Hormones Control How You Feel

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Hormones play a crucial role in your bodily functions. Acting as critical chemical messengers, they communicate instructions to your organs and tissues through your bloodstream by connecting with specified target cells.

As you age, your hormone levels change, which can lead to mood swings, sleep disturbances, and other health problems. Moreover, an imbalance in certain hormones can result in weight gain around the abdomen or fat deposits on your hips, bum or thighs.

It's important to understand that hormones are controlled by your hypothalamus, a section of your brain that acts as the control center for your body. It works hard to maintain a stable state of homeostasis that can make it difficult to lose weight. It is a delicate balance, and when it comes to weight loss, things get really tricky. Cutting back on calories can slow down your metabolism to retain stored fat, and intense exercise can actually release leptin hormone intensifying hunger.

Hormone Tests Can Identify Imbalances

Hormone tests can indicate if weight gain or difficulty losing weight is due abnormal metabolism and the accumulation of body fat due to imbalances in hormones like those discussed below:

Estrogen: When estrogen is in balance, fat storage plays an important role in a woman’s reproductive functions. But, when there's too little or too much estrogen released into the bloodstream, problems with weight control becomes more likely.

Progesterone: Progesterone is a key hormone involved in the female reproductive system. Although the hormone is not as well-known as estrogen, it plays a key role in a woman’s menstrual cycle and early stages of pregnancy.

Testosterone: Women with increased testosterone production may exhibit male physical characteristics, such as muscle bulk, facial and body hair, and a deepening voice. On the other hand, low testosterone levels in men can cause irritability, aggression, and worsening skin acne.

Insulin: It's essential to recognize that different hormones are intended to influence each other. Cortisol released into your bloodstream triggers your body to release insulin. Thus, constant stress can make it easy to gain weight, especially belly fat.

Cortisol: Cortisol helps your body turn stored fat into energy and stabilizes blood sugar levels. It can even help you wake up and get going in the mornings, but when you have too much cortisol in your system, it can cause weight gain related to faulty fat metabolism.

Thyroid Hormone: Thyroxin, a hormone secreted by the thyroid gland, is prompted by signals originating from the hypothalamus. Acting on almost every tissue in the body, thyroxin is essential for proper cell development and differentiation. With iodine as one of its components, a lack of iodine in the diet will result in decreased thyroxin production.

Hormones can play a significant role in how your body signals hunger and uses the energy you consume. Imbalances often lead to weight gain, particularly in the form of fat storage around the waist, hips and thighs. Prioritize your goals for health living by maintaining a balanced lifestyle.

Sugar is closely connected to estrogen, a hormone that affects many processes in the body. Additionally, a diet high in sugar can impact reproductive hormones and worsen conditions like PCOS. If you have experienced unexplained weight gain or difficulty in shedding pounds, visit MRC to learn more about our Hormone Test Kit. It’s easy to use and can provide life-changing results.