Are Your Hormone Secretions Out of Whack?

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Hormones play a vital role in coordinating different functions within your body. Acting as chemical messengers, they transmit messages through the bloodstream to various organs, skin, muscles, and tissues, dictating what actions should be taken.

Understanding the mechanics of hormonal production and release can be important to making healthy lifestyle changes as your body ages. It operates through a negative feedback system, where rising hormone levels slow down production to halt the release.

Your endocrine system is a complex network of glands and organs in your body. It produces and releases hormones to control important functions like metabolism, energy levels, reproduction, response to injury, and even changes to your mood. Some glands in the body have non-endocrine regions that serve functions other than hormone secretion. For example, the pancreas has an exocrine portion that releases digestive enzymes and an endocrine portion that releases hormones.

Nutrient Intake Affects Hormone Balance

Ensuring adequate intake of essential nutrients like fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants supports hormone production and facilitates weight loss. Listed below key hormones, including:

Estrogen: If you think estrogen is only for women, you would be wrong. Estrogen plays a crucial role in both male and female bodies. In women, it's responsible for ovulation, menstruation, breast development, and more. In men, estrogen modulates libido, erectile function, and development of sperm cells.

Progesterone: Progesterone is a steroid hormone that the female body secretes through a temporary gland called the corpus luteum. This gland forms after ovulation in the second half of the menstrual cycle. Balanced levels make it easier to maintain a healthy weight and increases energy levels.

Testosterone: When testosterone production drops below normal, muscle mass decreases, which leads to a slower metabolism and weight gain. However, testosterone therapy has been found to increase metabolism, helping the body burn calories more efficiently.

Insulin: Insufficient insulin production or the body's poor utilization of it can result in the accumulation of blood sugar, leading to diabetes. In fact, over 30 million people in the US suffer from diabetes, making insulin imbalance a major concern.

Cortisol: Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. It plays a vital role in keeping your body healthy and energized. It helps regulate metabolism, blood pressure, inflammation, and even helps with memory formation. While essential for handling dangerous situations, high levels of cortisol cause problems.

Thyroid Hormone: If you are tired, unmotivated, and struggling with weight gain, your thyroid hormones may be to blame. Thyroxin, a hormone produced in the thyroid gland, plays a crucial role in your body's development, metabolism, and energy levels.

If hormonal weight gain is left untreated, it can lead to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, infertility, mood disturbances, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, asthma, cancer, and even obesity. Any of these can shorten your lifespan.

You should also consider taking a daily fiber supplement. Aim for 25 grams of fiber per day in addition to improving other dietary choices. Remember, a diet too high in sugar can have significant effects on reproductive hormones and lead to conditions like PCOS.

Visit MRC to learn more about our plans for healthy living.