Putting on fat while eating little? Feeling lethargic all the time? Almost like your body is preparing for hibernation? It is. Let’s talk about why.
My hypothesis is that serotonin is part of an adaptive mechanism to respond to and cope with severe long term stress, including illness, infection, starvation, winter and imposed force or restraint. This has its place, but today everyone seems to be in chronic serotonin excess.
Eliminating the ability to create serotonin in animals makes them resistant to fat gain, even with a diet designed to do so. Obese individuals synthesize up to double the amount of serotonin. Pharma is in the process of targeting this pathway to treat obesity.
Animals with zero gut bacteria also are resistant to this fat gain, and have higher metabolic rates. The same is true for those treated with antibiotics. This can become a viscous circle, as bacteria patterns in obesity shows signs of antibiotic resistance.