Hormones: Essential for Life and Your Health

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word hormone? Pimples? Mood swings? Cramps? Really inopportune moments when your body feels warm, and you start to sweat? Hormones are obviously involved in puberty, but they are so much more than that.

Tiny but mighty, hormones are necessary for our bodies to function properly.

Hormones are involved in regulating energy levels, reproduction, growth and development, your response to injury, stress, environmental factors, and more. So, buckle up, grab your antiperspirant and acne scrub, because today we’re talking about hormones.

What Are Hormones and Why Are They Important?

Hormones affect everything we do – how we feel, how we grow into an adult, whether or not we reach for that second donut, and whether we feel we can control our emotions. Hormones are the chemical messengers that spring our cells into action, telling them what to do, how to do it, and when. The cells that interact and receive the messages from hormones are in every tissue and system of the body! Think of your hormones as the waiters at a restaurant. They write orders for the kitchen, then the cooks (your cells) fulfill these orders.

Hormones and most of the tissues (mainly glands) that create and release them make up your endocrine system. With hormones, minor changes in levels can cause significant changes to your body and lead to certain conditions that require medical treatment, such as diabetes and hypothyroidism.

Hormones are important because they control nearly all the processes in your body, including:

• Metabolism (the way you break down food and get energy from nutrients)
• Growth and development
• Emotions and mood
• Fertility and sexual function
• Sleep
• Blood pressure

Where do Hormones Come From?

Hormones are produced by organs (or glands) in the endocrine system. Hormone-producing glands are located throughout the body. The main hormone-producing glands in the body are:

• Pituitary: Controls the other glands and makes the hormones that trigger growth. Some refer to the pituitary gland as the “master control gland.” This is where Human Growth Hormone is produced.
• Pancreas: Produces insulin that helps control blood sugar
• Thyroid: Produces hormones that help with calorie burning and heart rate
• Parathyroid: Controls the amount of calcium in the body
• Adrenal: Produce hormones that control stress hormone (cortisol) and sex drive
• Hypothalamus: Responsible for controlling body temperature, hunger, and moods. It also controls the release of hormones from other glands and controls sleep, thirst, and sex drive.
• Pineal: Also known as the thalamus, the pineal produces serotonin derivatives of melatonin, which affects sleep
• Testes: In males, produce the male sex hormone, testosterone and produce sperm
• Ovaries: In females, secrete estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone

Disorders That Affect the Endocrine System

Some of the most common disorders that can cause issues in the endocrine system are:

• Diabetes:

This endocrine disorder affects the way your body uses the energy from the food you eat. Diabetes develops when the pancreas doesn’t make enough of a hormone called insulin, or the insulin doesn’t work as it should.

• Thyroid disorders:

Several conditions can affect the function of the thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism happens when the thyroid doesn’t produce enough hormones. Hyperthyroidism occurs when it creates too many hormones.

• Hypogonadism (low testosterone):

In men, hypogonadism can cause erectile dysfunction. It can also cause memory and concentration problems, changes in muscle strength, and low sex drive. It happens when the testes do not produce enough of the sex hormone testosterone.

• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS):

A hormonal imbalance causes women with PCOS to have irregular periods, abnormal hair growth, excess acne, and weight gain. It can lead to diabetes, increased risk of metabolic syndrome, and infertility.

• Osteoporosis:

When a woman’s ovaries don’t produce enough estrogen, bones become brittle and weak. Although it is more common in women, men sometimes have osteoporosis when testosterone levels get too low. People with an overactive parathyroid gland (hyperparathyroidism) may also have weak bones.

How Can I Keep My Endocrine System Healthy?

Your endocrine system depends on the same things the rest of your body needs to stay healthy and balanced. Regular exercise and eating a balanced, nutritious diet will help to keep your endocrine system in check.

If you have a family history of diabetes, thyroid disorders, or PCOS, talk to your healthcare provider. Managing these conditions can help you avoid a hormone imbalance that can lead to further health problems.

What is New U Life Doing to Help?

Sometimes, hormones can really go out of whack, causing a myriad of hormonal imbalances that can affect our health in a negative way. There are numerous ways to combat these negative effects, from exercise, nutrition, medications, and supplementation.

At New U Life, we’re all about creating products that help build you better. New U Life is focused on creating products that provide hormone balance from a broad-spectrum systemic perspective as well as in targeted ways that are system specific.

New U Life is committed to giving you the most effective products to help you challenge the way you age, and SomaDerm® is no exception. As we age, our body’s ability to produce natural human growth hormone (HGH) diminishes, and that’s where SomaDerm® comes in. With SomaDerm®, you can discover how harnessing your body’s natural growth hormone can help you break the bounds that come with aging and rediscover health and vitality in a non-invasive, easy, and affordable way. Made with the highest standard of natural, botanical herbs and ingredients, SomaDerm® not only helps support healthy adrenal and thyroid function in the body but helps rejuvenate our bodies as we age.

To learn more about what SomaDerm® can do for you, click here

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