Hormonal dysregulation can wreck your joints
Has your doctor warned you about the joint-eroding “arthritis hormone?” If not, read on and I’ll tell you all about its role in joint pain — and how you can remedy it.
If you suffer from chronic arthritis — especially pain that doesn’t respond to natural treatments — you might have a problem with leptin.
Leptin is commonly known as the hormone that sends your brain a signal to stop eating — creating the sensation of “fullness” at the end of a meal.
But recent investigations have found that leptin is more complex than just an appetite regulator.
Simply put: If leptin isn’t controlled, it can wreck your joints.
Joints transformed from springy to brittle
When scientists first discovered leptin and recognized what it did in terms of appetite-control, they hoped to promote it as a weight-loss aid. But that idea screeched to a halt when they realized that excess leptin inadvertently prompts serious weight gain.
As Dr. Fred Pescatore explains in his Pain-Free Life Protocol, researchers eventually discovered that excessive amounts of leptin leads to an all-out attack on your joints.
And as if that weren’t enough, leptin also boosts your risk of one more extreme health danger: Metabolic syndrome.
Dr. Pescatore has observed that his overweight patients with metabolic syndrome also tend to have more arthritis pain. “In fact,” he says, “they turn up hand-in-hand so often that I started considering joint pain to be a fifth symptom of metabolic syndrome.”
He cites a large analysis of 11 clinical trials that tracked the effects of leptin. Researchers reported that this hormone can prompt a wide range of health problems, including:
- Accelerated cartilage thinning, transforming it from thick and springy to weak and brittle
- Higher risk of cardiovascular disease
- Higher risk of various cancers
- Increased inflammation
- Increased severity of arthritis symptoms
- Increased wear and tear on your joint “cushions,” including synovial fluid and hyaluronic acid (which I’ll discuss further in a moment)
Dr. Pescatore calls this cluster of unpleasant issues “mind-boggling,” and adds that women appear to be most vulnerable to leptin’s harmful effects.
Cut your joint pain in half
Dr. Pescatore believes that these issues connected with leptin explain why so many people with stubborn arthritis pain fail to find relief from traditional joint supplements. Those supplements don’t stop leptin from attacking your joints.
And he adds: “Here’s the scariest part. Arthritis isn’t just a disease of cartilage. It involves your bone, synovial fluid, and the muscles and tissue surrounding the joints. So when the signs, symptoms and pain of the disease become severe, you have so much at stake.”
That’s why he says that getting your leptin levels in balance is one of the most effective steps you can take to curb inflammation, improve cushioning in joints, regain mobility, and significantly reduce joint pain.
Dr. Pescatore notes that weight loss is the most direct method for reducing leptin. “When you shrink fat cells,” he says, “you’re cutting off leptin right at the source. I know it can be hard. But you’ll feel a huge difference almost right away. In fact, losing 20 percent of your body weight can cut your pain symptoms in half.”
Lubricating the inner joint
In addition to losing weight, hyaluronic acid provides another effective way to reduce leptin.
Hyaluronic acid is rich in natural molecules called glycosaminoglycans, or GAGs, which Dr. Pescatore calls a major pain-fighting breakthrough.
The synovial fluid in joints contains hyaluronic acid, which keeps the liquid in your joints viscous and lubricated. Dr. Pescatore explains that osteoarthritis patients tend to have low levels of hyaluronic acid in their joints.
And he adds, “Injections of hyaluronic acid are a widely accepted, effective treatment for osteoarthritis. Scientific evidence shows that hyaluronic acid supplements can work too.” Dr. Pescatore recommends 80 mg of hyaluronic acid daily, along with another highly effective GAGs-rich supplement.
You can learn much more about it, and all of his other interventions that reduce leptin and dramatically turn down the heat on arthritis pain in Dr. Pescatore’s Pain-Free Life Protocol. Click here to find out more about this learning protocol, or to enroll today.