When you think about factors, you need to survive and function you likely don’t consider hormones. However, these little chemical messengers have a huge effect on our overall well-being.
Most of the time when people talk about their hormones they’re often blaming them for things like being sad or an emotional outburst, while there is some truth to this our hormones do so much more.
The Scoop on Hormones
Hormones are created in the endocrine glands and secreted directly into the bloodstream to tissues or organs.
Hormones affect different processes of the body that include:
- Growth and development
- Metabolism
- Sexual function
- Reproduction
- Emotions
- Mood
Hormonal imbalances can occur from some things like environmental toxins, age, the way we move, what we eat, etc. and affect both men and women.
We don’t want to trash talk hormones, so here are a few interesting facts that may surprise you about our three primary hormones–estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
1. Men and Women Need Estrogen AND Testosterone
Commonly, estrogen is thought to be the “female hormone” while testosterone is the “male hormone,” but men and women need both.
Both men and women’s bodies produce these hormones, and both are important for overall health.
2. Progesterone Helps Maintain Balance
Another misconception is that progesterone is only important when dealing with ovulation and pregnancy, but it serves a higher purpose!
It helps balance estrogen levels, and if a woman has low progesterone, she will likely experience symptoms of an estrogen hormone imbalance called estrogen dominance suffer fatigue, weight gain, migraines, mood swings, thyroid problems, and many other physical and mental conditions.
3. Our Brain Needs Estrogen
This hormone has a big job on a range of brain areas involved in functions like:
- Motor control
- Learning
- Memory
- Protecting against stroke damage and Alzheimer’s disease
4. Men’s Brains NEED Testosterone
Ok, men, we know you probably skipped over number 3, so we hope you pay attention here!
Research has shown low testosterone is a risk factor for dementia and also contributes to a decline in brain function. Your brains need testosterone to thrive!
5. Progesterone Wears Many Hats
This powerful hormone isn’t just estrogen’s sidekick, but it also does a LOT more.
Like providing a calming effect on our brains that can prevent seizures and improve sleep, it builds bones, prevents the buildup of plaque formation in the blood vessels, and even increases libido.
We Can Help
Now that you have some knowledge of hormones under your belt don’t you think it’s time you made sure yours are in check?
You can see how important our hormones are and what they contribute to our health so let an expert fill you in on if yours are doing their job for you.
Men and women of all ages suffer from hormonal imbalance, often with no symptoms to show for it.
