Adiponectin is a peptide which affects both insulin and weight. Once a person starts retaining too many calories by eating junk food or highly processed foods including soft drinks, the pounds pack on around their waist. When a woman has a measurement over 35 inches at her bellybutton level, she has increased abdominal or visceral fat as it is called by doctors. For men, this number is 40 inches.

Adiponectin reduces visceral fat in both sexes. Once the fat starts producing compounds that affect insulin, then the result is  insulin resistance and high bad cholesterol levels. Adiponectin levels can be improved with weight loss, the intake of fish oils and high fiber diets. Fasting, or the avoidance of solid food,  also stimulates adiponectin leading to enhanced insulin sensitivity and weight loss.

Resistin is the peptide secreted by fat cells. Resistin increases the insulin resistance as more fat cells accumulate around a person’s waist. These fat cells secrete leptin, a hormone which determines energy adequacy and regulates appetite. Resistin can create diabetes  and also opposes the action of adiponectin.

High leptin should really improve satisfaction and lead to weight loss because adequate leptin levels stop someone from eating. Unfortunately, that does not happen in overweight people. Their high fat levels and high fat diet raise insulin concentrations. Subsequently leptin and adiponectin exert an insulin-sensitizing effect by favoring the burning of fat tissue. This occurs through the activation of an enzyme that regulates energy . Insulin resistance has been linked to leptin resistance and decreased amounts of adiponectin. In other words, this combination makes most people fat because they cannot stop eating and have no appetite control.

So in summary, Insulin, cortisone and estrogens all increase leptin. On the other hand adrenaline, male hormones and growth hormone decrease leptin. Skinny people have low leptin levels and fat people have high leptin levels but it doesn’t work right. For this reason men can lose weight more easily than women and faster, too.

It is quite obvious why diet pills and steroids are popular weight loss aids for women. Most diet pills are quite dangerous since they only work for a short time and they speed up metabolism artificially leading to high blood pressure, fast heart rate and insomnia.

Read Chapter Ten in The Monterey Diet™ for more about how you can use highly purified pharmaceutical grade fish oils like Nordic Naturals™ or Lovaza® as found in some doctor’s offices. Holistic weight loss is a real possibility. 

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Bastard JP, Maachi M, et al. Recent advances in the relationship between obesity, inflammation, and insulin resistance. Eur Cytokine Netw. 2006 Mar;17(1):4-12.

Heilbronn LK, Campbell LV. Adipose tissue macrophages, low grade inflammation and insulin resistance in human obesity. Curr Pharm Des. 2008;14(12):1225-30