What is Ghrelin?
An article appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine this week that was a blockbuster of importance to our society, 63% of whom are overweight. What the scourge of cigarettes was to the 1900’s, obesity promises to be in the century of 2000. As our labor saving devices and sedentary lifestyle in front of computers continues, the average weight of the American citizen continues to increase and the percentage overweight individuals continue, to increase. The epidemic of heart disease, hypertension, high blood cholesterols and diabetes is coming at us like a tidal wave. Anyone who has ever tried the diet and exercise program that we all “should” adhere to knows that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to institute and maintain. We are continuously bombarded with admonitions, advice, and then loads of guilt because the overweight individual somehow continues to struggle. The article mentioned above clarifies the problem of our overweight society yearning to be thin. All those peo
Ghrelin is a hormone created by P/D1 cells, which are found in the stomach lining. Ghrelin is also found in smaller amounts in the pituitary gland, hypothalamus, kidney, and placenta. In addition, it is created by a small number of neurons located in the arcuate nucleas. Ghrelin is known to encourage the secretion of growth hormones from the anterior pituitary gland. This is because the anterior pituitary gland contains special ghrelin receptors, which were discovered before ghrelin itself ever was. For this reason, the ghrelin receptor is also referred to as the growth hormone secretagoue receptor (GHS-R). In addition to the anterior pituitary gland, ghrelin receptors are also found in the heart, hypothalamus, and adipose tissue. Ghrelin is also responsible for stimulating the appetite and has been found to increase the appetite before eating and to decrease it afterward. In laboratory tests, humans who were injected with ghrelin reported an increase in hunger. In addition, research s
Recent research has uncovered a hormone that has gone un noticed until now 1. Ghrelin is a hormone that is secreted by the stomach. It appears to have to primary functions as far as they can tell. The first being hunger. It is part of what makes us feel hungry or satisfied. And interestingly enough it is released in a time dependant manner. Right around “meal time” it is released and signals us to eat. Did you ever wonder why you can tell when it is lunch time without a clock? Well now you know. The other and lesser understood mechanism of weight control seems to be regulation of metabolic rate. As we lose weight, resting levels of Ghrelin increase, making us feel more hungry all the time and reducing caloric expenditure. This would put some credit to the “Set Point” theory. The set point theory states that your body has a weight that it likes to be at and will fight to stay there. It is really hard to believe because we can put on weight like there is no tomorrow and on average, we ga
