Have you ever thought about the importance of a message being conveyed well?
Messages have to be communicated well to learn, grow, and develop properly.
One type of messenger that is essential to our minds and bodies operating well is hormones.
The truth is we have over 50 hormones in our body to serve many different processes and functions.
If we were to uncover all of the hormones, it would take multiple blog posts to do so. However, to help you understand what hormones are and what their general functions are, keep on reading as we're going to cover this in greater detail today.
What are hormones?
Hormones are commonly known as your body's chemical messengers. This is because hormones travel along in your bloodstream, distributing important messages to your tissues or organs.
Also, at times hormones can step in and be more of a regulator instead of a messenger. Part of this reason is that hormones help achieve homeostasis in the body. Once hormones fulfil their purpose, the amount produced needs to be controlled, which happens through a form of a mechanism known as a feedback control mechanism.
Hormones can also help regulate the following:
- Growth and development
- Sexual function
- Metabolism
- Mood
- Reproduction
Where are hormones made?
Hormones are made in the endocrine glands, a particular group of cells you can find in your body. You may be familiar with these glands as they're also known as the Pituitary, Pineal thyroid, parathyroid, thymus, adrenal and pancreas. Moreover, in males, hormones are also produced in the testes, whereas hormones are produced in their ovaries in females. To give you more of an idea, here is a further breakdown:
- Pituitary: The pituitary gland is commonly named the term "master control gland." This is because this gland helps steer the control of other hormones.
- Pineal: The pineal gland secretes serotonin and melatonin, which influences sleep patterns.
- Thyroid: This gland secretes hormones that influence your heart rate and the number of calories you burn.
- Parathyroid: The Parathyroid helps control the amount of calcium your body produces.
- Thymus: The thymus helps produce T-cells that help your immune system.
- Adrenal: The adrenal gland produces hormones that control your sex drive, cortisol levels, and stress hormones.
- Pancreas: This gland contributes to the production of insulin hormones which play a key role in helping you maintain your blood sugar levels.
- Testes: The testes secrete testosterone and produce sperm.
- Ovaries: Ovaries release estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and other sex hormones.
What is a hormonal imbalance?
While our bodies produce hormones, sometimes there are situations where we can suffer from hormonal imbalances. These imbalances happen when too much or too little of a certain hormone is in your bloodstream.
Moreover, due to their essential role in your body, a slight change can cause an imbalance and cause certain side effects in your body. Hormonal imbalances can affect both males and females. Most of the time, females can experience imbalances in progesterone and estrogen levels. At the same time, males experience imbalances in testosterone levels.
If you're a female and think you're experiencing a hormone balance, you might have the following symptoms:
- Infertility
- Mood swings
- Diarrhoea
- Irregular menstrual cycle
- Insomnia
- Low sex drive
- Skin rashes
- Unexplained weight gain or weight loss
Males can also experience the following symptoms:
- Lowered sex drive
- Erectile dysfunction
- Loss of muscle mass
- Thinning hair
- Reduced hair growth
- Tenderness in chest
How to help hormonal imbalance?
If you feel like you might have a hormonal imbalance of some kind, there are a few things you can do to help get your levels back on track , they are:
Exercise
According to the NHS, you should be exercising for 150 minutes of exercise at a moderate intensity every week. Part of the reason exercise is so beneficial as it can help reduce your insulin levels and increase insulin sensitivity.
Insulin is so important for your body that it can take up glucose and amino acids from your bloodstream, later be used as energy and maintain muscle mass. It also regulates the amount of insulin produced, lowering the likelihood of inflammation, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Take supplements
If you feel like you're suffering from symptoms of hormonal imbalance, certain supplements can alleviate them. Some good ones to take are:
Inositol
This supplement mixes three nutrients that help regulate your neurotransmitters, hormones and folate. Inositol comes in capsule form and supports fertility, hormone balance, helps weight loss and supports your metabolism. It's also suitable for vegans and vegetarians and being dairy, gluten, filler, artificial and flavouring free.
Sea Kelp
Sea Kelp is a form of seaweed that carries many essential nutrients and vitamins. It's also high in antioxidants, which help your body fight against free radicals. In addition to this, the antioxidants found in sea kelp supplements work together to protect your body from cancer and improve your cardiovascular health.
Saw Palmetto
You might want to take the Saw Palmetto supplement if you're a male. This supplement primarily supports the male reproductive system. It also helps balance your testosterone levels, helps with bladder health and has a high amount of antioxidants.
Consume enough protein
Another essential way to address a hormonal imbalance is by consuming enough protein through food and drink. You must do so, as protein provides essential amino acids your body can't make by itself.
You must consume an ample amount of protein each day to maintain muscle mass and develop better bone strength and skin health. Moreover, protein stimulates the hormone ghrelin, allowing you to feel full and not overeat.
Get good sleep
Bad sleep is often linked to imbalances of hormones like cortisol, insulin, leptin, ghrelin, the growth hormone and many more. Therefore, you must get a good quality sleep and a good amount of time. On average, males should be at least seven hours per night.
Conclusion
Overall, we have many different hormones in our bodies that serve different purposes. As it's your body, you must take control of it to make sure you don't have a hormonal imbalance from producing too little or too many hormones.
One way to take control of such an imbalance is by making sure you get good quality sleep, exercise well, eat enough protein and take supplements. If you find yourself still suffering from specific side effects after implementing those just stated, seek advice from your G.P.