"Your digestive system has two main hormones that control hunger and
appetite. Ghrelin is secreted by the stomach and increases your
appetite. When your stomach's empty, it sends ghrelin out requesting
food. Leptin tells your brain that you are full. When you eat, your
fat cells secrete it so that you stop eating. One of the biggest evil
influences on our diet is the presence of high-fructose corn syrup
(HFCS), a sugar substitute that itself is a sugar found in soft drinks
and many other sweet, processed foods. The problem is that HFCS
inhibits leptin secretion, so you never get the message that you are
full. And it never shuts off ghrelin, so, even though you have food in
your stomach, you constantly get the message that you are hungry. The
double whammy on our hormones has contributed enormously to our
collective enormity. When you consider that many American women will
often obtain as much as 50% of their daily calories from salad dressing
(which contains HFCS), you can see the problem. While food
manufacturers may eliminate fat, they make up for its taste with sugar
and HFCS - which are simply empty calories that serve no nutritional
purpose whatsoever."
"Through sleep, your brain also plays a role in gut functions. If you
want to eat less, get more sleep. When you don't sleep enough, more
ghrelin is secreted and less leptin is released. So lack of sleep can
have the same effect as HFCS by causing you to eat more often."
YOU: The Owner's Manual by Roizen & Oz
This passage reminded me of the leptin problem found with certain obese
subjects. My wife had to have this book after watching the
Oprah-mercial. I always wonder if these trendy health/diet books are
accurate.