Does Lo-carb WOE empower Leptin effect?

PaulaKro

Ghrelin - hormone to increase hunger
Leptin - hormone to cut hunger

I was told that bariatric surgery decreased Ghrelin (after surgery I had no hunger for a year). So I wondered if a Lo-carb WOE blocked Ghrelin, since it feels similar. But the studies I found indicated there was no real correlation between a Lo-carb WOE and a Ghrelin reduction.

Then I wondered if Lo-carb increased Leptin and found a blog ("Leptin, low-carb and hunger" by Michael Eades) that says the triglyceride reduction enables Leptin to cross the BBB (blood brain barrier) into the brain.

Is this a credible explanation for why a Lo-carb WOE might reduce cravings? Appreciate your expertise!

Here's a screenshot. (Is it okay to paste links to articles?)

baconslave

Here's a screenshot. (Is it okay to paste links to articles?)

Yep!

kpk54

Dr. Stephan Guyenet (PhD) is a neuro-scientist who studies obesity. He has a few youtube videos on the subject of leptin/leptin resistance. If you have not listened to his videos you might find them interesting. I encourage watching them and visiting his website.

Some of his other youtube videos are broader in nature-along the lines of his book The Hungry Brain: Outsmarting the Instincts that Make Us Overeat.

PaulaKro

baconslave wrote: »

Here's a screenshot. (Is it okay to paste links to articles?)

Yep!

Thank you @baconslave - here's the link:

https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2007/06/17/leptin-low-carb-and-hunger/

PaulaKro

Thank you for the lead, @kpk54.

nvmomketo

Interesting.

Some think that higher protein intake is responsible for lowered appetite, but that does not explain it for those who only swapped carbs for fat with little to no protein change.

For me, I think it has to do with blood glucose swings. I had reactive hypoglycaemia, so when I ate carbs my BG would go up, then insulin would do too much and within 2 hours my BG would fall lower than where I started. The falling BG made me weak, headachy and hangry, so I ate again.

Now, my brain is getting a steady supply of ketones so even if my BG is dropping, it does not create uncomfortable signals that I should eat because it has a steady energy source.... Just my theory.

I sometimes wonder about people who say their appetite is unaffected by very low carb. I wonder if they are being truthful with themselves because they don't want to stay low carb. I wonder if volume eating and satiation are actually linked. I also wonder if when they said low carb did nothing for hunger, if they increased salt because low electrolytes can feel like hunger.

I also wonder why I want more when I have carbs, especially refined and processed carbs. If I have one snap pea, I usually want more. If I have one candy, I definitely want more. If I have an egg, I'm usually done. KWIM? Is it that opiate-like effect on the brain or what?

There is so much more they need to research!

baconslave

Well in my case I wanted and did stay low-carb even though I never got appetite suppression. Ok. I had it for about 4 days. Then it left. I only left keto due to my body acting like a complete brat with the Sjogren's symptoms. Had I not developed the syndrome, I would have stayed keto forever, even though I was still always a very hungry caterpillar. As it is, whether keto/carnivore or low/mod carb (I am still between 75-100g most days), I have a huge appetite.

I will say, if we are talking low-carb vs. high-carb, that's a different animal. After a LC meal, I can get full faster than a high-carb meal. There's always room for more carbs, until the stomach is physically so full I'm in pain. Still, even with a LC meal, I'm not full when I should be. It helps to practice mindful eating (aka-slow the hell down) but I still have the appetite to eat more than I need. Even just over 4 years down the LC road. Which is why I have to log forever, because left to my "cues" I still overeat relative to my body's chosen maintenance.

baconslave

PaulaKro wrote: »

Thank you for the lead, @kpk54.

I know, right?
Nice rabbit-hole.

kpk54

I'm pretty certain protein is not my thing in regards to satiation. The 1st 2 years of maintenance, my protein averaged around 30ish+% of my 1500 calories and I was always, always hungry. The next year when I trialed MTKD both carbs and protein were VERY low (20-25% max COMBINED of the 1500) and I was suddenly satiated. I remember it well. The shock and the elation of no longer feeling like I was starving. It's the fat...for me and I will add it is most likely in conjunction with low carb.

From my perspective of not being satiated by protein, I can accept others are not satiated by fat. Or their hunger is sated by carbohydrates. Or volume.

In regards to volume eating I certainly think volume of food adds to satiety. There are receptors in the stomach/intestines for both fullness and nutrients. There are oodles of studies and articles on line regarding this. A search of vagus nerve might start someone in the that direction and down a rabbit hole.

nvmomketo

I wish some of this was more cut and dried. KWIM!? It's quite bizarre how people all react so differently. I'd like to know the science behind why.

For me, a lot of fat or protein usually means I don't wish to eat more. A lot of carbs, depending on the source, means I could eat until uncomfortable, at which time it becomes a volume thing. I think. But I am one who will eat to a stomach ache... I think that is because I was an undiagnosed celiac most of my life so a stomach ache after eating was typically my norm. If I stopped eating when there was pain, I wouldn't have eaten often. my circumstances could be out of the ordinary.

PaulaKro

I want someone to come up with a chemical/organic reaction formula that explains why. There must be a reason that things do what they do. Then again, there's magic... Looking looking looking...