SOURCE: Pancreas
NORMAL LEVELS: Varies, fasting around 60 pg (picograms)/mL or less
FUNCTIONS: Food metabolismGlucagon is another hormone secreted by the pancreas. It performs the exact
opposite function of insulin—it melts fat. Don’t you love this hormone already?
As I mentioned before, in the presence of glucose, your pancreas releases
insulin. But in the absence of sugar (if your blood sugar is very low and you
haven’t eaten for 5 to 6 hours), glucagon is secreted. Why? Because your tissues
need sugar and energy. In turn, glucagon pulls sugars out of storage—first, from
the liver, and then from fatty tissues to raise your blood glucose level. If you
have little glucagon, you will become fat. Excessive glucagon production can
occur in the case of a pancreatic tumor, but that’s another matter.
When glucagon metabolizes your fat into energy, you lose weight. When food
is available, glucagon production is inhibited. In other words, you can never lose
weight as long as you continue to eat, since your body has enough nutrients.
How did our modern diet mess up glucagon secretion? It’s simple: glucagon
production is inhibited every time insulin is present in your bloodstream. Insulin
and glucagon are like night and day; they can’t be present at the same time in the
bloodstream because they have opposing actions.
Since most Americans overproduce insulin, their glucagon levels are also
screwed up. Glucagon is always inhibited, and for this reason, many of us
struggle with our weight. That’s why low-fat diets won’t keep you thin for long
periods of time—because you’ll always be hungry. Here’s the good news: I will
help you boost your glucagon levels on the Perfect 10 Diet .
Now you may be asking, “How am I going to do that, Doctor? Do I have to
skip meals and starve myself to get some glucagon going in my bloodstream?”
Absolutely not. You see, when you eat natural fats and adequate amounts of
protein, and avoid bad carbs, your insulin secretion is regulated. It follows that
your glucagon will also be regulated, and you’ll lose weight. It seems completely
counterintuitive that eating fat will help you lose fat, but it’s true. I realize
you’ve been taught to fear fat all your life, but you have to change the way you
think so you can start to melt the pounds the smart and easy way.
FOODS AND FACTORS THAT BALANCE AND INCREASE
GLUCAGON INCLUDE: a diet low in sugar that features natural fats and
sufficient protein. Skipping meals, which is not recommended on the Perfect 10
Diet, also increases glucagon, as does starvation (which, needless to say, is