Pass the Leptin, Please.

Wow! I hadn't realized that it has been five days since my last post. Better get something up here then. Here goes:

This is from an article I read in the January issue of the Stockman Grassfarmer. If you are into real food, or, whole food that is fit to eat, like we are, then you will find this fascinating. I will paraphrase the highlights.

Leptin is kind of like a hormone substance that is emitted by fat deposits in the human body. There are parts of our brain that are sensitive to the Leptin levels in our blood. If Leptin levels are low, our brain tells our body to store fat for energy reserves. If Leptin levels are high, our brain tells our body to stop storing fat because we are getting plenty of nutrition.

Huh? That's what I thought, so don't feel bad. Here is where it gets interesting.

God designed us so that we should have a perfect balance of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's) in our diet. These are in the form of the familiar Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids. The correct balance in the human body is 4 to 1. This is very important when it comes to the function of Leptin.

It is documented that Leptin sensitivity is dependant on Omega 3 levels to work properly. If our body is deficient in Omega 3 the brain will not respond properly to Leptin and will get stuck in the "store fat" mode. Face it, our bodies are already innundated with fat deposition due to high carbs and other dietary fats.

Our bodies have suffered the most since the industiral revolution which brought on commodity beef and other foods. The difference is the switch from grass fed and finished to all grain or mostly grain.

You see, there is more and more research proving that grass fed beef and lamb and chicken are high in Omega 3's. Our grandparents ate grass fed animals and had a better functionality of Leptin because of higher Omega 3 from the grass.

Omega 6 fatty acids are found primarily in the grain fed animals. This "non-balance" has stripped us from the Omega 3's we need.

The Leptin problem has been implicated in the obesity problem in the USA. Leptin, however, is also the solution. Diets that are properly aligned with EFA's, can cause people to burn fat. Burning fat without starvation, that is.

I hope you find this as fascinating as I did. Thanks for reading.

(If you would like to find out more on this and other topics, vist Jo Robinson's website at: www.eatwild.com).