You work out regularly at the gym for five days a week, manage your diet by cutting down on carbs and sweets but still fail at shedding off those unwanted pounds. You try to incorporate a health supplement into your weight management program, and for a while, it works! Only to get all the lost weight back with a vengeance. Discouraged, you binge-eat to make yourself feel better. Sounds familiar?
Millions of Americans suffer from mid-life weight gain caused by a condition called “Metabolic Overload.” During metabolic overload, an individual’s metabolism is asleep—the body just literally resists efforts to lose weight. The resistance to losing weight is caused by the turning off of the metabolic master switch—an enzyme called AMPK. When this enzyme is turned off, the body stores more food as fat.
What is AMPK?
AMPK, or AMP-activated protein kinase, is an enzyme crucial for maintaining cellular energy balance. AMPK is like a switch that tells our cells when to store and generate energy-containing molecules such as fat, and when to ease up and use existing stored energy. When the AMPK switch is on, it triggers use of stored energy from fats, boosts removal of sugar and fats from the blood, reduces inflammation and increases mitochondria production.
In younger years, AMPK is more activated resulting in a faster metabolism, protecting the body against obesity and diabetes. As we age, AMPK activation decreases, making the body more susceptible to weight gain and other destructive effects of aging.
Activated AMPK Health Benefits
Activated AMPK plays a vital role in metabolism and weight management. Some of its benefits include:
- Promote Weight Management – AMPK affects fat burning and appetite differently based on its location. It increases fat burning outside the brain and can lead to weight loss. In the brain, especially the hypothalamus, AMPK increases appetite, making you eat more and gain weight. Inhibiting AMPK in the brain reduces appetite and helps with weight loss. Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, activates AMPK in the brain, increasing appetite.
- Boosts metabolism – When cellular energy is low, AMPK activates to boost energy production and reduce energy consumption. In the hypothalamus, AMPK increases appetite, enhances glucose production and use, lowers heat production, and decreases energy output.
- Fat burner – AMPK inhibits the production of fatty acids, cholesterol, and triglycerides, while promoting the breakdown and burning of existing fat for energy.
- Production and burning sugar – Glucose is essential for brain function and is the body’s primary energy source. When blood glucose levels fall too low (hypoglycemia), it activates AMPK to protect brain stability. AMPK increases glucose production in the liver, enhances glucose uptake in muscles, and prevents glucose from being stored, ensuring it is available for immediate energy needs.
- May Promote Longevity– AMPK activation decreases with aging, which some researchers attribute to the rise in chronic inflammation as people get older, thereby reducing AMPK activity. Activating AMPK is believed to support various pathways linked to longevity and foster healthy aging. Numerous studies emphasize the critical role of AMPK in enhancing lifespan and mimicking the benefits of calorie restriction, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic target for promoting healthy aging.
How to Activate AMPK
Activating AMPK outside the hypothalamus can enhance metabolism. Here are several methods to achieve this:
1. Fasting: When you fast or practice time-restricted eating, your body experiences low energy levels, which activates AMPK. This helps improve metabolism.
2. Exercise: Physical activity, especially high-intensity exercise, is highly effective in activating AMPK. This stimulation enhances fat burning and improves metabolism.
3. Diet: A healthy, balanced diet that is low in sugar and processed foods promotes AMPK activation and enhances metabolism.
4. Supplements: Certain supplements are known to activate AMPK, contributing to weight loss and improved metabolism.
One such supplement is the ZipSlim®, a nutraceutical supplement in blackberry lemonade and cherry limeade flavors, backed by years of research, development, and practical application. ZipSlim® activates AMPK, balances healthy blood sugar levels, and controls stress-induced cortisol cravings with 16 active supernutrients*.
Discover how ZipSlim’s MAC® (metabolic activation complex) can transform your fitness journey today and help you become fitter, healthier, and happier*.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
