others) form a complex, elegant—but not
indestructible—web of feedback loops that
influence all body systems. They all interact
with one another’s functions, behaving like a
team in the body. These hormones are neither
“bad” nor “good” in the right amounts. Things
get ugly, however, when you’ve got too much
or not enough of any given hormone.
Let’s start with both insulin and leptin, as
it’s hard to separate these two.
INSULIN
Summary: An anabolic (“building,
storing”) hormone secreted by the beta cells
of the pancreas in response to ingestion of
energy, most notably from carbohydrate.
Insulin facilitates the moving of
macronutrients (protein, fat, and
carbohydrate) from the bloodstream into cells
for immediate or future use, and coordinates
the metabolic shift from predominantly