Welcome to my continuing education on aging. This month's article is broken down into two parts, with the second half on diet and exercising coming next week. Stay tuned!
Last month, we talked about how we stop growing between the ages of 21-25, and if we are not staying active to keep up with this change, we lose our lean mass - muscle - as our bodies replace it with fat.
Today I’d like to talk about hormones and how they control almost everything that happens to our bodies. Our physical, mental and emotional states are all affected by our body’s chemical balance. Among the many aspects of our body’s functions, hormones control our mood, energy, hair loss, weight gain, weight loss, skin issues - the list is long!
Hormones are always changing within our bodies as we go through life and when they are out of balance they can play havoc with us. For women in particular, who are perimenopausal and menopausal, hormones have a big impact on daily life. I am going to talk about women ages 35 and up, since these are the most common years in which women are perimenopausal and menopausal.
HORMONES
Of the 11 hormone factories that women have in their bodies, the 9 primary producers are:
- hypothalamus
- pituitary
- thyroid
- parathyroid
- adrenals
- pancreas
- ovaries
- pineal
- thymus
As you can see, the body is a complicated organism, with many elements contributing to the chemical process. Let us focus on the two hormone factories that have the tendency to play with our metabolism the most.
ADRENAL GLANDS
Adrenal glands are among the most important glands in the body. These are stress-responder glands and they guide the body’s reaction to a stressor by releasing small amounts of estrogens, testosterone, DHEA, cortical, and progesterone.
THYROID GLAND
This sets the rate of our metabolism which means it regulates almost every cell in our body! The hormones involved with the thyroid metabolize fats, proteins, and carbohydrates for energy at many sites in our body. In other words, thyroid hormones set the pace for the way we use food as fuel, rev up our fat-burning engines, and set our heart-rate and temperature among many other important functions in the body. Since thyroid hormones regulate every cell in every organ, keeping your thyroid healthy and your thyroid hormones balanced is the key to good health.
THYROID AND ADRENAL CONNECTION
Stressors on the body result in high levels of cortisol from the adrenal glands, which negatively impact the thyroid. Cortisol is the stress hormone that creates more belly fat. When cortisol goes up, estrogens increase, which block the uptake of the thyroid hormone. Adequate amounts of thyroid hormone are needed to make cortisol function properly and vice versa.
Next week we’ll look at how we can eat better foods to encourage the production of positive hormones within our bodies and why exercise is so important.
Keep Believing!
Carrie
In Good Health - Carrie Light
Personal Trainer, Langley BC
