Dr Fung has dropped another video that I found quite interesting, this was off the back of the craze of using Diabetic medications like Ozempic to lose weight. As per my prior blog post I am not keen on taking meds to lose weight as its a temporary step. If this helps you start your journey and give you the willpower to start your journey then maybe the video below is right up your street.
How can we naturally impact the incretin hormones, those that Ozempic interact with?
Summary of the video
As always I recommend you take the time to watch the video as I found it fascinating, for those that however want a summarised version please see below.
What are Incretin Hormones?
Incretin hormones play a vital role in regulating our body fat and appetite, acting like a thermostat. When body fat levels rise, these hormones help reduce it by slowing gastric emptying and influencing appetite centres in the brain.
What do they do?
- Regulate Appetite: They signal when to stop eating by making us feel full and delay the next meal.
- Slow Gastric Emptying: This leads to a slower, more steady glucose spike, enhancing satiety and reducing overall food intake
- .Impact Brain Appetite Centres: Incretins cross into the brain, affecting the hypothalamus, which controls hunger.
5 Ways to Boost Incretin Levels
- Increase Dietary Fat:
- Consuming fats like butter or olive oil can significantly boost incretin levels more than carbohydrates.
- Eat More Protein:
- High-protein diets increase satiety and GLP-1 levels. Different proteins, such as branch chain amino acids found in dairy, may have higher GLP-1 effects.
- Consume More Fiber:
- Fibre slows digestion and promotes the fermentation process in the gut, enhancing GLP-1 secretion and increasing fullness.
- Try Bitter Foods:
- Bitter foods like bitter melon and gourd can activate incretin receptors, lowering blood glucose and increasing GLP-1.
- Add Curcumin (Found in Turmeric):
- Curcumin has been traditionally used for treating type 2 diabetes and has a significant impact on increasing GLP-1, thus increasing your sateity (feeling full) and lowering the glycemic index.