Category: weight gain

Worried about unhealthy fat inside your belly?

This happens because of your common mistake.

If you are worried by constant weight gain or bulging belly, it may be due to your depravation of sleep.

Mayo Clinic research has shown that lack of sleep increases the amount of fat around the abdomen and waist by 9%, while visceral fat increases by 11%.

Visceral fat is the medical term for fat that accumulates in the liver and other organs of the abdomen, and can even accumulate in lean people, increasing the risk of medical problems.

Sleep deprivation is often a person’s own choice, and this trend has become quite common in modern times, with only one-third of adults in the United States not being able to get enough sleep.

Research has shown that people with sleep deprivation develop a craving for more food and the body begins to store the extra energy from food in the form of fat.

The researchers said that the results show that the shorter the duration of sleep, even if you are young, healthy and lean but take in more calories. You can increase your weight and accumulation fat inside the belly

They were alarmed to find that accumulated fat inside the skin fat moves to more dangerous areas.

The key discovery is that later extra sleep reduces calorie intake and weight loss, but also increases the accumulation of fat.

Researchers said that they did not know in the past that sleep deprivation triggers a mechanism of fat storage. 

They found that Inadequate sleep on a long-term basis can lead to obesity, coronary heart disease and metabolic disorders

The study included 12 healthy individuals with moderate body weight and was divided into 2 groups and twice part of 21-day sessions.

The first time they were allowed to sleep for a normal duration while the second time the duration of sleep was reduced, with an interval of 3 months between each session.

During this time each group was given free access to food, while their body weight and other scales were also examined after which the above results came out.

The findings were published in the medical journal Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Earlier in September 2021, a study analyzing data from nearly 20,000 people found that sleep deprived people burn more calories than they need from food throughout the day.

Research has also shown that most people consume soft drinks and foods at night, ie stay up late and adopt behaviors that lead to obesity, such as being less physically active, more in front of the screen. Spending time, eating light things, etc.

Researchers said that now they know that sleep deprivation is linked to obesity, but they are not clear why this happens.

The results of the study were published in the medical journal of the Academy of Nutrition.

Earlier, in September 2019, a study conducted by Pennsylvania State University in the United States also revealed that a major cause of sleep deprivation can be in the form of obesity.

Research has shown that people with sleep deprivation develop a craving for more food and the body begins to store the extra energy from food in the form of fat.

According to researchers, in the past hard times it was a good mechanism for the body to store energy for difficult situations, but in today’s developed world it is not good because now people are mostly sitting while high calorie foods without any Available at low labor costs.

When should the prolactin test be done? Which day of the cycle?

The pituitary gland produces it, and having too much of it (hyperprolactinemia) can result in infertility, galactorrhea, low libido, and excessive hair growth. 10–40% of women who don’t have periods have too much prolactin in their bodies.

How do I test the level of prolactin?

The doctor orders a blood prolactin test because he/she thinks the patient has hyperprolactinemia. This test can be done at any time during a woman’s cycle. You should have breakfast before you go to the blood test in the morning. You shouldn’t work out, have sex, or do anything else to your nipples. You should also avoid stress.

Let us remind you that the correct level of prolactin depends on the phase of the cycle and is:

  • follicular phase – below 23 µg/l,
  • lutein phase – below 40 µg / l,
  • third trimester of pregnancy – up to 400 µg/l.

If the amount of prolactin in the blood is too high (more than 20-25 ng/ml), further testing is needed: First, it should be looked into whether or not the woman:

  • she is not pregnant
  • there is no hypothyroidism ,
  • does not take medications that may increase the level of prolactin in the blood.

The next step is to use metoclopramide to do a functional test. Functional hyperprolactinemia is diagnosed if the amount of prolactin in the blood goes up by more than six times after taking the tablet. If the growth is smaller, an MRI must be done on the pituitary gland, where a tumor may be present.

Elevated prolactin

The body makes too much prolactin sometimes in response to things like stress, sleep, nipple stimulation, and sexual activity. When these things happen to a healthy person, the hormone level goes up a little bit. This is called “functional hyperprolactinemia.

The pituitary gland may also send out too much prolactin in the following situations:

  • there is a tumor in the pituitary gland (the so-called pituitary adenoma , prolactinoma) that secretes a hormone,
  • the liver or kidneys do not work properly – they are unable to metabolize prolactin, which leads to its accumulation,
  • in hypothyroidism,
  • while taking certain medications (e.g. antidepressants, antihypertensives), after discontinuation of hormonal contraceptives.

Menstrual disorders

How you feel depends on how much prolactin is in your blood. Most of the time, menstrual problems are the first to show up. Menstrual bleeding becomes irregular, and the time between periods gets longer and longer. Menstruation can be very light or very heavy, depending on the person. Most of the time, these disorders are accompanied by infertility and a lower libido.

Galactorrhoea and excessive hair growth

Then galactorrhoea may happen, which is when a woman who is not breastfeeding has milk in her breasts. Hyperprolactinemia can also cause hair to grow too quickly. As we’ve already said, a tumor in the pituitary gland is one of the things that can cause hyperprolactinemia. If the tumor is big, it can cause headaches and a narrowing of the field of vision.

see also : High prolactin levels and weight gain: how does prolactin affect appetite and shape?

High prolactin levels and weight gain: how does prolactin affect appetite and shape?

The pituitary gland, a small gland at the base of the brain, makes the hormone prolactin. During pregnancy and after birth, prolactin makes the breasts grow and make milk. Pregnant women and new mothers usually have a lot of prolactin in their bodies. Women who aren’t pregnant and men usually have low levels.

High prolactin levels and weight gain: Having high levels of prolactin makes you less hungry, which, along with other things, can lead to weight gain. It is very important to figure out what causes hyperprolactinemia and get the right treatment to lower the level of this hormone and get the metabolism back on track.

Prolactin is a stress hormone, just like the hormones made by the adrenal glands. This is because its level temporarily goes up when you are stressed or work out, but also when you are sexually active, sleep, eat, or are pregnant. Prolactin levels can cause weight gain, but only if a disease is to blame and not a normal aspect of your body’s physiology.

High prolactin and weight gain

If you have too much prolactin in your body, it can make you want to eat more, especially sweets. It’s clear that eating too much makes you more likely to be overweight or obese. But this is not the only thing that prolactin does to make a person lose weight.

Scientific studies have shown that high levels of prolactin promote:

  • fat,
  • obesity,
  • metabolic syndrome,
  • blood lipid profile disorders,
  • disorders in insulin and glucose metabolism.

High levels of prolactin have been shown beyond a shadow of a doubt to cause weight gain, both through changes in appetite and metabolism that make it easier for fat to build up.

It’s interesting that when prolactin levels are high, adipose tissue can’t store fat as well. This is not good news because it means that instead of staying in adipose tissue, lipids will circulate too much in the blood and build up in other tissues. This increases the risk of heart disease and other health problems.

Prolactin and abdominal obesity

Some non-scientific sources say that high levels of prolactin cause the body to hold on to water, slows down the metabolism, and causes fat to build up around the abdomen. However, there is no proof of this in the scientific literature. But there is some evidence that having more fat around the middle makes the body make more prolactin. More prolactin flows through the body when there is more fat around the middle. So, obese people with a lot of belly fat should try to lose weight and cut down on the amount of visceral fat.

What are the symptoms of high prolactin?

Elevated prolactin levels can cause a variety of non-specific symptoms, including:

  • limited field of view
  • headaches
  • leakage of breast milk
  • sterility
  • decrease in libido
  • vaginal dryness
  • excessive body hair in women
  • hair loss and erectile dysfunction in men
  • acne
  • decrease in bone density
  • you are getting fat.

A blood test reveals excess prolactin. The LTH level is determined. When LTH levels exceed 20 ng/ml (400 mU/l) in women and 15 ng/ml (300 mU/l) in men, hyperprolactinemia is diagnosed.

How to lose weight with high prolactin

People who have too much prolactin may find it hard to lose weight. It is very important to find out why this hormone is at such a high level (pituitary tumor, hypothalamic diseases, thyroid diseases, kidney and liver failure, PCOS , high-fat and high-protein diets, taking certain antidepressants, etc.).

If possible, the focus should be on treating the cause, which should help bring prolactin levels, metabolism, and body weight back to normal. It is also important to use a healthy weight-loss diet, which should start by cutting back on simple sugars. It should also have a lot of vegetables and fruits, the right amount of protein, fat, and energy, and a good caloric deficit.