02.03.10
Our Endocrine System
What are Hormones?
Hormones are vital chemical support systems that are secreted by glands spread throughout the body. This system of glands, including the thyroid, adrenal, pituitary and pineal, is called the endocrine system. The hormones secreted by the endocrine system are powerful sustainers of health and contribute to every process in the body, including cellular repair, metabolism, sexual desire and ability, stress adaptation, immune system function, mental functioning and energy production. The body’s health and vitality are dependent on the activity of vital hormones such as Human Growth Hormone (HGH), Thyroid, DHEA, Testosterone, and Pregnenolone. The ability of each hormone to maintain the body’s health is dependent on the amount of that hormone in the blood stream.
Since our hormones affect our mood, our aging process, even our abilities to heal ourselves, hormonal imbalance can create subtle dysfunctions in our physiological and psychological states, including continuing sexual performance problems: lack of sexual sensitivity, lack of sexual desire, deficient sexual experience, failure to achieve climax, dryness of vagina, sexual melancholia and sexual neurasthenia.
What Causes Hormonal Imbalance?
A major factor are environmental chemicals in our food, water and air – heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides, plastics and many other poisons – that mimic estrogen once they enter our body. It has been reported on several news programs (CBS, The Discovery Channel and others) that the common tin can is inadvertently supplying us with unwanted, estrogen-like hormones – a result of a chemical reaction over a period of time between the tin and the plastic inner lining. These unwanted cumulative chemical additions are believed to have dire consequences within our bodies, adding a synthetic steroidal hormone which directly interferes with the normal function of our Endocrine System. Our body is fooled into thinking it is real estrogen and acts as if there is an estrogen excess in the system, creating an imbalance.
How Are Hormones Produced Within the Body?
The Endocrine System is the biochemical system of the body which controls and regulates the functioning of our entire metabolism through the production and direction of all of our hormones. Within the Endocrine System, there are literally hundreds of types of hormones produced – some affect a specific gland or tissue, some affect our overall health, and others simply aid in the production of other hormones.
Hormones are incredible multifunctional biochemicals, without which, we simply could not live. A specific group of hormones are amino acid-based molecules being manufactured by the body’s from-free form amino acids, so if these essential amino acids aren’t available, hormonal production dwindles.
The Endocrine System directly controls the process of aging and how healthy we will be in the process. Hormones manufactured by the Endocrine System directly govern the welfare of the entire body, keeping us young, healthy, and happy. Many pathological conditions are the result of or associated with the malfunctioning of the endocrine gland.
A Happy Healthy Endocrine System
Eating whole food organic diets promotes the healthy balance our bodies need. Eliminating processed foods and foods with additives and dyes is the first step. Then including cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale, bok choi, cabbage, watercress, radishes and others, supports the body to regulate and detoxify your endocrine system. There is a nutrient in this family of vegetables called indole-3-carbonal which studies suggest improve estrogen metabolism. You can find this nutrient in higher doses in supplemental form to get faster relief if you are suffering from hormone imbalances. Flaxseed and B vitamins also contribute to balancing your hormone pathways.
By detoxifying our bodies from all of the environmental factors that cause imbalance and then supporting our bodies with nutrition or in some cases using bio-identical hormones for extra support. Bio-identical hormones are hormones derived from plants and other sources that our human body can identify and naturally use. Stress management and finding ways to connect to ourselves spiritually and emotionally have actually been studied and proven to reduce the neuronal changes that are associated with accelerated aging and imbalances in the body. 
