How Hormones Control Hunger, Eating & Satiety

This episode I discuss how hormones from our gut, liver, pancreas and brain control our appetite--and the specific tools we can use to adjust those hormones in order to achieve specific goals. I explain the brain areas that control our desire to eat, and our desire to stop eating. I discuss a hormone we all can make that is regulated by UV-rays from sunlight that reduces our appetite. I also explain that when we eat controls our appetite and not the other way around (and how to leverage that fact). I describe how we are basically always eating until we reach a threshold level of fatty acids and amino acids in our gut and the factors that can alter that signaling and make us eat far more than we need. I also explain how insulin, glucose and glucagon work, why cholesterol is so key for ovary, adrenal, liver and testes function and how the ketogenic diet impacts glucose and thyroid levels. As always, I describe many tools: specific supplements, prescription compounds, specific types (and timing) of exercise to regulate hormones, specific timing and types of eating, ways to reduce sugar cravings by triggering release of the hormone CCK, and more.

Note: A future episode will cover Thyroid hormone. Also, I mis-spoke when explaining POMC neurons. I said “P-M-O-C” but should have said “POMC”. Apologies. The name I gave for what POMC is, however, was correct: "proopiomelanocortin".

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:06:59) Hunger: Neural & Hormonal Control

(00:08:32) Chewing & Hunger

(00:11:05) Siamese Rats Reveal the Importance of Hormones In Hunger

(00:13:08) Neurons That Powerfully Control Hunger by Releasing Specific Hormones

(00:16:28) Anorexia & Extreme Overeating

(00:16:57) Why Sunlight Suppresses Hunger: a-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (a -MSH)

(00:20:03) Blue-blockers, Injecting a-MSH: Instant Tan & Priapism

(00:22:30) Ghrelin: A Hormone That Determines When You Get Hungry, & That You Can Control

(00:24:40) Meal Timing Determines Hunger, Not the Other Way Around

(00:27:20) Satchin Panda, Circadian Eating & Intermittent(ish) Fasting

(00:29:35) How To Rationally Adjust Meal Schedules: The 45min Per Day Rule

(00:33:02) CCK (Cholecystokinin): A Hormone In Your Gut That Says “No Mas!”

(00:34:55) Eating For Amino Acids, Fatty Acids & Sugar

(00:39:05) L-Glutamine: Stimulates the Immune System & Reduces Sugar Cravings

(00:43:42) Things To Avoid: Emulsifiers; Alter Gut Mucosa & Nutrient Sensing

(00:49:32) “A Calorie Is NOT A Calorie” After All

(00:52:36) Insulin & Glucose: Hyperglycemia, Euglycemia, & Hypogylcemia

(00:56:12) The Order Your Eat Foods Matters: Managing Your Blood Glucose & Glucagon

(01:02:40) Movement, Exercise & GLUT-4

(01:04:50) Why Sugar Stimulates Your Appetite

(01:05:40) Keeping Blood Sugar Stable With Specific Exercises, The Power Of Insulin Sensitivity

(01:07:55) High-Intensity Exercise, Glycogen & Metabolism

(01:10:28) Cholesterol, HDL, LDL & Glucose Management: Ovaries, Testes, Liver, Adrenals

(01:15:00) Prescription Compounds That Reduce Blood Glucose: Metformin

(01:16:45) Berberine: A Potent Glucose Buffer That Also Adjusts Cholesterol Levels, Canker Sores

(01:22:05) Chromium, L-Carnitine, Ginseng, Caffeine, Magnesium, Stevia, Vitamin B3, & Zinc

(01:24:34) Acids: Vinegar, Lemons & Limes & False Alkalinity

(01:26:40) Ketogenic Diets (In Brief): Effects On Blood Glucose, Thyroid Hormones

(01:28:10) Diabetes, Filtering Blood, Sweet Urine

(01:31:08) The Power of GLP-1 & Yerba Mate For Controlling Appetite, Electrolytes

(01:35:19) Summary & Notes About Thyroid, Estrogen, Testosterone

(01:37:20) Zero Cost & Sponsor-Based Ways To Support The Huberman Lab Podcast