Cover Story
My First, My Last,
My Endocrine Everything you need to know about hormones. By Carla Thomas
H
ormones. Everyone’s got ‘em, but for many of us, we don’t give them the full attention they deserve, nor do we understand the central role they play in our health and wellness. The truth is, hormones are essential to optimal functioning. Although we tend to attribute things like sex, puberty and menstruation to hormonal activity, these multi-purpose molecules in our bodies are also the catalyst for virtually everything we do in our daily lives, including eating, sleeping, moving, and our overall emotional wellbeing. A hormonal imbalance can be responsible for a wide spectrum of symptoms, including heart palpitations, depression, hair loss, anxiety, weight gain, memory loss, and more. It can even increase the risk of serious health issues such as heart attack, stroke and osteoporosis. That’s why understanding our hormonal levels and how they actually work is crucial to living our best, healthiest lives. So let’s dive into the weird, wonderful world of hormones, starting with the basics…
WHAT ARE HORMONES?
Hormones are our body’s chemical messengers. They’re produced via the endocrine system, a complex network of glands and organs: the hypothalamus, pituitary, and pineal gland in the brain; the thyroid and parathyroid in the neck; the thymus in the chest; the adrenal glands in the kidneys; and the pancreas and reproductive organs. Each area produces and secretes specific types of hormones into the circulatory system, in order to control everything from body composition, metabolism, energy levels and growth, to our response to injury and stress. This process is largely kept in check through a feedback loop, meaning that once balance is restored in our bodies, the system should switch off. Problems occur when our endocrine system either won’t turn on or off correctly, leading to a plethora of confusing signals floating around in our bodies and generally causing mayhem.
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