Get to Know Your Endocrine System

[Guest guest]

Comments?

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

I would like to thank Lauri M. Aesoph N.D. for this very informative

article.

 

Get To Know Your Endocrine System

 

The endocrine system is like a symphony with several glands working

both alone and together to orchestrate bodily functions. Each

endocrine gland--thyroid, pancreas, pineal, thymus, ovaries, testes,

adrenals, parathyroid--produces and secretes hormones. These

chemical messengers are like music to your body, exciting or

inhibiting various tissues regarding metabolism, growth and

reproduction. The conductor of the endocrine system is the anterior

pituitary gland, nestled at the base of the brain. The hypothalamus

sends special hormones called releasing factors to the pituitary

instructing it how to manage the other endocrine glands. Then with

its own set of directive hormones, the anterior pituitary guides

your body's glands. The anterior pituitary also releases prolactin,

a breast feeding hormone, and growth hormone.

 

The posterior pituitary, a neighbor but unrelated to the anterior

pituitary, is responsible for two hormones: antidiuretic hormone and

oxytocin. ADH helps you maintain arterial blood pressure during, for

example, blood loss by resorbing water from your kidneys. Oxytocin

contracts the uterus during childbirth and causes milk letdown

during breast feeding.

 

Each endocrine gland plays a distinct role in your body, but these

actions overlap and therefore affect one another too. When one gland

is overly or under-active, other glands feel the effect. The same

goes for you. When part of your endocrine system is sick, you most

likely are too. Fatigue is one symptom that many endocrine disorders

have in common. If you feel very tired or can't seem to shake your

fatigue, see your doctor. Once you've discovered the source of your

fatigue--whether it's endocrine related or not--there are many

natural remedies you can try under the guidance of a professional.

 

 

Pineal Gland

Function: Although part of the endocrine system, the pineal gland

isn't a gland per se. This neuroendocrine body translates nerve

messages into hormonal output--namely melatonin. This pineal hormone

peaks in your body around midnight. Babies are born with scarce

amounts of melatonin, perhaps accounting for their erratic sleeping

habits. Levels, however, rise with age, top out in childhood and

then slowly decline with years.

 

The pineal gland and melatonin are thought to keep your biological

clock ticking. External cues like temperature and light, as well as

endogenous messages such as emotions guide the pineal gland. In this

way sleep, mood, immunity, seasonal rhythms, menstruation and even

aging are regulated.

 

Melatonin

Synthetic versions of melatonin have recently been touted as

nature's new wonder cure for fatigue, insomnia, depression, jet lag,

cancer and old age. During her lecture on melatonin at a recent

naturopathic medical convention in Aspen, Colorado, Anna MacIntosh,

PhD, ND agrees this hormone appears to be a cure-all. That's also

what frightens her.

 

Although supplemental melatonin doesn't seem to have toxic effects,

it shouldn't be used indiscriminately. There's too much we don't

know about this hormone yet, says MacIntosh. We don't know its long-

term repercussions and whether it exerts subtle, and as yet,

unmeasured effects. Because melatonin governs biological rhythms,

will overuse or ill-directed use adversely affect you?

 

Melatonin is probably safe for insomnia and jet lag. If you decide

to take melatonin, don't take it during the day--this will only

aggravate your fatigue and sleeping problems. Instead take melatonin

one hour before sleep. Better yet, preserve your own melatonin

reserves by sleeping in a dark room, not turning lights on if you

get up in the middle of the night and don't take ibuprofen late at

night.

 

 

 

Thyroid and Parathyroids

Function: Your windpipe is straddled by the two lobes of your

thyroid gland. Using two hormones, triiodothyronine and thyroxine,

your thyroid regulates various enzymes that dominate energy

metabolism. Calcitonin, a blood calcium lowering hormone, is also

released by the thyroid. Thyrotrophin from the anterior pituitary

keeps thyroid hormones in check.

 

Snuggled in the thyroid's under belly are four tiny parathyroid

glands that emit parathormone. PTH acts on your gut, bones and

kidneys to control phosphate and calcium metabolism. Without this

regulation, bone and nerves suffer. Too little PTH and a convulsive,

twitching condition called tetany ensues. Too much PTH leads to high

blood calcium and eventually a bone softening disease called

osteitis fibrosa cystica.

 

Beneficial Products

When thyroid hormones are deficient, hypothyroidism manifests.

Because energy control is pivotal to thyroid function,

hypothyroidism is a condition of reduced energy--you feel tired and

cold, become constipated, have less appetite but gain weight, feel

sleepy. Even your thoughts are sluggish.

 

The first way to combat low thyroid hormones is by avoiding

goitrogenic foods like soybeans, peanuts, millet, turnips, cabbage

and mustard. These foods block the thyroid from using iodine, an

element vital for thyroid hormone production. Zinc, vitamin E and

vitamin A are also central to thyroid hormone synthesis.

 

 

 

Thymus

Function: Squeezed behind your breast bone and just below the

thyroid is an irregularly shaped member of both the endocrine and

immune systems--the thymus. Relatively large in childhood, the

thymus grows until the teen years, then shrinks with age. Fat

replaces active lymphatic tissue.

 

Thymosin, thymopoeitin and serum thymic factor--thymus hormones--

oversee several immune operations. Before and shortly after birth, a

baby's thymus gland preprocesses T-lymphocytes, the white blood

cells in charge of cellular immunity. This type of immunity, the

kind not controlled by antibodies, shields your body from yeast,

fungi, parasites, viruses, cancer and allergies. Thymopoeitein also

activates circulating T-cells.

 

Beneficial Products

Because the thymus shrivels with age, its importance has been

downplayed. Stress, pollution, chronic illness, radiation and AIDS

also diminish thymus function. However, low thymic hormone levels

are associated with depressed immunity and elevated infection

susceptibility. A cardinal symptom of infection is fatigue.

 

An ideal way to protect your thymus gland is to use antioxidant

nutrients like beta-carotene, zinc, selenium, vitamins C and E. A

high potency multi vitamin-mineral supplement is a good way to

accomplish this. Thymus gland extracts, derived from calf thymus, is

another effective way to stimulate your thymus gland. Echinacea

angustifolia, a famous immune-stimulating herb, may also work via

the thymus gland. At least one Japanese shows licorice, Glycyrrhiza

glabra, to have direct thymic effects (Endocrinology Japan, 1967,

vol 14).

 

 

Adrenal Glands

Function: Perched atop each kidney is a triangular shaped adrenal

gland. The adrenals are divided into two distinct parts somewhat

like a peach. The outer fleshy fruit of a peach is like the cortex

or outer region of the adrenal, while the pit resembles the smaller

inner medulla of the adrenal gland. All adrenal hormones are ruled

by adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) from the anterior pituitary.

 

The adrenal cortex produces and secretes three kinds of steroid

hormones. The first type, called mineralocorticoids, includes

aldosterone which maintains normal blood pressure by balancing

sodium, potassium and fluid levels. Secondly, the adrenal cortex

makes small amounts of sex hormones, namely testosterone and

estrogen.

 

The glucocorticoids, cortisol and corticosterone, regulate blood

pressure, support normal muscle function, promote protein breakdown,

distribute body fat and increase blood sugar as needed. This hormone

class is most noted for its anti-inflammatory properties, hence the

popularity of artificial cortisone as a medication.

 

You may also have heard about DHEA, short for

dehydroepiandrosterone. This steroid hormone, also from the

adrenals, has been familiar to scientists for years but its purpose

was hazy. Researchers used to think DHEA acted as a reservoir for

your body to produce other hormones, like estrogen and testosterone.

It's becoming apparent that DHEA has it own role. Its functions are

still blurry, but according to Alan Gaby, MD, DHEA appears to affect

your heart, body weight, nervous system, immunity, bones and other

systems (Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis (Prima Publishing) by

Alan Gaby, MD,).

 

The adrenal medulla acts more like a member of the nervous system.

In fact it's derived from the same primitive tissue as the ganglion

cells of the sympathetic nervous system. The medulla's hormones,

epinephrine (also called adrenalin) and norepinephrine, are also

controlled by the sympathetic nervous system during fear or stress.

Your body reacts to these hormones with a " flight or fight "

response: pounding heart, dilated pupils and high blood pressure.

 

Beneficial Products

While your adrenals save you during crises, continual demands on

this glands tire you out. Age, stress and even coffee compromises

your adrenal glands. Several years ago, Sanford Bolton, PhD from St.

John's University in Jamaica, New York found that habitual coffee

drinkers had diminished adrenal function (The Journal of

Orthomolecular Psychiatry, vol 13, number 1).

 

Nutrients required for adrenal hormone function include vitamins C

and B6, zinc and magnesium. Some symptoms of adrenal " exhaustion " ,

like fatigue, headache and sleep disturbances, resolve with

pantothenic acid, found in whole grains, salmon and legumes. Korean

ginseng, Panax ginseng, also reduces physical and mental fatigue.

 

While doctors are still pondering all its possible therapeutic

effects, DHEA seems to help osteoporosis, cancer, arthritis,

diabetes, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Patrick Donovan, ND, a

private practitioner in Seattle gives his Crohn's patients DHEA when

laboratory tests indicate their DHEA levels are low. After six

weeks, Donovan's patients are more energetic and their bowel

inflammation, the key symptom of Crohn's disease, diminishes. DHEA

is a prescription drug and must be obtained from your doctor.

 

 

Pancreas

 

Function: Hiding behind the stomach is the long slender pancreas.

Its acini, rosette-looking cells, make and pour 2 1/2 pints of

digestive enzyme-containing juice each day--amylase for starch,

lipase for fat and protease for protein--into the small intestine.

 

The Islets of Langerhans rule the pancreas's better known hormones,

insulin and glucagon. These opposing hormones work together keeping

your blood sugar in check. Glucagon works together with epinephrine,

growth hormone and glucocorticoids to stop your blood glucose from

dipping too low by promoting glycogen breakdown. Insulin controls

high blood sugar by enhancing the uptake and utilization of glucose

by your muscles and body fat.

 

 

Diabetes mellitus is the worse case scenario of a pancreas gone

wrong. In this disease, the seventh most common cause of death in

the United States, insulin is ineffective or absent causing very

high blood sugar. Resulting signs and symptoms include glucose in

the urine, extreme thirst and hunger, frequent urination, weight

loss and fatigue. A blood glucose test can confirm or dismiss a

diabetes diagnosis.

 

Like all body parts, the pancreas requires its share of vitamins and

minerals to function properly. At the 1994 American Diabetes

Association Meeting, information was presented on the value of

various nutrients. Magnesium deficiency in common in diabetes.

Production of free radicals, the molecules that damage healthy

tissue, increases in diabetes. Antioxidant nutrients like vitamin E

and C, and beta-carotene dampen free radical harm (Diabetes Care,

1994, vol 17).

 

A diet low in fat and high in fiber is central to diabetic

treatment, however, many herbs help too. French researcher Oliver

Bever and his Swiss colleague G.R. Zahnd reported on several plants

that naturally lower blood sugar like onion, garlic, bilberry and

fenugreek (Quarterly Journal of Crude Drug Research, 1979, vol 17).

 

 

Testes

Function :Two testes, housed in a man's scrotum, produce sperm and

testosterone. Without this male sex hormone, men wouldn't have deep

voices, beards or be muscular. Testosterone, also responsible for

sex organ development, is produced in the testes under the direction

of gonadotrophins from the anterior pituitary. Testosterone also

enhances libido in both sexes.

 

Beneficial Products

One of the most common problems to strike older men is benign

prostatic hypertrophy or BPH. Testosterone naturally declines with

age, while other hormones like prolactin, estradiol, luteinizing

hormone and follicle stimulating hormone all increase. The net

result is a boost in dihydrotestosterone, a powerful male hormone,

that causes prostate enlargement.

 

An enlarged prostate presses down on a man's urinary tract causing

frequent and hesitant urination. Urine may dribble out rather than

flow in a steady, strong stream. Nighttime wakings to urinate

disrupt sleep and create fatigue.

 

Luckily natural remedies are very successful at treating BPH.

Cutting out coffee and drinking more water are first steps.

Supplemental doses of zinc, vitamin B6 and essential fatty acids

like evening primrose oil or sunflower oil also help. The herb saw

palmetto is an excellent remedy for BPH.

 

 

Ovaries

Function: On the female side, two ovaries, linked to the uterus via

fallopian tubes, produce a woman's eggs as well as estrogen and

progesterone. These female hormones endow a women with her feminine

traits: large breasts and hips, soft skin and a menstrual cycle.

During pregnancy, the placenta also produces progesterone, taking

over from the ovaries. This arrangement allows pregnancy to proceed

normally, as well as prepare a woman's breasts for nursing her baby.

 

Beneficial Products

One of the most common endocrine-related problems that plague women

is premenstrual syndrome. Half of premenopausal women complain of

fatigue, tender breasts, depression, irritability, food cravings and

any number of the 150 symptoms association with this syndrome one to

two weeks before their periods.

 

Like most endocrine disorders, PMS involves the disruption of more

than just one hormone. True, estrogen tends to be higher in women

with PMS, especially during the second half of her menstrual cycle.

However, progesterone is also lower than usual, FSH overshoots on

some days, aldosterone increases prior to menses and hypothyroidism

is more common in women suffering from PMS.

 

Because of the complexity and individuality of this condition,

therapies vary from woman to woman. Vitamin E helps reduce fatigue,

insomnia and headaches. B-complex, especially B6, ameliorates PMS

symptoms in general. Because magnesium deficiency affects the

adrenals and aldosterone levels (and thus bloating), this mineral

may be beneficial. Unicorn root, Aletris farinosa, historically

known as an herb for " poor ovarian function " , has estrogen-like

qualities so may be helpful.