Hormones 101 - "Feel good / Look good

Derived from the Greek word 'hormao', hormone means to excite or stir into action

What do hormones do?

Hormones regulate the body's biochemical reactions for everything the body does and makes.   A balanced hormone presence will decrease the symptoms of aging (aging skin, memory loss, fatigue, aches /pains / stiffness, shortened life-span) and restore vitality, sexuality, a slim figure, a good attitude, healthier bones, a healthier heart, and a sharper brain.

Present in all multi-cellular organisms, a hormone is a "communication device".   In the form of a chemical messenger that transports a signal via the bloodstream from one or more cells to other cells in the organism, to affect a change in the receiving cells. Only a small amount of hormone is required. Different hormones work together to regulate many body functions, including:

• Mood / Stress response
• Tissue function
• Reproduction /Sexual function
• Growth and development
• Metabolism E.g. Mineral metabolism

Hormones must be in balance

When your hormones are in balance you will:

• Sleep well
• Have energy in abundance
• Have a strong sex drive
• Have an efficiently functioning immune and digestive system

Conversely, when your hormones become imbalanced, a number of symptoms can present, including:

• Adrenal fatigue
• Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

Most hormone imbalances develop over time as a consequence of lifestyle patterns.   Only a few imbalances result from endocrine organ malfunctions.

• Chronic stress resulting in CORTISOL imbalance is often the culprit.  Not only is CORTISOL the primary hormone for responding to stress, it is also primarily involved in helping your body convert food into energy, normalize blood sugar and maintain your immune system's inflammatory response. Unbalanced CORTISOL also deregulates female hormones. Thus, for example, hormonal symptoms experienced by women before, during and after menopause are largely avoidable by attending to lifestyle choices that affect stress on the body.
• The response to stress that will interfere with hormonal balance is triggered by emotional, dietary or painful/inflammatory events.  For example, work stress, financial worries, relationship problems, poor diet (e.g. too much sugar, refined carbs, processed food and damaged fats, not enough good fats, antioxidants and water), exposure to toxins.

Correcting a hormone imbalance requires an holistic, lifestyle approach before hormone replacement:

• Apply the NEWSTARTS protocol to your life

NEWSTARTS

• -   In particular, address past and present emotional trauma.   Using available "tools", such as prayer and meridian tapping techniques (MTT)

Trust in God

MTT

• That done, ensure your adrenal hormones are in balance.   Weakened adrenals will not allow your hormones to attain balance.

Balance Adrenals

Having addressed the above issues, you could now consider some specific bio-identical hormone therapies

The Endocrine Glands

Endocrine tissues or glands contain specialized cells that synthesize, store, and release hormones directly into the bloodstream.  In contrast to exocrine organs that secrete their substances into ducts. However, there are a few exocrine organs that also have endocrine gland function, secreting hormones directly into the blood stream. E.g. the pancreas, kidneys, liver.

The endocrine glands are central to regulating and normalizing all the body's interconnected systems.  Of great significance, is a small gland in the brain, called the hypothalamus, which is the link between the endocrine and nervous systems.

• THE BRAIN sends messages to the hypothalamus . . .
• THE HYPOTHALAMUS then sends messages to the nearby pituitary gland (by secreting, so called, Releasing Hormones . . .
• THE PITUITARY then produces hormones that stimulate Target Glands . . .
• TARGET GLANDS then secrete their own hormones

A number of glands that signal each other in sequence are often referred to as an axis.  E.g. the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Hormone-producing cells produce one of three types of hormones:

Amines (water-soluble, produced from amino acids) - for example:

• Thyroid hormones - THYROXINE (T4), TRIIODOTHYRONINE (T3);
• Catecholamines - produced by sympathetic nervous system activation, they include EPINEPHRINE (ADRENALINE), NOREPINEPHRINE and DOPAMINE, controlling autonomic arousal, fight-or-flight stress response, and reward response.

PolypeptidesE.g. pituitary ACTH, INSULIN, parathyroid hormone);

Steroids (fat-soluble, produced from cholesterol) -include

• Glucocorticoids: E.g. CORTISOL
• Mineralocorticoids: E.g. ALDOSTERONE; involved in sodium retention;
• Sex steroid hormones: Androgens (E.g. TESTOSTERONE), estrogens (E.g. ESTRADIOL) and progestagens (E.g. PROGESTERONE );
• Sterols: Vitamin D (E.g. CALCIDIOL, CALCITRIOL). Closely related, also considered steroid hormones).

Steroid Hormones:

Sex Steroid Hormones

CHART OF HUMAN HORMONES

Exocrine organ hormones

Some exocrine organs contain an endocrine gland portion and a duct portion

• Endocrine gland portion secretes hormones directly into the blood stream- E.g. the pancreas secretes the hormones INSULIN, GLUCAGONs and somatostatin; the liver secretes INSULIN-like growth factor hormones IGF-1 and IGF-2;
• Duct portion secretes substances via ducts that lead into the bodily environment external to the gland - E.g. the pancreas secretes pancreatic juice to aid digestion; salivary glands secrete saliva. The mammary glands produce milk, but no hormones.

Endocrine Organs and their hormones

Hormone Biology

Mode of travel

Hormones travel through the human body via blood circulation

Another communication method in the body is the Nervous System.   This system conducts electrically and so operates much faster, but does not have the longer-lasting effect of hormones

Target Cells and hormonal effects

Target Cells respond to a hormone if they contain the specific receptors for that hormone

The hormone binds to the receptor (like a key in a lock) to give the cell instructions (the activated response is called a signal transduction pathway) specific to the cell type.

In "target" cells, hormones bind to specific receptor proteins:

(1) Inside the cell.  E.g. most steroid hormones enter the cell to initiate a slow process as they unite with either a receptor in the cytoplasm or the nucleus to form a hormone/receptor complex that:

(a) Has a genomic effect.  Complex moves into the nucleus (if not already there), where it attaches directly to special DNA binding sites and affects gene transcription of hormone-responsive genes; an mRNA molecule is formed, which is transported to the cytoplasm , where proteins are synthesized to mediate the effect of the hormone. This cytoplasmic/nuclear interaction (classic pathway) takes minutes or hours.

(b) Has a non-genomic effect.  Initiates a series of fast reactions in the cytoplasm and does not affect gene transcription.E.g. Estrogen can: (i) Trigger nitric oxide production, (ii) Flood the cell with calcium, or(iii) Initiate hormone release.

(2) On the cell surface.  E.g epinephrine, norepinephrine and peptide hormones ("First messengers") bind to a receptor on the membrane surface setting off a cascade of reactions, which proliferate "Second messengers"inside the cell, which affect existing proteins within the cell. Typically this process is much faster than those that bind to internal receptors and influence creation of new proteins (as in (1a) above)

Hormone effects are complex

• Different receptors within a cell can recognize the same hormone and trigger different actions
• Several cell types can recognize the same hormone and trigger action in a number of different tissues.  Different tissue types may respond differently to the same hormonal signal. E.g. INSULIN triggers a diverse range of physiological effects.
• Different hormones and their receptors can trigger the same action (by the same biochemical pathway)

Hormone Receptors determine the level of response to a hormone

Hormone receptor locations

• Many hormone receptors are embedded in the plasma membrane (at the cell surface)
• Most hormone receptors for steroid and thyroid hormones are in the cytoplasm inside the target cell.  To bind to these receptors, the hormones must cross the cell membrane forming a combined hormone-receptor complex.

Amplification /Suppression of hormone signal.   A hormone-receptor complex formed in the cellular cytoplasm then moves across the nuclear membrane into the cell nucleus, where it amplifies or suppresses actions of certain genes affecting a cellular response of protein synthesis in muscles and bones.

Concentration of Hormone-Receptor complexes dictate the level of response to a hormone.   These concentrations are determined by:

• Number of hormonemolecules. Available for complex formation (Usually the key factor);
• Number of receptor molecules.  Available for complex formation;
• Binding affinity.  Between hormone and receptor.

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