Chronic Conditions
Jigsaw Health Products
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10 Common Causes of Chronic Conditions: Cause #4
4. Dysfunctional or exhausted hormonal system.
Hormones are amazing tools of the body. They work synchronistically so that
the body runs smoothly and efficiently. When hormones are unbalanced, virtually
every bodily system is affected. While it may be natural for our bodies to
decrease the production of hormones over time, it is also possible that because
of internal toxins, poor diets, and the like, our bodies lose the ability to
produce these hormones as efficiently as they should too early in our lives. Our
stressful, modern lives can trigger an imbalance of hormones, in particular cortisol, one of the key hormones the body produces in response to stress of any
kind. The adrenal glands normally produce between 20 to 40 milligrams of cortisol per day, but they produce much more when the body is under a great deal
of stress.
Cortisol does many things:
- It plays a major role in keeping blood sugar levels normal.
- It helps to control inflammation throughout the body.
- It helps to mediate allergies by controlling histamine in the body.
- It boosts the immune system when it is under any type of infectious attack.
- It helps regulate the thyroid hormones to control metabolism and body
temperature.
- It significantly influences blood pressure.
The adrenal glands are part of an intricate system of glands called the HPA
axis, made up of the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands. The
hypothalamus senses conditions in the body and when necessary, secretes a
hormone that tells the pituitary to send yet another hormone to the adrenals.
When the adrenals get this signal, they start secreting cortisol. When cortisol
levels get too high, the HPA axis senses this, and sends a message to the
adrenals to halt. In many cases, people with chronic conditions suffer from
poorly functioning adrenal glands that don’t produce enough cortisol.
In addition, many people with chronic conditions—both men and
women—experience low levels of DHEA, a precursor to testosterone. Testosterone
and DHEA are crucial elements for many things, including the immune system and
the brain. They are both key factors in muscle mass, energy, and have strong
links to depression, weight gain, and cardiovascular disease. In fact, many
times people gain weight because these two hormone levels drop so significantly.
Thus, weight loss diets generally will not work without first balancing these
hormones.
Another common hormone imbalance is due to an under-active or hyperactive
thyroid gland. Many chronically ill people suffer unknowingly from
hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, yet their thyroid function will appear to be
within the normal range on most standard blood tests. This is because the range
for normal is so wide to begin with, and “normal” is measured against a
population that is generally unhealthy. Small supplemental doses of thyroid
hormone will usually make a chronically ill person feel better fairly quickly.
Saliva-based tests have advanced significantly in recent years and are
quickly becoming the gold standard for determining virtually all hormone levels,
including DHEA, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, cortisol, and thyroid.
IMPORTANT: You should NEVER self-treat your hormone levels. This
includes avoiding natural supplements containing DHEA, pregnenolone,
progesterone, androsterone (all natural hormone precursors), UNLESS you are
directed to do so by your healthcare professional.1
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1Nylander M, Friberg L, Lind B. Mercury concentrations in the human brain and kidneys in relation to exposure from dental amalgam fillings. Swed Dent J. 1987; 11 (5):179-87. PMID: 3481133 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 13, 2007
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