We all wonder how your body works. How something like our immune system functions and why sometimes things get whacky. Well, tiny chemicals that regulate and affect your bodily functions influence our body. These substances act as messengers throughout the body, thus, carrying different signals to numerous body areas. The hormone is the name given to these chemical messengers.
Endocrine glands produce hormones that travel through the blood to carry a message to a particular cell. This message determines the necessary outcome and progression of a cellular process. Consequently, hormones affect everything from growth to our emotions. In addition, our sexual desires, sleeping habits, appetite, and weight alter as our hormones change. Thus, a hormonal imbalance can disrupt normal functioning and cause a multitude of diseases. Therefore, if you wish to keep your body healthy, it is vital to understand how various hormones affect the body.
- Alter disease progression:
Hormones significantly affect disease diagnosis and course. A mere increase or decrease can quicken the disease progression, thus, worsening the symptoms and poor prognosis. This is especially significant in the case of cancers.
Mesothelioma is an example of cancer whose prognosis depends upon hormone levels. Estrogen and progesterone influence the course of mesothelioma. Females who naturally have a high level of these two hormones have a better prognosis and survival rate than men. Men have lower estrogen levels and have a survival rate of only 7.3%. In recent research, it is clear that these hormones have mesothelioma-fighting abilities. Studies show that Estradiol, a form of estrogen, and progesterone can slow the progression of mesothelioma through apoptosis and estrogen signaling. Thus, estrogen therapy can help patients with mesothelioma. You can afford the expenses of such treatments through mesothelioma compensation. Different firms like Simmons Law Firm can help you get medical reimbursement and achieve estrogen therapy.
- Regulating Immune system:
Hormones play a crucial role in regulating the immune system and keeping it in optimal condition. An imbalance in your hormones can have a deadly effect on your immune system. The activity of the immune system not only weakens but can also become overactive due to hormonal imbalance. Hormones like estrogen, cortisol, and thyroid hormones strengthen the immune system and help the body fight diseases. A decrease in these hormones can result in inflammatory disorders, cardiovascular disorders, and cancers.
- Controlling metabolism:
Metabolism is our body’s way of producing energy necessary for carrying out various functions. It consists of numerous reactions that extract the fuel provided by carbohydrates, fats, or protein; that is present in our food and provides energy to our cells. However, the controlling factor for these metabolic reactions is hormones. Hormones regulate everything from energy stores and fat accumulation to blood sugar levels and weight. Thyroid hormone T4 regulates basal metabolic rate. Similarly, insulin and glucagon control the amount of glucose in your body by inhibiting or simulating glycogen production. In addition, ghrelin, leptin, and sex hormones affect body weight and fat distribution by influencing appetite, sleep, and metabolism.
- Stimulating growth:
A principal role of hormones is in growth and development. A rise in one hormone and a reduction in another can particularly whack up your growth. Growth hormone, released from the pituitary gland, takes part in the development of bone, muscle, cartilage, and tissues. It determines your height and weight, when you will reach puberty and when your growth sprout will occur or level off. An imbalance of growth hormones can result in numerous disorders. Growth hormone overproduction causes acromegaly in adults, and its underproduction causes dwarfism in children.
- Influencing mood:
If you suffer from mood swings, your hormones are to blame. Hormones are infamous for their effect on a person’s emotions and mood. The usual highs and lows become even more prominent if your hormones are out of balance. Mainly sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone affect mood. Estrogen helps brighten the mood as much as it depresses it. Estrogen increases serotonin levels, the happy hormone, immediately boosting mood. However, imbalance or reduction in estrogen causes depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Similarly, a dip in testosterone or thyroid hormones can lead to irritability, lack of energy, and a plunge into depression.
- Controls reproductive activity:
From puberty until old age, our sex hormones regulate our reproductive health. Sex hormones overlook everything from our sexual drive, fertility, and sexual maturity.
Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and many others influence the working of our reproductive system. Estrogen in females is necessary for menstruation, sexual characteristics, and reproduction. Similarly, progesterone is essential for maintaining a healthy menstrual cycle and carrying out the pregnancy. An imbalance in these hormones results in an irregular menstrual cycle, miscarriages, and infertility.
In men, testosterone is vital for the production of sperms and sexual maturity. Without enough testosterone, males are unable to develop reproductively and appear female-like. Moreover, fluctuations in testosterone can result in fertility problems in men.
Conclusion:
Keeping track of your hormonal health is essential. Well-balanced hormones are a key to healthy living. With stable levels of numerous hormones flowing through our body, the chances of diseases and infections reduce. Similarly, stabilized levels of thyroid and growth hormones ensure proper cell regeneration, sleep, metabolic functioning, and sexual activity. In addition, hormones keep our body coordinated as they help the body communicate with the brain. Thus, it is critical for our mental and physical health to pay attention to the working of hormones.