Five Hormones That are Crucial for Your Health

You heard that hormones are important for your body, but did you know why? Hormones act as messengers that endocrine system sends to organs and tissues to ensure their optimal function.
It depends on the type of hormones, but they affect everything from your mood and sexual function to metabolism and muscle development. If you manage to keep them in balance, you will ensure that your body functions work properly. Here is a list of five hormones that are crucial for your health.

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Testosterone

You probably know of testosterone as it is a crucial hormone to optimize weight and boost muscle strength and mass. However, testosterone affects your health in multiple other ways, too. It affects your libido and sperm production, boosts hair volume and bone density, and assist your body in burning fat efficiently.

Although we usually tie testosterone to men, females have this hormone, too. Natural testosterone production drops over time. That starts happening at around 30 years old, and it can be the cause of low libido, gaining weight, hair loss, and increased breast size.

It is vital to keep your testosterone levels balanced if you want to stay in top shape and maintain optimal health. You can boost the production of this hormone by keeping a healthy lifestyle that includes optimal nutrition, training, and sleep.

If you feel like you need an additional boost of this hormone, consider using testosterone-enanthate. It is a steroid that can help you to increase levels of testosterone efficiently.

Estrogen

Estrogen is considered to be a female-exclusive hormone the same way we tie testosterone to men. In reality, both hormones are a part of both male and female bodies, which means you can find estrogen in men, too.

Although men do not have as much estrogen as women, this hormone can play a role in boosting sex drive and maintaining sexual function. Estrogen may also assist in post-exercise recovery, and it promotes mental performance. This hormone can play an integral role in fat storage inside your body as it can assist in optimizing the way your body stores fat.

If you are wondering what you can do to keep your estrogen under control, the best move to make is to stick to a healthy diet and regular training. It is vital to note that women may experience a change in levels of estrogen after menopause, but that shift is perfectly normal.

Somatotropin

The name might not seem familiar, but you have surely heard of growth hormone. Its scientific name is somatotropin, although you will also find abbreviations like GH or HGH (human growth hormone).

According to the study, this hormone is in charge of boosting your muscle size and strength. In this area, it plays an equally vital role as testosterone. It is interesting to mention that pituitary gland produces growth hormone. Apart from boosting your muscles, somatotropin will also help to burn excess body fat.

Although it does not have actual anti-ageing effects, its effects earned him the title of a hormone that fights to age. It is because it helps men to eliminate excess fat and stay in top shape, which becomes harder over the years.

You can use injections of Growth Hormone if you want to boost its levels, but there are also reasons why it may be risky. Instead, you should stick to a healthy lifestyle and visit the gym regularly. Try to make training sessions as intense as possible as that may help to enhance growth hormone production.

Cortisol

Adrenal glands are in charge of synthesizing cortisol. You may have heard of it being the "stress hormone" because our body produces it in times of stress. The stress depends on an individual, but it can involve getting a difficult work task, being stuck in traffic, or being attacked by a mugger.

In these situations, our body reacts to stress by producing cortisol. This hormone gets glucose to our blood so that we can use it as energy. Its positive effects include dealing with stress and boosting energy levels, as well as helping to deal with low blood sugar levels.

However, this hormone also has negative effects like causing weight gain, affecting the immunity, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, and making it hard to boost muscle mass. It is also related to depression and anxiety levels, which is all the more reason to keep this hormone in balance.
The best way you can keep cortisol under control is to work on stress relief. You can exercise or engage in physical activity, as well as any other activities that help you relax.

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone that people who have diabetes often use to regulate blood sugar levels. Due to that fact, people are a bit wary of insulin, but the truth is that it is very helpful. This hormone assists in maintaining optimal metabolism, and it helps in complex molecule production.

Each time you consume food, the carbs enter your organism. The body’s reaction is to produce insulin whose task is to send a message to your cells to uptake glucose. That allows cells to secure enough energy while maintaining optimal blood sugar levels.

The problem occurs when our body produces too much insulin. That can happen if our nutrition is inadequate. Over time, our cells may become more resistant to insulin, which is why our body releases additional levels of this hormone to clear blood sugar from our organism. It is how diabetes occurs.

It is needless to say that optimal nutrition is vital to optimizing insulin levels. However, you should also ensure that you engage in physical activity regularly. Whenever you can, do a training session, or head for a walk. It is a long-term project, but it may help to return your insulin sensitivity to optimal levels.

The Bottom Line
Hormones may only be messengers, but they have a huge effect on how your body works. A healthy lifestyle that involves regular exercise, optimal nutrition, and having enough time to relax can help to achieve and maintain a long-term hormonal balance.