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Hormone Health

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Hormone Health

Firstly, what is a hormone? "A hormone is a chemical released by a cell in one part of the body, that sends out messages that affect cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. It is essentially a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one cell to another." - Wikipedia

Hormones (or the lack thereof) could have the following effects on ones body:

* stimulation or inhibition of growth
* mood swings
* induction or suppression of apoptosis (programmed cell death)
* activation or inhibition of the immune system
* regulation of metabolism
* preparation of the body for mating, fighting, fleeing, and other activity
* preparation of the body for a new phase of life, such as puberty, parenting, and menopause
* control of the reproductive cycle
* hunger cravings (see how this diet uses Human Growth Hormone)

One hormone may also regulate the production and release of other hormones. Hormone signals control the internal environment of the body through homeostasis.

To sum this all up: Hormones are chemical messengers that control the functioning of our body.

Hormone Imbalance

There are specialists such as obstetricians, gynecologists and reproductive endocrinologists who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of hormonal imbalance and abnormalities.

Women of all ages may experience hormonal imbalances, often with symptoms becoming evident in their late twenties and throughout their forties. Many women also experience symptoms of hormonal changes during their premenstrual cycle.

"Overweight women usually have a hormone imbalance. It is linked to high estrogen and low progesterone and testosterone. you could say that weight gain is an estrogen overload problem.

The Oral Contraceptive Pill and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) contain synthetic hormone substitutes that are not natural to your body, and will further disrupt your hormone balance." - Natural Weight Loss Programs.

Resources and Updates

List of hormone related resources and news

Patients Resources to Support Bio-Identical Hormone Treatment: To assist Patients to find information about the use of Hormone Deficiency Treatments and Bio-Identical Hormone Solutions in particular HormoneSolutions.com is facilitating your access to relevant on-line resources. Hormone Solutions.com is also providing you with the opportunity to review these resources so that other Patients can be guided by your expertise and experiences.
Low Testosterone May Signal Frailty in Elderly Men: Men 70 years and older who have low serum testosterone levels appear to be at increased risk for eventual frailty, according to data released here at ENDO 2010: The Endocrine Society 92nd Annual Meeting.

"While prior studies have reported cross-sectional associations between testosterone levels and frailty, this study is the first longitudinal analysis to demonstrate that free testosterone levels predict frailty," Zoe Hyde, MPH, PhD candidate, from the University of Western Australia in Perth, told Medscape Diabetes & Endocrinology. "Our findings suggest that testosterone could play a role in the pathogenesis of frailty and, in turn, provide a rationale for clinical studies to explore whether testosterone therapy could prevent or treat frailty."