Boost your hormones to live long and healthy
The more you worry the more you throw off the delicate balance of hormones required for health.
- Andrew J. Bernstein.
Our entire personality, our energy level, and how we cope is hormonal. - Sandra Tsing Loh.
To control your hormones is to control your life.
-Barry Sears.
Hormones are very powerful things. We are helpless in their wake.
-Meg Cabot.
Mrs Avantika, 45 years female noticed that her weight was increasing slowly for last 4-6 months without any significant change in lifestyle and diet. She also felt that she was becoming irritable and tired with irregular sleep and irregular menstruation. She will skip menstruation one month and then next month it will be normal. Sexual drive was low as desire was sometimes high and sometimes low. Sexual intercourse was not same as earlier as it was becoming painful and uncomfortable. She was also facing hot flushes and night sweats and mood swings. She was anxious and worried. She felt that there was no joy left in life. She started avoiding going out of house and meeting family and friends. She was changed. She was even scared that what was happing to her. She was referred by her doctor to internal medicine specialist and he did few tests and found that she was entering in the life phase of menopause which causes hormonal imbalances. She was having menopause and her symptoms were due to hormonal imbalance of menopause. She was told to accept it and live normally as every female passes through this phase. It took sometime but she accepted the truth of life and welcomed the menopause. Now she is a cheerful and happy lady.
Hypothalamus – Pituitary gland complex
The hypothalamus and the pituitary gland are closely linked anatomically and functionally. The hypothalamus is a small structure situated below the main brain, it extends downwards into the pituitary stem. Pituitary gland has two lobes, anterior and posterior. It consists of nerve-cell grouped into nuclei, with nerve-fibres running to it from other parts of the brain and nerve-fibres running from it down the stalk of the pituitary gland into the posterior lobe of the gland.
Anterior lobe of pituitary gland produces growth hormone (GH), thyrotrophic stimulating hormone (TSH) which stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) which stimulates the adrenal glands to produce gonadotrophic hormones (gonadotrophins) which act on the sex glands. In men, produce androgens. In women, produce female hormones. Two hormones are produce in the hypothalamus and pass down the nerve-fibres to the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. These are Antidiuretic hormone which stimulates the distal tubules of the kidney to reabsorb water from the fluid. Oxytocin which stimulates contraction of the uterus and contraction of the muscles of the ducts of the breast, causing the milk to be squeezed from the deep to the superficial ducts.
As the age advances level of HGH (Human growth hormone) in body decreases due to senile functional decline of pitulary glands. Which leads to loss of muscle mass, gain of fat, wrinkles in skin, capacity of heart diminishes, insulin resistance and diabetes appear, all these accelerate aging.
HGH is responsible for age reversing benefits of estrogen, testosterone and DHEA. Age related diminision of HGH level can be restored by replacement given therapy and natural methods, like calorie restriction, good sound sleep, reduction of stress and a balanced diet.
Thyroid gland
The thyroid gland is situated in the neck. The thyroid gland secretes (a) thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine and (b) thyrocalcitonin as hormones. Their production is stimulated by the thyrotrophic stimulating hormone (TSH) of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland whenever, the blood-thyroxine level falls. Thyrocalcitonin is a hormone secreted by certain cells called C cells. It’s production is probably stimulated by a rise in the amount of calcium in the plasma.
Vinod Nigam