Mysty PfefferAre your hormones happy? Not in the sense of dancing for joy but putting the message they carry to the right place, at the right time, without hindrance. After all, they are the message transporters who help keep the body in balance.
God uniquely designed this endocrine system to help you and I maintain our body temperature, metabolic status, and our growth and development. We may function in harmony or be dysfunctional according to our hormone balance. In addition to that, there are many environmental disruptors to throw us off balance.
Happy Hormones Start in our Glands
The hypothalamus is the center of control for our hormones. It communicates with the pituitary gland, adrenal glands, gonads (testes and ovaries) thyroid glands, parathyroid glands, and pancreas.
When you and I see how these hormones interact and affect the cells, we will understand how they affect metabolism and weight control. For instance, the anterior pituitary gland produces several important hormones that either stimulate target glands (e.g., the adrenal glands, gonads, or thyroid gland) to produce target gland hormones or directly affect target organs.
The message will go into the cell to change the structure, or it will settle on a receptor outside of the cell to make changes. Any interruption in the process can result in an imbalance of hormones and therefore, appetite, weight, sleep, and over all function.
The following gallery lists how a few of these hormones affect weight:
Hormone Disruptors
The natural decline of reproductive hormones plays a role in weight gain. For women, after child-bearing years, estrogen and testosterone drop, and a redistribution of fat takes place. In addition to storing more fat around the middle, women have an increased appetite. Men also enter a period of hormone changes in their midlife years, with lowered testosterone.
Although it seems like an uphill battle for many of us, there are ways to make the transition to middle age without losing vitality.
For instance, scientists report our hormones are designed for periods of scarcity and famine. The hormones we have hold onto calories/energy for these times of famine. It is a survival mechanism. However, in United States, when every fruit is available every season at our local grocery store there is no scarcity. In addition to excess fruit and food, we have a plethora of high sugar products on the shelf disguised as food.
Weight gain naturally occurs with lowered sex hormone production and lower metabolisms in men and women. Especially if they are not active during this time frame, and they consume products filled with chemicals. The additives, and preservatives in boxed items are things the body cannot recognize or process as useful. The inflammatory seed oils are also used in many of these products, which contribute to cardiovascular and hormone disruption. (2)
God’s Garden Provision Helps Balance Hormones
The good news is an adequate intake of leafy green and cruciferous vegetables supplies vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants necessary to maintain our happy hormones. Here are some basic principles to remember when we are getting our hormones in balance:
- Remove as much ultra processed food from the diet as possible.
- Include as much clean filtered water as possible.
- Fast between meals and after dinner to allow the body to digest, metabolize, disperse nutrients where they need to go, and remove waste products.
- Eat 3-4 servings of (clean) green leafy vegetables a day. My 10 Easy Tortilla Wrap Ideas can help you do this!
- Enjoy bright colored yellow, red, and orange vegetables too! They have vital nutrients and antioxidants to help balance hormones.
- Bright red fruits and berries are also designed to help us function at our best! When the refined white sugar is removed from the diet, there is generally no fear of natural sugar. The fiber and nutrients in the fruit are good, too. Of course, those who are insulin resistant, will have to keep and eye on portion sizes of fruit.
- Add fresh herbs and spices to every meal for added flavor and antioxidant benefits.
- Incorporate nuts and seeds in your side dishes, salads, or soups for added protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Don’t forget!
You are divinely designed with a meticulously thought-out system of checks and balances. When one system is out of balance, another tries to step in and help.
Hormones are no exception.
You can fall for the latest promises on the market to overcome an imbalance, or you can trust the One who created you.
Friend, He loves you and wants you to be whole. The battle for your body is only outweighed by the battle for your soul.
Trusting him with both is where we all find victory!
You’ll notice the differences over time as your body begins to heal itself naturally.
The cost is only reflected in the grocery cart of what you purchase each week, and not in the latest plan or supplement promising to fix what only God can fix.
(**I realize there are exceptions and needs with certain conditions**)
Although hormones are complicated, balancing them doesn’t have to be.
There are plenty of wonderful coaches out there to help you! I am here for you, too!
Mysty
Simplifying Health God’s Way
“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for you are my praise.”
Jeremiah 17:14
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK574539/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22353-estrogen
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/004000.htm
Ghrelin: much more than a hunger hormone – PubMed (nih.gov)
Deacon CF, Ahrén B. Physiology of incretins in health and disease. Rev Diabet Stud. 2011 Fall;8(3):293-306. doi: 10.1900/RDS.2011.8.293. Epub 2011 Nov 10. PMID: 22262068; PMCID: PMC3280665.
Varlamov O. Western-style diet, sex steroids and metabolism. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2017 May;1863(5):1147-1155. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2016.05.025. Epub 2016 Jun 3. PMID: 27264336.
