best way to use this hormone as a

bolic rate that is stuck in slow motion

Leptin is so named from the Greek“leptos,” which means thin. The hor-mone lives up to its name. Thehunger hormone “has far-reachingphysiological effects on both foodintake and energy expenditure,” Dr.Steven Heymsfield, a professor ofmedicine at Columbia University inNew York City, tells ABC News.

Meanwhile, in the area of clin-ical research, no less a publica-tion than the Journal of theAmerican Medical Association hasreported on the leptin-weight lossconnection. In a randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled, multicen-ter study, conducted from April1997 to October 1998, it was

found that weight loss “increasedwith increasing doses of leptinamong all subjects.”

At the highest leptin dose, morethan 95 percent of the subjects’weight loss was from fat. No clinicallysignificant adverse effects wereobserved on major organ systems.

“A dose-response relationship withweight and fat loss was observed,” theresearchers say. “Based on this study,administration of exogenous leptinappears to induce weight loss in someobese subjects…”

Manufactured in the fat cells, lep-tin tells the brain whether the bodyhas sufficient energy stores, or fat.

The hormone sends satiety signals tothe hypothalamus—the brain’s eatingcontrol center—and tells us when wecan stop eating, says Dr. Julio Licinio,a professor of psychiatry and medi-cine at the University of CaliforniaLos Angeles School of Medicine.

Dr. Licinio’s own recent dramaticstudy demonstrates how powerful lep-tin is to control our cravings for food.

Hormone Leads to DramaticWeight Loss for Three Cousins

Almost everyone produces leptin—that is, almost everyone but for threeTurkish cousins: Bayrum Donsek, ElifFakili, and Zeynep Fakili. These threefrom Turkey are the only knownadults in the world to possess the

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Volume 7, Number 7/ The Doctors’ Prescription for Healthy Living 33

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 pay attention to leptin because of its critical role in role in r fat losfat losf s.

Leptin Weight-loss Breakthrough

This is what we at Healthy Living have discovered aboutLepti-Trim with leptin:

• Used at the right time (lunch and dinner) you will be lesslikely to overeat.

•In particular you will lose your craving for chocolate and other sweets (leptin blunts the craving for carbohydrates).

• You must take two to thYou must take two to thY ree capsules. The leptin product we used (Lepti-Trim) is relatively fast acting.

• There is no stimulant feeling as with other weight-loss products.

Mastering Leptin—Appetite Hormone Spurs DramaticWeightLossAppetite Hormone Spurs DramaticWeightLossAppetite Hormone Spurs

continued on next page

Leptin, 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 it travels to the brain and other 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 worse physical health than a lifetime of worse physical health than a lifetime of smoking, poverty, or drinking (American Journal of Public Health, 2002).Journal of Public Health, 2002).

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genetic mutation that renders themleptin-deficient—and the conse-quences have been devastating,reports ABC News.

“In the absence of leptin, the brainnever receives the message that thebody has sufficient food, believing itto be in a constant state of starvation.For this reason, the Turkish familymembers have demonstrated vora-cious appetites, eating and eatingthemselves up to weights rangingfrom 235 pounds to more than 300pounds, yet never feeling full.”

Dr. Licinio flew the relatives fromtheir isolated village to the Universityof California Los Angeles to participatein clinical trials funded by the NationalInstitutes of Health. Every day for 10months, the cousins received leptininjections while researchers trackedevery system in their bodies to recordthe effects of the hormone injections.

The results have been dramatic,says Dr. Licinio. So dramatic that thesame individuals who required twoseats each for their journey toAmerica will soon return home inone regular seat each.

“The researchers did not instructthe subjects to eat more or less ofanything, but because leptin affectsappetite,” explains Dr. Licinio, “thesubjects spontaneously began to feelmuch less hungry.

“In addition, leptin stimulatesphysical activity, so their activity lev-els increased as well,” continues Dr.Licinio. They began to slowly loseweight, and over time, the weight justkept dropping off—half of it gone inless than one year.

More Leptin BenefitsRecently, the taste organ was found tobe one of the peripheral targets forleptin. The hormone specificallyinhibits sweet taste responses in leanmice. Thus, leptin appears to act as amodulator of sweet taste. PurdueUniversity Professor Ki-Han Kim is inthe 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 onthe ob gene and leptin thus far haveassumed that the protein acts by caus-ing a hormonal response in the brain,causing the body to feel satiated.

Kim, of Purdue’s Department ofBiochemistry, has discovered thatthese findings are only partly correct.He was able to show that productionin fat cells also was slowed by leptin.The finding gives scientists the firstindication that leptin suppresses bio-chemical reactions in fat cells with-out the participation of the brain.

When researchers injected labora-tory mice with leptin, previouslyobese mice became as thin as rodenttrack stars. “It’s true that the animalisn’t eating as much when it is givenleptin,” Kim says. “But that doesn’tmean that the brain is initiating this.Whenever we eat, we alter the hor-monal status of the body. The bodyhas to tell its various parts to do some-thing with this food that has beeningested. When leptin inhibits fat syn-thesis, it causes the body to have extrafood in its system, which causes thehormonal system to send a messageback to the brain saying that the bodyis satiated and to stop eating.

“So leptin’s interaction in the brainisn’t the whole story,” says the Purdueresearcher. “Leptin also appears to actvia pathways that are independent ofthe brain. My thinking is that it worksby inhibiting the synthesis of fat in fatcells and increasing the burning of fatin muscle cells. It works at an enzy-matic, cellular level.”

Kim has found that the ob genecauses the muscle cells to produceleptin and suppresses a gene that pro-duces an enzyme known as acetyl-CoA carboxylase, or ACC, which isessential for fat production. Not onlywill this new information speed theprocess of delivering a pharmaceuti-cal product to consumers, it providesscientific credibility to the new leptinsupplements such as Lepti-Trim.

34 The Doctors’ Prescription for Healthy Living / Volume 7, Number 7

Appetite Hormone Spurs Dramatic Weight Loss continued from page 33

Leptin FAQsWhat is leptin?Leptin is a small peptide hormonethat determines the quantity of foodwe consume. When leptin levels arehigh, appetite is reduced and energyexpenditure 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 thehypothalamus region of the brain.When levels are low, the body iswarned of limited energy supplies. If levels are high, the hypothalamussenses the body as being over-weight. This causes us to eat lessand 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 triglyceridesand causes an increase in fat burn-ing. The inhibition of acetyl-CoAencourages the mobilization of fattyacids from storage sites and simulta-neously discourages synthesis.

What is the role of supplemental leptin for dieters?As people lose weight, their leptinlevels naturally decline, causingdieters to reach a plateau. “Thelower leptin levels associated withdieting are said to make the bodyrespond as if in a period of starva-tion.” Supplemental leptin canreduce appetite, especially for car-bohydrates, and increase energyexpenditure. Leptin can also preventregaining weight. Administering lep-tin decreases cravings and speedsup metabolism to prevent weightfrom returning to set point.

Understanding Leptin-based Supplements

One key to using leptin-based supple-ments is to understand that yourbody secretes leptin in a naturalrhythm. There are times when levelsare high and low.

The idea of using leptin as a sup-plement is to add just enough of thehormone to your system to supportyour body’s natural leptin response.You don’t want to overload the bodywith leptin. It wouldn’t do any good,anyway, so you should probably onlytake leptin during those periods whenlevels are naturally high. On the otherhand, as we diet, our leptin levels getlower and lower, so adding some lep-tin in supplemental form appears tomaintain or extend weight loss.

The feedback mechanisms withleptin are complex. High levels of lep-tin seem to be associated with weightloss, but then the body goes on to pro-duce less leptin, which reduces thechance for any additional weight loss.

A relatively small drop in leptinproduction accompanying weight lossmay be sensed by the homeostaticfeedback system that controls energybalance, with fat mass being increasedin an attempt to restore leptin levels tosome set point, say researchers in theNovember 1, 2001 issue of Nature.

In a sense, leptin may be a criticalaspect of the body’s set point, and itslow levels may be a reason why peo-ple reach a plateau where they justdon’t seem to be able to lose anymore weight, say the researchers.Adding more leptin at this point, atthe right time, could help.

“When a person loses weight, lep-tin concentration in the blood isreduced,” notes researcher JeffreyFriedman, M.D., Ph.D., whose ownclinical studies on leptin are beingdone in association with TheRockefeller University. “Low leptinlevels cause the human body to gothrough changes that reduce the ratethe human body burns its calories.The result is a decrease in the rate ofweight reduction, and increasedappetite. Leptin may be involved inregulation of these processes, andlow leptin levels may explain thehigh failure rate of dieting. Leptin

treatment may change these effectsand result in an increased rate ofweight loss and increase the successof maintaining a reduced weight.”

Leptin levels rise at night, say theauthors of Mastering Leptin. “Theypeak in the evening hours and are thehighest during the first two hours ofsleep.” They reach their lowest levelaround noon, and then begin to riseagain. “When leptin works properly, ahigh leptin level tells a person theyare full and not to eat.”

Enriched Colostrum:Key to Leptin Benefits

Leptin works best when it is part of thewhole package. In this sense, leptin-enriched colostrum, which is already anatural source of leptin, makes themost efficacious choice for the deliveryof this weight-loss molecule. There aretwo very important aspects to the lep-tin-weight connection. In order for thebody to properly utilize leptin, it alsorequires both insulin and insulinlikegrowth factor-1 (IGF-1).

In fact, if you are obese and produc-ing less leptin (as is often the case inoverweight persons), that only is part ofthe puzzle, because the larger part of thepuzzle is that you are also low in IGF-1,says colostrum expert Al Fox, Ph.D.“Without insulin and IGF-1, both ofwhich are present in colostrum, the trig-gers that enable your body to use leptineffectively don’t occur,” he says. “Youneed the combination. Colostrum pro-vides all of the factors that enable thebody to use leptin. In order for the bodyto use leptin, the cells of the pancreasmust first bind to insulin. In order to getthe insulin to bind to the receptors, thebody requires adequate IGF-1. Onlythen will leptin bind effectively to cellreceptors so that you can get the bene-fits of leptin. They’re all interrelated.

Unfortunately, obese persons have farlower levels of IGF-1, so they don’t getthe leptin effect. Because colostrum is asource of both insulin and IGF-1, I call itthe ‘complete package’ for utilizing lep-tin. There’s another advantage.Colostrum provides casein and fat in aformat that ‘shepherds’ the leptinthrough the harsh environment of thegastrointestinal tract into the system.” ❖

REFERENCESHeymsfield, S.B., et al. “Recombinant leptin for

weight loss in obese and lean adults: a random-ized, controlled, dose-escalation trial.” JAMA,1999;282:1568-1575.

“In 51/2 weeks, I have gone from a size 20to a size 15!” writes Michelle Kier, Omaha,Nebraska. “I have noticed several thingswith this product that are very exciting tome. First of all, when I take Lepti-Trim,45 minutes before mealtime with 16ounces of water, my appetite is greatlyreduced and I am eating a lot less. Second,I do not have the strong craving for sweetsthat I used to have, and I find myselfdrinking a lot more water throughout theday. In addition, I actually feel good takingthis product. I feel energized—not a falsesense of energy, like speed, but an alivekind of energy. Lepti-Trim is helpingme to reach my goals in addition to help-ing me improve my overall health as wellas my appearance and confidence.”

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Volume 7, Number 7/ The Doctors’ Prescription for Healthy Living 35

How to Use Lepti-Trim with LeptinLepti-Trim is a leptin-enriched first-milking colostrum-based

weight loss formula. Lepti-Trim can be used as your mainweight 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 Labsfirst milking colostrum products are available through natural health

distributers nationwide. If you have any trouble finding a sourcecall TBR Labs toll-free at (800) 916-3681 or visit www.tbrlabs.net.

If you don’t think Lepti-Trimwith leptin (in a base of leptin-rich colostrum) from TBR Labsis everything we’ve said it is…youshould read the letters we are getting fromusers of this unique weight control for-mula. Take the letter we received fromDoris S., of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

“Just taking the recommended three cap-sules twice a day, I have lost two inchesfrom my waist, two inches from my hips,and an inch from my bust,” says Doris. “Ihave also noticed a tremendous differ-ence in my appetite. If I order a sandwichat a restaurant, I have to bring half of ithome. If I snack while I’m cooking, I’mnot hungry when dinner is ready.”