How A Healthy Brain Can Help You Stay Slim

No one wants to hear that a health problem is “all in your head”—but if you’ve been struggling with your weight, this just might be true. That’s because the latest research shows that staying slim requires a lot more than simple self control… and that your brain could be sabotaging your waistline if it’s not producing proper levels of the neurotransmitters, hormones and proteins your body needs to keep its fat stores in check.

For example, animal studies indicate that a shortage of the brain peptide pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) could result in both overeating and weight gain, not to mention a significant increase in dietary fat intake.^1-2 Imbalances in other neuropeptides—including ghrelin, orexin and agouti-related peptide—can have a similar influence on hunger levels and food intake, as can low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin.^3-4 Meanwhile, the hormone leptin plays a critical role in curbing appetite, stimulating fat metabolism, and even supporting your mood—which means that leptin-resistant individuals are easily stuck in a vicious cycle of weight gain and mild mood fluctuations.⁵

What’s more, routinely eating a high-fat diet appears to be able to actually change your brain’s physiology in a matter of months—both lowering the number of weight-balancing POMC neurons and decreasing their accessibility to blood vessels, while also impacting cellular health, brain structure and cerebral circulation.^6-10 Research also suggests that high-fat diets can interfere with leptin receptors and trigger a decline in essential neurotransmitters, including serotonin and dopamine, in as little as a week.^11-12 So it’s no surprise that studies have linked these eating patterns—along with the often-accompanying increase in visceral fat around abdominal organs—to poor memory, attention, mood and overall brain health.^13-14

Obviously, adopting healthy eating habits is a huge part of the solution to this common problem—but as the research shows, even the simplest dietary changes can become insurmountable challenges when your brain’s chemistry is working against you. And that’s precisely when you need the right nutrient support on your side.

Brain nourishment is critical if you’re battling with the scale—and natural compounds like acetyl-L-carnitine and acetyl-L-carnitine arginate can offer just that, by increasing neurite outgrowth and supporting cognitive function.^15-16 Uridine also stimulates neurite outgrowth, while the botanical Gotu kola offers support for both memory and mood.^17-18 Meanwhile, Ginkgo biloba has a lengthy track record of superior free radical defense, capable of supporting neuron health and stimulating blood flow for optimal cognitive function.¹⁹ All of these nutrients are combined in VRP’s brain-boosting formula NGF™ (Neuron Growth Factors).

At the same time, you can get additional support against excess body fat—especially around your belly—with the Glycyrrhiza glabra root extract glabridin, the featured ingredient in VRP’s Glabrinex®. Animal studies show that this unique fat-busting compound can deliver decreases in body weight gain, belly fat tissue, and fat cell size—while human trials indicate significant reductions in fat mass (reflected in decreases in body weight, body mass index, and abdominal fat mass) within just eight weeks.^20-21 As an added benefit, studies also show that glabridin can protect your memory, cognitive function, and mood, too.^22-24

Finally, supplementation with high-viscosity polysaccharides and esterified fatty acids may assist in balancing your body’s critical leptin levels, resulting in favorable changes to both weight and body fat percentage²⁵—which is why you’ll find this combo featured in the patented formula LeptinX™, available from Vitamin Research Products®.

References:

1. Coll AP, Loraine Tung YC. Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived peptides and the regulation of energy homeostasis. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2009 Mar 5;300(1-2):147-51.

2. Tung YC, Rimmington D, O’Rahilly S, et al. Pro-opiomelanocortin modulates the thermogenic and physical activity responses to high-fat feeding and markedly influences dietary fat preference. Endocrinology. 2007 Nov;148(11):5331-8.

3. Lam DD, Garfield AS, Marston OJ, et al. Brain serotonin system in the coordination of food intake and body weight. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2010 Nov;97(1):84-91.

4. Hagan MM, Rushing PA, Benoit SC, et al. Opioid receptor involvement in the effect of AgRP- (83-132) on food intake and food selection. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2001;280:R814–R821.

5. Yamada N, Katsuura G, Ochi Y, et al. Impaired CNS leptin action is implicated in depression associated with obesity. Endocrinology. 2011 Jul;152(7):2634-43.

6. The Endocrine Society. Eating a high-fat diet may rapidly injure brain cells that control body weight. Available at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/tes-eah060811.php. Accessed on: 8-17-11.

7. Horvath TL, Sarman B, García-Caceres C, et al. Synaptic input organization of the melanocortin system predicts diet-induced hypothalamic reactive gliosis and obesity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Aug 17;107(33):14875-80.

8. Moraes JC, Coope A, Morari J, et al. High-fat diet induces apoptosis of hypothalamic neurons. PLoS One. 2009;4(4):e5045.

9. Deutsch C, Portik-Dobos V, Smith AD, et al. Diet-induced obesity causes cerebral vessel remodeling and increases the damage caused by ischemic stroke. Microvasc Res. 2009 Jun;78(1):100-6.

10. Park HR, Park M, Choi J, et al. A high-fat diet impairs neurogenesis: involvement of lipid peroxidation and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Neurosci Lett. 2010 Oct 4;482(3):235-9.

11. Banas SM, Rouch C, Kassis N, et al. A dietary fat excess alters metabolic and neuroendocrine responses before the onset of metabolic diseases. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2009 Mar;29(2):157-68.

12. Morris JK, Bomhoff GL, Stanford JA, et al. Neurodegeneration in an animal model of Parkinson’s disease is exacerbated by a high-fat diet. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2010 Oct;299(4):R1082-90.

13. Holloway CJ, Cochlin LE, Emmanuel Y, et al. A high-fat diet impairs cardiac high-energy phosphate metabolism and cognitive function in healthy human subjects. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Apr;93(4):748-55.

14. Kanaya AM, Lindquist K, Harris TB, et al. Total and regional adiposity and cognitive change in older adults: The Health, Aging and Body Composition (ABC) study. Arch Neurol. 2009 Mar;66(3):329-35.

15. Taglialatela, G, Navarra D, Olivi A, et al. Neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells stimulated by acetyl-L- carnitine arginine amide. Neurochem Res. 1995 Jan;20(1):1-9.

16. Montgomery SA, Thal LJ, Amrein R. Meta-analysis of double-blind randomized controlled clinical trials of acetyl-L-carnitine versus placebo in the treatment of mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer’s disease. Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2003 Mar;18(2):61-71.

17. Pooler AM, Guez DH, Benedictus R, et al. Uridine enhances neurite outgrowth in nerve growth factor-differentiated PC 12 (corrected). Neuroscience. 2005;134(1):207-14.

18. Wattanathorn J, Mator L, Muchimapura S, et al. Positive modulation of cognition and mood in the healthy elderly volunteer following the administration of Centella asiatica. J Ethnopharmacol. 2008 Mar 5;116(2):325-32.

19. Dubey AK, Shankar PR, Upadhyaya D, et al. Ginkgo biloba--an appraisal. Kathmandu Univ Med J (KUMJ). 2004 Jul-Sep;2(3):225-9.

20. Aoki F, Honda S, Kishida H, et al. Suppression by licorice flavonoids of abdominal fat accumulation and body weight gain in high-fat diet-induced obese C57BL/6J mice. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2007 Jan;71(1):206-14.

21. Tominaga Y, Nakagawa K, Mae T, et al. Licorice flavonoid oil reduces total body fat and visceral fat in overweight subjects: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Obes Res Clin Pract. 2009;3(3):169-78.

22. Yu XQ, Xue CC, Zhou ZW, et al. In vitro and in vivo neuroprotective effect and mechanisms of glabridin, a major active isoflavan from Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice). Life Sci. 2008 Jan 2;82(1-2):68-78.

23. Dhingra D, Sharma A. Antidepressant-like activity of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. in mouse models of immobility tests. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2006 May;30(3):449-54.

24. Parle M, Dhingra D, Kulkarni SK. Memory-strengthening activity of Glycyrrhiza glabra in exteroceptive and interoceptive behavioral models. J Med Food. 2004 Winter;7(4):462-6.

25. Fragala MS, Kraemer WJ, Volek JS, et al. Influences of a dietary supplement in combination with an exercise and diet regimen on adipocytokines and adiposity in women who are overweight. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2009;105:665-72.