Understanding Hunger Hormones: Ghrelin vs. Leptin

Ghrelin and leptin are two of the most important hormones that regulate human hunger and appetite. Learning more about what they are and how they work can help you better understand how your body’s hunger signals can turn your appetite up and down and influence your weight and metabolism. In this article, we will go over each of these hormones and learn how we can influence their levels. 

What are hunger hormones?

Think of hunger hormones as little messengers in your body that signal between your body and brain when you are hungry or full. The two main hunger hormones are ghrelin and leptin. Together, these hormones control a lot of the way your body balances its food intake and metabolism. Levels of these hormones go up and down throughout the day and night, and are influenced by many things, like sleep, exercise, nutrition, and stress. 

Ghrelin: the hunger hormone

Ghrelin is made mostly in the stomach, but also in the small intestines, pancreas and brain. Think of ghrelin as the hormone that tells your brain that it’s time to eat. More than that, it also tells your body to store fat and makes eating more pleasurable. Usually, ghrelin levels drop after eating, but things like stress and sleep deprivation can make levels stay high.

Leptin: the fullness hormone

Leptin, on the other hand, is released by your fat cells into your bloodstream. The main job that leptin does, is to tell your brain that you are full. So it makes sense that it is released by fat cells as the more fat stores your body has, the less food your body signals for you to eat. Unfortunately, as fat stores grow beyond normal levels, such as in obesity, the brain stops responding to high leptin levels (leptin resistance) which causes excessive hunger. 

Balancing ghrelin and leptin

A healthy balance between these two hormones is the key to maintaining a healthy body weight and a well-regulated metabolism. 

There are many things you can do to balance your leptin and ghrelin levels, including:

• Nutrition: Starvation or extremely low calorie diets will lead to high ghrelin levels and low leptin levels. This means that you will end up feeling very hungry all the time. Rather than extreme calorie restriction, try to eat a balanced diet high in lean proteins, vegetables, fiber, and healthy fats to keep hunger hormones at bay.

• Sleep: Not getting 7 or more hours of sleep per night raises your ghrelin levels and lowers your leptin levels. This leads to increased appetite and weight gain. By sleeping 7 or more hours a night, your body has a chance to recover and rebalance your hormone levels while you sleep.

• Exercise: Exercise is known to affect your leptin and ghrelin levels. The most important of these, is that exercise can increase your sensitivity to leptin long-term when you exercise regularly. This means that people who exercise regularly tend to feel full sooner after eating and get hungry less often between meals.

• Stress: Chronic stress raises ghrelin levels, which can lead to excessive hunger. Prioritize your mental health and practice stress-reducing strategies like deep breathing, yoga, and meditation to keep stress levels down.

• Avoid sweets: Highly processed and high-sugar foods cause a spike in blood sugar which quickly crashes, leading to increased ghrelin levels. Stick to nutrient-dense foods that stabilize your blood sugar like healthy fats, fiber, and proteins to avoid this sugar-spike effect. 

Hormone balance for weight loss

Being aware of the hunger and fullness hormones, ghrelin and leptin, and incorporating strategies to balance them, can help you achieve your long-term weight loss goals. By prioritizing your sleep, reducing stress, avoiding highly processed foods, and getting some exercise each day, you will feel less hungry and feel full more quickly after eating. 

Making these changes won’t be easy, and won’t happen overnight, but by slowly adopting these daily habits you will create lasting changes in your routine that will make a big difference over time.