Most of the functions of our body are governed by messengers whose functioning depends a lot on food choices
Often we look at what we eat only in terms of calories, at most we go so far as to consider the contents in macronutrients such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, we rarely think of mineral salts, vitamins or other micronutrients. But power is much more than that, because everything we send already affects the body’s hormonal balance and therefore has cascading effects on how organs and tissues work, on health, on how we feel.
Water and vasopressin
Food directly affects metabolism, which is the “translation” of how hormones modify proteins, lipids and sugars into everything the body needs, explains Annamaria Colao, president of the Italian Society of Endocrinology and neuroendocrinologist at the Federico II University of Naples. Everything we eat therefore induces a hormonal change, which occurs even when we drink a glass of water: introducing liquids causes a distension of the receptors in the carotid glomus (a small mass of receptors inside the carotid arteries, capable of sensing changes in the composition of the blood and also in its volume, ed) and this signals the neurohypophysis not to produce a hormone, vasopressin, which serves to save water in the body. When you are well hydrated because you have drunk enough there is no need and vasopressin is reduced, if on the other hand in summer or in the heat you become dehydrated and do not drink enough it is produced in abundance to retain as much water as possible.
Appetite-regulating hormones
In short, food and drinks are hormonal messengers and knowing this can be useful to exploit their properties to our advantage. To lose weight, for example, you need to know how to create the balance between hunger and satiety, all dependent on hormones that also depend directly on what we eat: The hormones that regulate appetite are mainly ghrelin and leptinsays Colao. The first is released by the mucous membrane of the stomach when there is a reduced food intake, especially glucose, which signals the brain a condition of energy deficit by stimulating the sense of hunger. Leptin, on the other hand, is produced by adipose tissue following meals, if there is an excess of energy intake and in case of reduced physical activity: it signals that we have many energy reserves available and therefore stimulates the sense of satiety. If too much adipose tissue accumulates, in case of overweight or obesity, it develops due to a resistance of the tissues to leptin which makes it even more difficult to lose weight.
Cholecystokinin quality fats
An adequate intake of fat therefore should not be demonized, because it promotes the increase of leptin and helps you stay full longer. and thus to contain the caloric intake: fat free does not serve in short, if anything appropriate choose the quality of the fats well as the endocrinologist points out: Extra virgin olive oil, for example, is excellent for reaching the fat quota, because despite being caloric, it is rich in anti-inflammatory and anti-aging substances. The lipids also satiate thanks to the action of cholecystokinin, a hormone that promotes the release of bile from the gallbladder to absorb fats but which also slows down the emptying of the stomach, giving a more pronounced sense of fullness.
Protein, insulin and testosterone
Other essential components of a weight loss regimen are proteins: they stimulate the production of insulin, growth hormone and testosterone, all hormones that facilitate the maintenance of muscle mass. Because the effectiveness of a weight loss diet is all measured on the ability not to lose muscle, as Colao specifies: The problem of most people who go on a diet is the yo-yo effect or the recovery, often with interests, all the pounds lost. The weight swing is inevitable if you think you can lose weight only by tightening the belt, without exercising: by eating only less and reducing caloric intake, the hormonal signals lower the basal metabolism, what is needed to make the body-machine work to a minimum, and at the same time we do not move, also the muscle tissue, our main one, is consumed central energy use. You lose weight, therefore, but also lean mass; then when you start eating normally again, if you continue to remain sedentary, fat is deposited in the muscles which gradually become less efficient. The pounds increase, but it will be even more difficult to lose them because untrained, fat-packed muscles make you pant after just two steps: a vicious circle that over the years makes you gain weight beyond the starting point.
Yo-yo effect and physical activity
The yo-yo effect is broken with physical activity associated with a weight loss regime that always provides a good supply of proteins: they give the hormonal signal of “building” the muscles and are essential for healthy weight loss, because it is the muscles that burn the energy introduced as fats and carbohydrates. The body is a car, we have to give it gasoline but we have to use it to move or it gets flooded. When exercising, muscles also use carbohydrates as a source of energy, but if the low-calorie diet the lipids are metabolized and used as gasoline., promoting weight loss. The usefulness of fats and proteins in balanced weight loss regimes does not mean that carbohydrates should be banned as often happens, because these nutrients also give important hormonal signals.
The role of carbohydrates
Carbohydrates affect the hormones that regulate blood sugars, that is, insulin, which favors its consumption in the tissues and therefore has a hypoglycemic effect, and glucagon which has the opposite action; in the intestine, carbohydrates produce other hormones, incretins, which in turn regulate the insulin-glucagon circuit. Incretins also favor the sense of satiety, on the center of hunger in the brain and also at the level of the stomach because they slow down gastric movements by increasing the sense of fullness, says Colao. It is therefore unwise to eliminate carbohydrates, because in addition to being ready-to-use energy they serve to maintain the delicate balance of appetite; what matters is choosing them well, preferring those complex ones from whole grains because they are absorbed slowly and do not lead to insulin peaks which in the long run can decompensate glucose metabolism, favoring overweight and diabetes.
October 11, 2021 (change October 11, 2021 | 18:35)
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