Metabolic and Mental Health
Here’s Why Adiponectin Matters for Fat Loss and Inflammatory Health Conditions.
While reducing inflammation in cells and tissues, adiponectin contributes to insulin sensitivity in five known ways.
Purpose of the Article
Compared to major metabolic hormones, adiponectin is less known publicly, as it was only discovered in the 1990s.
However, discerning readers read about it in my previous stories and inspired me to introduce this vital hormone within the fat loss and inflammatory disorders context.
This is an introductory piece to create awareness. It is neither a prescriptive text nor health advice. My goal is to contribute to the hormonal intelligence of my readers.
Key Points
This article answers three questions.
What is adiponectin?
Why does it matter for health?
How can we leverage the indications?
What is adiponectin?
Adiponectin is a type of protein, a hormone, and a cell-signaling molecule (adipokine). The ADIPOQ gene encodes it. It has several functions in the body.
As a protein and signaling molecule, this hormone is critical in regulating glucose levels, fatty acids, cells’ response to insulin, and inflammatory activities.
In other words, as frequently mentioned in the literature, adiponectin has “insulin-sensitizing” and “anti-inflammatory” effects on the body. These effects are critical for metabolic health affecting our cells, tissues, and organs.
These physiological effects of adiponectin, particularly on the heart, are critical because it impacts the formation of fatty deposits in the arteries by reducing inflammation.
We know that cardiovascular diseases (e.g., heart disease and stroke) sadly instigate millions of deaths and suffering in innocent people.
Adiponectin is produced by fat tissues, mainly white fat. By the way, the scientific name for white fat tissues is “adipocytes.”
However, the body also creates adiponectin in muscle cells (e.g., skeletal and heart muscles), blood vessels, and the brain.
Considering its functions and originating locations in the body, this hormone and cell-signaling molecule plays a critical role in our metabolism.
So far, researchers have found these vital functions since the 1990s. However, they hypothesize adiponectin might have other roles in the body. Thus, the research is active in exploring new functions.
Interestingly, in 2007, Cambridge Core labeled adiponectin as “a controversial hormone.” However, we have learned a lot since then.
Indications of Adiponectin Levels in Bloodstream
Like any hormone, the body regulates adiponectin to remain balanced. So, normal levels indicate that our metabolism function well.
However, if the adiponectin levels are lower than the normal range, it is associated with metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, obesity, fatty liver, and type II diabetes.
Unlike leptin, the higher the fat percentage in the body, the lower the adiponectin levels.
So, obese people might have less adiponectin in their bodies and more leptin. However, as I explained in this article, the bodies of obese people are not sensitive to leptin signals. Therefore, they feel hungry even after consuming adequate food.
Adiponectin levels can be measured via blood tests. It is a helpful test for qualified healthcare professionals to diagnose metabolic syndrome, type II diabetes, and fatty liver disease.
During the literature search on Pubmed, I came across over 60,000 medical reports on adiponectin. Unfortunately, it is impossible to reflect the views of those papers.
However, within the context and scope of my article, to give an idea to the readers, I selected reflections from three papers offering perspectives related to the management of metabolic diseases with adiponectin regulation.
The pivotal theme is insulin resistance which I touch on in the next section. I see insulin resistance as the elephant in the room. Therefore, I frequently mention it in my metabolic health stories.
As documented in this paper in BMJ’s Diabetes Research and Care Journal:
“Among healthy white and black adults with parental history of type II diabetes, adiponectin level is a powerful risk marker of incident prediabetes. Thus, the well-known association of adiponectin with diabetes risk is evident at a much earlier stage in pathogenesis, during the transition from normoglycemia to prediabetes.”
Diabetes Care journal of American Diabetes Associates reports:
“Adiponectin has been postulated to play an important role in the modulation of glucose and lipid metabolism in insulin-sensitive tissues in both humans and animals. Decreased circulating adiponectin levels have been demonstrated in genetic and diet-induced murine models of obesity, as well as in diet-induced forms of human obesity. Low adiponectin levels have also been strongly implicated in the development of insulin resistance in mouse models of both obesity and lipoatrophy.”
A paper in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences suggests:
“Adiponectin replacement therapy in humans may suggest potential versatile therapeutic targets in the treatment of obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and atherosclerosis.”
How Adiponectin Relates to Insulin
Insulin is a hormone created in the pancreas to facilitate glucose distribution. As the body sees excess glucose in the bloodstream as toxic, it uses insulin to distribute it to cells for energy.
To understand the primary function of adiponectin, we need to know about insulin sensitivity and resistance. As I wrote numerous articles about them, I won’t repeat them.
However, to clarify the context, insulin sensitivity refers to the body’s ability to use sugar effectively as an energy source rather than mainly storing it. Insulin resistance is the opposite, as the cells do not respond to insulin signals and reject glucose. Thus, the body stores glucose as fat molecules for future use.
If we don’t use the constantly stored energy, we face metabolic disorders like obesity, type II diabetes, fatty liver, heart diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and even some cancers.
Adiponectin contributes to insulin sensitivity in five known ways. I assume there will be more soon.
First of all, adiponectin enhances insulin production from the pancreas.
Secondly, adiponectin hinders glucose production in the liver.
Thirdly, adiponectin stimulates fat oxidation.
Fourthly, it signals insulin sensitivity in the skeletal muscles.
In addition, adiponectin can promote fat storage in the subcutaneous fat stores, not visceral fat stores.
The last simple yet powerful mechanism plays a critical role in our metabolism. It makes the body more insulin sensitive and less prone to inflammation.
I introduced white and brown fat in an article titled Reduce Visceral Fat and Increase Brown Fat with Two Practical Steps.
How Adiponectin Relates to Inflammation
While our bodies need some inflammation to recover from damage, chronic inflammation can be problematic.
Chronic inflammation is a root cause of significant health conditions such as heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., dementia), type II diabetes, autoimmune disease (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis), and cancers.
For example, in my reviews, chronic inflammation indicates a causal effect on heart disease and stroke, posing a more significant risk than cholesterol.
Experiencing arthritis in my younger years, I suffered a lot from the effects of chronic inflammation until I changed my lifestyle, allowing me to have a fat-burning metabolism.
From my experience and reviews, ketosis substantially reduces inflammation, even better than some over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications. An insulin-sensitive body can enter ketosis much easier.
Adiponectin offers anti-inflammatory properties in various parts of the body. For example, adiponectin can lower inflammation in endothelial tissues, epithelial cells, blood cells, and muscle cells.
Therefore, adiponectin favorably affects numerous organs, such as the heart, kidneys, pancreas, lungs, and colon. In other words, adiponectin produces anti-inflammatory effects for these organs.
Creation and Regulation of Adiponectin
As it is a relatively new hormone, the literature is murky. However, we have some clues.
While many scientists specializing in metabolic health believe insulin is the primary hormone for creating adiponectin, how it is made is still a mystery.
At least we know more about its functions.
Nevertheless, the literature indicates that growth hormones like GH and IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor), prolactin, and leptin regulate adiponectin.
I documented the importance of growth hormones, leptin, and insulin for our metabolism and their roles in fat loss or fat gain context in several articles.
Conclusions and Takeaways
All hormones play various roles in the body, and they are interconnected. Therefore, I coined the term “hormonal intelligence” to understand their language and find ways to balance them.
Even though we still need to explore the origin and functions of adiponectin, at least it is measurable, and we know that it is an indicator of metabolic disorders such as type II diabetes.
By reviewing the literature, I understand that reducing body fat percentage is a viable way to increase adiponectin levels.
The body needs adiponectin to contribute to insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation. These two functions are critical for metabolic diseases, especially type II diabetes, heart disease, stroke, dementia, and some cancers.
A total of these diseases, unfortunately, kill millions of people. Therefore, making our bodies more insulin sensitive and less inflamed with healthy lifestyle choices seems wise.
However, it might be too late for some of us if our bodies are insulin resistant and inflamed. In this case, it is critical to obtain timely support from qualified healthcare professionals who might reduce the effects and, in some cases, reverse the situation.
There is hope. For example, I heard some clinics in the United States and some European countries successfully reversed insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and even type II diabetes.
As informed by CDC, it is imperative to watch pre-diabetic states as “90% of 88 million people with prediabetes”, most of them unaware of their situation.
We need to do our best to improve our lifestyles to deal with obesity which is a leading cause of metabolic disorders. World Health Organization named obesity “globesity” referring to a global epidemic.
Rather than obsessing over excessively cutting calories, it is better to focus on balancing our hormones with healthy lifestyle choices, as I mentioned in an article recently.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
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