Dr Ritamarie

What if your struggles with blood sugar, belly fat, or cravings weren't just about food or exercise, but were also about connection? Oxytocin, also known as the love hormone, isn't just about bonding in childbirth and breastfeeding. It plays a critical role in metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and even how the body stores fat.

In our chronically stressed, socially disconnected world, many people are running around dangerously low in oxytocin and paying the price with rising insulin resistance. And we know that insulin resistance is an epidemic problem.

Today we are going to be talking about a special hormone. We are going to be talking about a hormone that is very disconnected often in common conversation. It's an episode that is going to shake up your perspective on metabolic health. We're going to explore the surprising metabolic power of oxytocin and why this hormone deserves a central role in your approach to insulin resistance.

We've been trained to focus on blood sugar, carbs, insulin control, cortisol, thyroid hormones, but that one hormone is one that very few people are talking about with respect to metabolism and also inflammation. Yes, that's oxytocin.

So let's dive into the biochemistry of how oxytocin influences metabolic health and how you can leverage this program in your clinical protocols for yourself and for your clients.

So what really is oxytocin? It's produced by the hypothalamus, and it's secreted by the posterior pituitary. It's best known for its roles in labor, breastfeeding, and social bonding. But that's only part of the story. What's often overlooked is that oxytocin receptors are distributed widely throughout the body, including the pancreatic islet cells, adipose tissues, skeletal muscle, the liver, and even the GI tract.

Dr Ritamarie (02:30)

Biochemically, oxytocin works via G protein-coupled receptors, activating what's called PI3K, AKT, and MAPK/ERK signaling pathways. Now that's a mouthful. These pathways overlap significantly with the insulin receptor activity. The so-called love hormone is biologically entangled in the same intracellular mechanisms we target in insulin resistance.

Bet you didn't know that. Most people don't.

So how does oxytocin improve insulin sensitivity? Well, let's break it down to what the literature shows about oxytocin's metabolic effects. Okay, number one, it causes enhanced glucose uptake. It stimulates the GLUT4 translocation in muscle and fat cells, the same endpoint as insulin's action. And in some animal studies, oxytocin restored glucose tolerance, even in insulin resistant mice.

Dr Ritamarie (03:26)

Oxytocin promotes beta cell survival under oxidative stress conditions. It enhances insulin secretion and protects mitochondrial integrity in those islet cells. Also, fat metabolism and body composition are controlled by oxytocin.

Oxytocin administration has been shown to reduce that visceral adipose even in the absence of dietary change, and it stimulates lipogenesis by down-regulating PPAR beta and up-regulating hormone-sensitive lipase. Now, wouldn't it be nice to think that you don't have to skip meals and starve yourself to get rid of that adipose. You need to put more hugs in your life, more hugs, more connection, more touch. That's the kind of thing that I like to hear, because it's a novel approach.

And most people just don't want to continue to hear what they should do and shouldn't do when it comes to food. And yes, of course, food makes a big difference, but this is an added benefit to getting those daily hugs.

Inflammation and oxidative stress are connected. Oxytocin suppresses NF-kappa-beta signaling, leading to decreased production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-6, TNF-alpha, and C-reactive protein. Those are all drivers of insulin resistance, and it reduces macrophage infiltration into adipose tissue.

Dr Ritamarie (04:54)

In essence, oxytocin is acting like an anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-obesity compound, yet it's completely ignored in most metabolic care protocols. Like I said, adding more fun and connection and hugs and touch is much easier than all the dietary approaches and the strict restrictions. And of course, we do need to keep the diet in mind as well.

So why is oxytocin so deficient in so many people that we see? Here's the kicker. Most modern humans are chronically oxytocin deficient. Why? Because we're disconnected. We live in a world of technology. We had a pandemic that kept us socially isolated for a long time. And chronic stress suppresses the hypothalamic production of oxytocin.

Elevated cortisol? Cortisol, the stress hormone, is inversely correlated with oxytocin levels. So why are we chronically stressed? Why are we chronically low in oxytocin?

Well, social isolation, back during the days of the pandemic, we were isolated. We were stuck indoors. We weren't having that connection with people. And it removes that natural stimuli for an oxytocin release. Even within families, people were kind of holding back and afraid to hug each other and touch each other and kiss each other. So this is a problem with oxytocin.

And maybe, it’s no wonder that the difference between the study in the University of North Carolina looking at metabolic imbalance changed so much between 2018 and 2021. Back in 2018, about 88% of the population was metabolically unwell, still ridiculously high, but by 2021, it was at 93% of the population. Do you think, maybe, the social isolation contributed? Maybe the oxytocin deficit? Possibility, right?

So when we don't have that natural stimuli for oxytocin release, touch and eye contact and laughter and shared meals, our oxytocin goes down, our cortisol goes up, and our metabolic health suffers.

Dr Ritamarie (07:06)

So a lot of things also relate to oxytocin affecting metabolic health. And we talk about these things in relation to metabolic health all the time, right? Poor sleep, EMF exposure, high sugar levels, those all contribute. But when we add trauma, emotional trauma and physical trauma, and we have a lack of oxytocin, it's going to interfere with the rhythms. It's going to interfere with the way that oxytocin naturally occurs in our life. And then when we make matters worse, insulin resistance can down regulate oxytocin receptors. So it's kind of a vicious cycle. And we end up with this metabolic loop that we have a hard time getting out of.

So whenever you're having somebody who's struggling with their blood sugar, and you're trying all the things, and they're taking all the supplements, and they're stressed, ask them about their connections. Ask them about social isolation. Ask them how often they're getting hugs. And for those who live alone, they don't have to get another person, although it's better, of course, but this kind of thing, hugging themselves, butterfly hugs make a huge difference in oxytocin levels.

In clinical practice, we see a lot of emotional disconnection. We see a lot of people suffering from emotional trauma. We see that stubborn belly fat and that persistent insulin resistance, despite clean diets. And it might be rooted in the neuroendocrine deficiency that's commonly and completely off people's radar. Most practitioners aren't talking to their insulin resistant, metabolically and overweight people about oxytocin.

So let's talk about ways that we can boost oxytocin naturally. Fortunately, it's highly responsive to lifestyle, highly responsive. And as functional practitioners, this is a powerful tool in our tool box.

So a few interventions to consider besides the daily hugs, right? Hugging is very important. Get your hugs every day. Encourage them to get their hugs every day. Therapeutic massage. Self-massage works, but getting therapeutic massage can be helpful. If you're a touch, hands-on type practitioner, encourage them to get their bodies adjusted.

Dr Ritamarie (09:19)

If you're a chiropractor, and you're adjusting people, put in the massage, the rubbing, because the adjustments help as well. But that extra touch, even if you're not able to get rid of all their trigger points, that hug, that touch, and give your patients a hug.

One of our practitioners, she's a graduate of my nutritional endocrinology practitioner training. She calls herself the hug doctor. She's an M.D. She's worked in the NHS in England for many, many years, 20 years, 25 years. And she gives every patient within her nine to 10 minutes that she gets with a patient, she starts and ends with a hug. That's so therapeutic, and it's so overlooked in modern medicine.

So hugs, massage, skin-to-skin contact, even petting animals, cuddling with your cat or your dog or your hamster, whatever it might be.

The other things are anything that stimulates the vagus nerve. So breath work, breathing techniques, chanting, even sticking a tongue depressor down and causing the vagus nerve to be activated can also help to support oxytocin production.

And then group classes. I like going to classes, we didn't do that a lot during the pandemic, but going to a yoga class, going to a group dance class, being in community with other people, going to classes where you create a community makes a huge boost in oxytocin production.

Dr Ritamarie (10:42)

Other things like connection rituals, eye gazing. I've been to many conferences where we are just told to make eye contact with the person next to us. Eye connection, that stimulates oxytocin. Gratitude, journaling, and shared meals, they also boost oxytocin. And we forget about orgasm. Orgasm is a huge producer of oxytocin, cuddling a baby, right? That causes oxytocin and the milk let-down.

There are nutrients that support oxytocin, magnesium, vitamin C, and flavonoids like quercetin may enhance oxytocin signaling. That might be one benefit during the pandemic, people were all into quercetin as a bioflavonoid and an antihistamine.

And of course, feeling emotionally safe, feeling in a relationship where you're feeling like you're emotionally safe. Having your nervous system regulated. There's a lot of techniques out there for helping people to get their nervous system regulated. It's not just about the food, it's not just about the exercise, it's not just about the supplements, but keeping the nervous system regulated. Getting the oxytocin in balance can be huge. And I'm a big fan of Heart Math. Heart Math is huge and can stimulate oxytocin through sympathetic lowering and parasympathetic elevation.

Things like trauma work, there's a lot of good trauma work practices. Your client might need trauma work, right? It may be beyond your scope and referencing them out to get trauma work. Any kind of coherence training, anything that's going to restore vagus nerve function is going to help in restoring oxytocin.

Dr Ritamarie (12:18)

So the bottom line, what's the bottom line? Oxytocin is a metabolic hormone, not just a feel-good hormone. It's not just about milk let down, it's not just about labor, it's not just about love, it's about metabolic health. And it improves insulin sensitivity and reduces fat storage and lowers inflammation through well-established mechanisms. And I've got some links down in the show notes that you can look at.

It's depleted in many, many people that we see, especially those who've had trauma, who are in a stressful situation or are living alone or in social isolation. And more and more people are living that way.

So those are the things to address. If you're not assessing the oxytocin deficiency, you might be missing a key driver of metabolic dysfunction. We all need to incorporate this into our metabolic healing programs.

So ask yourself, what's your patient's connection quotient? How much are they getting? How's their nervous system? How's their community? How's their joy? How much fun are they having in their lives? How many times are they getting together and laughing with people? How's their sex life? Healing?

Metabolism isn't just about macros and movements. It's about human connection, safety, and biochemical regulation at the deepest level. We all need it. We all need it badly. And with 93% of the population metabolically unwell, let's focus on oxytocin. Let's help to bring our clients into that. That's 7% and better.

Dr Ritamarie (13:51)

So remember, we represent the future of healthcare. Those of us who are putting care back into healthcare, replacing the outdated focus on symptom suppression and disease management. This is how we can make a difference in the world. And I've dedicated my life to empowering people to take back control of their life, to take back control of their health, and to support practitioners like you in getting to the root causes and helping people to truly get well.

Thank you for joining me today. And if you found this helpful, share it with a colleague and subscribe for more science-backed, rich strategies that help you to reinvent healthcare. And until next time, keep unraveling the root causes, leading with connection, and shine on.