that you are also low in IGF-1, as my appearance and confidence.”
says colostrum expert Al Fox, Ph.D.
“Without insulin and IGF-1, both of Unfortunately, obese persons have far
which are present in colostrum, the trig- lower levels of IGF-1, so they don’t get
gers that enable your body to use leptin the leptin effect. Because colostrum is a
effectively don’t occur,” he says. “You source of both insulin and IGF-1, I call it
need the combination. Colostrum pro- the ‘complete package’ for utilizing lep-
vides all of the factors that enable the tin. There’s another advantage.
body to use leptin. In order for the body Colostrum provides casein and fat in a
to use leptin, the cells of the pancreas format that ‘shepherds’ the leptin
must first bind to insulin. In order to get through the harsh environment of the
the insulin to bind to the receptors, the gastrointestinal tract into the system.” ❖
body requires adequate IGF-1. Only REFERENCES
then will leptin bind effectively to cell Heymsfield, S.B., et al. “Recombinant leptin for
weight loss in obese and lean adults: a random-
receptors so that you can get the bene- ized, controlled, dose-escalation trial.” JAMA,
fits of leptin. They’re all interrelated. 1999;282:1568-1575.
How to Use Lepti-Trim with Leptin
Lepti-Trim is a leptin-enriched first-milking colostrum-based
weight loss formula. Lepti-Trim can be used as your main
weight loss formula or to complement other weight loss formu-
las detailed in this issue of Healthy Living.
Availability—Lepti-Trim with leptin and other TBR Labs
first milking colostrum products are available through natural health
distributers nationwide. If you have any trouble finding a source
call TBR Labs toll-free at (800) 916-3681 or visit www.tbrlabs.net.
Volume 7, Number 7/ The Doctors’ Prescription for Healthy Living 35