Which Hormones Regulate Fat Metabolism?

“Learn About MRC’s Hormonal Testing at New Smyrna Beach”

Lipids are the fatty chemical compounds in your body that are essential for key metabolic functions. These triglycerides created by the body do not dissolve in water but play important roles in your cell membranes that control the moving and storage of energy. Cholesterol is the lipid your body uses to take in fats and nutrients, however, both cholesterol and triglycerides avoid water and cannot travel through the bloodstream. They combine with protein to make lipoproteins.

You may be more familiar with the terms used for cholesterol related lipoproteins, such as HDL (high-density lipoprotein) that’s often called the “good” cholesterol that fights inflammation; or LDL (low-density lipoprotein) known as the “bad” cholesterol that can stick to your artery walls as plaque and make it harder for blood to travel through your body. A chronic state due to dysregulated metabolism is called atherosclerosis and alters how your cells process energy.

During this cellular shift, arterial plaque damages vessel metabolism and is closely linked to increased risk of metabolic syndrome, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, or too high sugar-fat levels that create a vicious cycle where the inflammation then accelerates damage. With the narrowing of arteries, it can decrease the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tissues and can impair overall metabolic efficiency in affected organs including complications like heart attacks and strokes, which are the leading cause of death worldwide.

So what else do the lipids in your body do?

Various lipids have varying roles that impact differing metabolic processes. As mentioned above, triglycerides transport and store energy. But, steroid hormones that are synthesized from cholesterol in the adrenal cortex (and gonads) create a stress hormone (cortisol) that helps manage electrolyte balance. Moreover, sex steroids like androgens and estrogens also modulate your basal metabolic rate (BMR) to impact fat distribution throughout the body. On the other hand, bile salts from cholesterol can help your body digest fat and the fatty acids can metabolize to create energy for fuel. Cholesterol also make biological membranes (phospholipids) that serve as the gatekeeper to allow certain molecules into your cells while requiring others to bring proteins with them. Generally speaking, your body can produce the lipids needed, but it sometimes produces the wrong amounts, which can lead to atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease. This is where a lipid panel is useful for accurately measuring the amount of cholesterol and triglycerides circulating in your body.

THE METABOLIC ROLE OF HORMONAL REGULATORS

Indeed, fat metabolism is regulated by your body’s balance of storage hormones versus burning hormones that signal your body to either build up fat for storage or break it down for fuel. Discussed below are complementary roles that these key hormones play in managing the various metabolic functions that provide you with the sustainable weight control your body needs for a lifetime of healthy living.

• Burning Hormones – These lipolytic hormones work to mobilize and break down stored fat into fatty acids that your body can use for fuel. Glucagon that is secreted when blood sugar is low acts as the off-on switch for insulin, where adrenaline, thyroid and growth hormone stimulate fat release, regulate BMR and break fat down while building muscle mass to promote burning. Testosterone hormone helps maintain lean muscle mass that burns energy at rest in both women and men’s bodies.
• Storage Hormones – Insulin hormone that is released by your pancreas following food intake is your body’s primary regulator of fat storage. These hormone encourage lipogenesis to save energy in the form of adipose tissue (fat). However, chronic levels of cortisol can lead to accumulation of more harmful visceral fat, especially in the abdominal region. Progesterone works with estrogen, but hormonal imbalances can lead to increased fat storage.
• Hunger & Satiety Hormones – Leptin, ghrelin and cortisol are key hormones that are produced and released to manage perceived needs by increasing cravings for food or decreasing feelings of hunger by affecting your appetite. Produced by fat cells, leptin signals your brain that you are full, but leptin resistance can disrupt this signal. Ghrelin, on the other hand, is your primary hunger hormone produced in the stomach to tell the brain it is time for you to eat.
• Sex Hormones – Yes, sex hormones do a lot more in a woman or man’s body than signaling their libido to regulate reproductive activities. In fact, throughout your body’s natural aging processes, sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone play a major role in managing fat storage verses the loss of calorie-burning muscle mass. Estrogen controls fat distribution (often in hips or thighs) while testosterone helps maintain muscle mass and supports a faster metabolism.

Without doubt, the complex network of hormones that control your appetite, energy expenditure and fat storage require a delicate balance throughout your day to avoid hormonal disruptions to insulin, leptin, adiponectin, cortisol, thyroid hormone, epinephrine, estrogen, and testosterone. But, with that said, insulin is the hormone that promotes fat storage, while adrenaline and cortisol are the key hormones that break fat down for energy.

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Fat metabolism is generally regulated by hormones signaling lipid burning or fat storage that will lead to lipogenesis (the buildup of fat) or lipolysis (the breakdown of stored fat for energy). Insulin hormone is a key regulator for storage, but high levels due to insulin resistance can make it easier for your body to store fat and harder for you to burn it. While insulin and adrenaline are metabolic switches of immediate actions, leptin and thyroid hormones determine the long-term pace for your metabolism. If you’re trying to decide whether a prescription-based weight loss plan or a more holistic metabolic weight loss program is right for you, contact MRC New Smyrna Beach today. One of our weight loss coaches will be in touch to discuss how hormone imbalances, genetic factors and key lifestyle habits may have slowed your metabolism and led to unintended weight gain. After all, hormonal balance can be restored and disrupted metabolic rates can be reset with a personalized approach.