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New diet aid? Insulin by nasal spray can alleviate hunger
In a recent study, insulin has been shown to activate certain regions of the brain and help regulate hunger. The new findings from diabetes research could help to regulate the eating habits of certain patients and help them lose weight.
More and more diabetics
The number of diabetes patients is increasing worldwide. One of the reasons for this is the increasing frequency of overweight and obesity. People who suffer from diabetes are usually advised to exercise regularly, eat well, and possibly lose weight. Many find this difficult, they are repeatedly hit by food cravings. As researchers have now discovered, insulin can help quench hunger.
Patients with diabetes are often advised to reduce their weight. Insulin can help as well. As researchers have found, the hormone regulates the feeling of hunger. (Dima_pics / fotolia.com) Healthy diet for diabetes prevention
Nutrition is of paramount importance in the prevention and treatment of diabetes.
For example, a diet high in whole grains may protect you from the disease.
Basically you should not eat too much, because being overweight favors the development of diabetes.
Eating habits are regulated by hormones
The eating habits and the feeling of hunger are regulated by a variety of hormones. A key role is played by the hormone insulin, which is active not only in the body but also in the brain.
So far it is known that insulin acts on the homeostatic region (hypothalamus).
The hypothalamus is the supreme regulatory center for all vegetative and endocrine processes. The hypothalamus coordinates water, salt balance and blood pressure. It ensures the maintenance of the inner environment (homeostasis) and regulates food intake.
However, it is believed that the hormone is also active in other brain regions.
Influence on subjective hunger
Scientists at the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Zentrum München at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen and the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) have now succeeded in further deciphering the function of insulin in the brain as well as its influence on subjective hunger.
The results of the study were published in the "Scientific Reports" of "Nature".
According to reports from Helmholtz Zentrum München and the DZD, the researchers used this study to give insulin to healthy young adults to better understand how insulin works.
By applying the hormone via a nasal spray, the blood-brain barrier is bypassed and the insulin gets directly into the brain. In the study, 25 healthy lean, 10 overweight, and 12 obese adults snorted insulin or placebo.
Subsequently, the brain activities were recorded with magnetic resonance tomography.
Help with weight loss
The result: Internasal insulin improves functional connectivity in the prefrontal regions of the default mode network (DMN) of a group of brain regions in all study participants, which is activated when the human is at rest and does not perform any tasks.
This region is central to cognitive processes. In addition, the functional connections between the DMN and the hippocampus and the hypothalamus increase.
These changes in the brain also affect eating behavior. They cause the connection between obesity and the feeling of hunger to change. Actually, people with a lot of visceral fat also have more hunger.
"With insulin-enhanced connectivity between the DMN and the hippocampus, this linkage between adipose tissue and the subjective feeling of hunger is suppressed," says study author Stephanie Kullmann. The affected participants were less hungry for intranasal insulin administration.
Furthermore, the scientists observed that insulin in the brain also improves the effect of the hormone in the body. Study participants with insulin-induced increased functional connectivity in the DMN show higher insulin sensitivity in the body.
This counteracts obesity and type 2 diabetes. According to the experts, the results suggest that insulin in the brain may help to regulate and decrease eating habits through an improved functional link between cognitive and homeostatic regions in the brain. (Ad)