How hormones affect our health and wellbeing
These tiny chemicals control almost everything we do and feel, as Randi Hutter Epstein, author of new book ‘Aroused’, explains to
YOU might think you control your own behaviour. Actually, much of the time, your hormones do.
What are these powerful chemicals that control our lives? Randi Hutter Epstein, author of Aroused: The History Of Hormones And How They Control Just About Everything (€19.99, Norton), explains that hormones are “loopy chains of amino acids” produced in the nine key endocrine glands.
These are the hypothalamus, pineal, and pituitary in the brain, the thyroid and parathyroids in the throat, adrenals in the kidneys, pancreas in the abdomen, and the ovaries and testes in the pelvis.
Epstein,Yale University lecturer and adjunct professor at Columbia University’s journalism school in the US, outlines how hormones affect our health and wellbeing...
“The world was wowed with the discovery of leptin, the ‘I-feel-full’ hormone,” says Epstein. “New evidence suggests it not only controls appetite, but may be linked to infertility. Leptin increases after meals, and chronic low levels of the hormone due to severe starvation alters other brain hormones that, in turn, dampen hormones necessary for conception.”
So, people who eat very little and have lower leptin levels may also be less likely to conceive.
This may help explain why women who have anorexia or other eating disorders often have trouble getting pregnant.
If you lose weight, you’ll help boost your testosterone levels, the male sex hormone that plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as the testes and prostate, as well as promoting increased muscle and bone mass, and the growth of body hair. “Contrary to popular notion, taking testosterone doesn’t burn fat,” says Epstein.
“Taking testosterone when you’re in the normal level to burn fat is a myth. You need to cut calories, not take testosterone shots.”
You think the fat cell is just a blob of fat? Think again; it secretes hormones too, altering your drive to eat. “The fatter you get, the more your hormones will lure you to the kitchen.”
Oxytocin, the hormone that ‘squeezes’ the womb to help in childbirth and gets the breast milk flowing, also influences feelings of love, trust and empathy, says Epstein.
“Brain research is revealing the ways oxytocin is tied to social behaviour, but buyer beware of the oxytocin-filled supplements touted to help you lure a lover. These supplements haven’t been shown to get into the brain and have an impact, nor are there studies to show that oxytocin boosts bonds between two adults. Also, many of these supplements haven’t gone through any kind of quality control, so you have no idea what you’re getting.”
Testosterone converts into oestrogen in the body, so men who are taking too much testosterone are likely to get unwanted man boobs, says Epstein, who points out that men are often lured to take testosterone because it’s been advertised as helping boost libido.
“For men with low testosterone — identified through two blood tests and assessed by an accredited laboratory — going from low to normal range will boost libido and combat fatigue.”
As well as woman’s periods stopping at the menopause, lower oestrogen levels can effect changes in the brain and nervous system, leading to things like mood swings, memory loss, problems focusing, irritability, fatigue,
hot flushes, night sweats, stress, and anxiety and vaginal dryness, triggering painful sex.
“The link between oestrogen and hot flushes has something to do with a brain cell receptor that controls temperature,” says Epstein. “In other words, low oestrogen cobbles your internal temperature control mechanism. It’s also tied to fluctuations in adrenaline, the fight or flight hormone, making some women feel anxious for the first time.”
Changing progesterone levels can contribute to abnormal menstrual periods and menopausal symptoms, and the hormone is also necessary for implantation of the fertilised egg in the uterus and for maintaining pregnancy. But, in addition, Epstein says progesterone can trigger moodiness and sadness among some susceptible women.
“That’s why some women, but not all, may feel glum on the birth control pill, which is a mix of oestrogen and progesterone,” she explains. “For some women, progesterone can trigger depression, others get moody, and some don’t seem bothered. The point is that if you go on birth control or hormone replacement therapy and start to feel emotionally different (depressed, sad), you should let your doctor know. There’s a link between hormones and moods.”
