The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Hormone harmony is possible
What do vitamin D, dopamine and insulin have in common? They’re hormones. There are around 47 hormones, most produced by endocrine glands, such as the thyroid, pancreas, testes and ovaries. Exceptions include dopamine, which can be produced in the gut and brain, and vitamin D that’s made by chemical reactions in the skin and converted in the liver and kidneys.
Hormones circulate through the blood and are used to control and coordinate metabolism, reproduction, growth and development, and to help direct your body’s response to everything from injury and infection to environmental factors. They influence hunger, sleep, thirst, anger, fear and sexual behavior.
Hormones may seem like mysterious chemical powerhouses, but you can do a great deal to influence their impact on your body.
You can do that directly (your food choices immediately impact secretion of the hormone insulin and blood sugar levels) or indirectly. For example, by adopting a healthy sleep schedule, you encourage proper secretion of the hormone melatonin, which helps you sleep — and then be alert. So here’s how to make sure your hormones are helping you stay or become healthy.
1. The basics are, well, basic: Get plenty of exercise; eat a nutritious diet — when the sun is up (that’s the best way to get the benefits of intermittent fasting); get regular restful sleep; and manage your stress response.
2. Limit exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in cash register receipts; plastics; pesticides; canned foods (lining the cans); processed foods and their packaging; fire retardants in upholstery; detergents; toys; cosmetics and more.
For a list of hormones and their actions, check out www.hormone.org/your-healthand-hormones and www.hopkinsmedicine.org. Search for “hormones and the endocrine system.”
Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare. com.