So What is Ghrelin Going for the 3 Increases: Increase in Health, Increase in Happiness

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So What is Ghrelin?Going for the 3 Increases
Increase in Health, Increase in Happiness
Increase in Energy

• Strategies for Success in Weight Management
• By James J. Messina, Ph.D.

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What is Ghrelin

• Hormone secreted by the stomach
• Novel-hormone-releasing peptide found in
  hypothalamus Stomach
• Appetite-stimulating hormone
• Sends feed me messages to brain
• Part of the bodys built-in defense mechanism to
  protect against famine starvation

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Human Ghrelin
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What causes increase in Ghrelin

• Dieting
• Other forms of weight loss
• Normal adaptive function of body to maintain
  itself
• When lose weight-body senses this as famine
• Triggers survival mechanism to keep body weight
  constant
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What happens when Ghrelin Increases?

• Metabolism drops
• Person feels hungry
• Person east more
• Will power can only forestall the urge to eat
  more for only a limited time

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Why Gastric-bypass Surgery Short-circuits Normal
Body Response

• Disables the ghrelin producing cells in stomach
• Cells in stomach that produce ghrelin become
  inactive
• This happens when these cells are no longer
  exposed to food in stomach
• The ghrelin cells go to sleep when deprived
  contact with ingested nutrients

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Research reported in New England Journal of
Medicine May 23, 2002

• Conducted by VA Puget Sound Health Center
  University of Washington led by Dr. David
  Cummings -Endocrinologist
• Compared blood samples after six month period of
  time of two groups of obese patients
• 13 dieters 5 gastric-bypass patients
• Dieters were on low-fat, low-calorie diet

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Findings of Study

• Dieters lost 17 of their body weight but their
  ghrelin level increased 24
• Gastic-bypass patients lost 36 of their body
  weight their ghrelin levels fell 72 lower than
  those in diet group

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Explanation for Difference in Ghrelin Level with
Gastric-bypass

• Objective of Gastric-bypass is to shrink stomach
  to only 5 of original size by rewiring course of
  food through digestive system
• Tiny new stomach pouch can only hold 2 teaspoons
  of food-which travels into first part of small
  intestines
• Permanent absence of food in rest of stomach
  ultimately suppresses ghrelin production

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Future of Weight Loss Efforts

• Development of ghrelin antagonist-to block
  production of ghrelin
• However, such a drug will never be enough since
  we know that Binges are often unrelated to hunger
  or sensation of stomach emptiness but rather to
  environmental cues soooooooo
• Will always need in addition Healthy eating
  physical activity

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More Information on Ghrelin

• Check out the links on Ghrelin under Hot Topics
  on our links section at
• http//www.coping.org/balanced/strategies/resource
  .htmGhrelin