Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/1091275
www.AbbysHealthFood.com - Issue 37 | Page 43 Usually, we only think of one hormone at a me. Thyroid symptoms indicate a thyroid problem. Blood sugar symptoms means there is an insulin problem. Symptoms around sexual func on indicate a sex hormone problem. And high stress means a cor sol problem. This simple model may help medical students learn about hormones, and is good for books that convince you that if just your thyroid hormone, or if just your testosterone was normalized, you would feel fine, but the hormonal system really does not work like this. In real life each these four systems affects the other three in a complex balance game. Basically, when one hormone goes up, another goes down to compensate. This con nues un l a pa ent becomes so sick, that almost all of these hormones go down. The pancreas, insulin and blood sugar Junk food, or foods high in sugar s mulate the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin's job is to lower blood sugar, by moving it into cells to be used for energy, or stored for later use. We store sugar for energy in two ways. Sugar can be converted to fat, or in the liver as glycogen. Fat is a long term energy reserve. Glycogen is more easily used, and is the first place we our body goes for energy when we have not eaten for a few hours. Cor sol is insulin's counterpart. Among many other func ons, cor sol takes sugar stored in the liver (glycogen) and puts it into the blood stream. To keep things simple, insulin lowers blood sugar, and cor sol raises blood sugar. This is what may sound confusing at first. When insulin goes up to lower blood sugar, cor sol goes up as well. It may sound odd. Why would the body raise cor sol, which increases blood sugar, at the same me insulin is going up to lower blood sugar? The answer is in the very complex way the body precisely regulates itself. Too much insulin will lower blood sugar too much. This is called hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) . So when insulin goes up, cor sol goes up a li le also. This is not to raise blood sugar, but to make sure insulin does not drop blood sugar too much. The Importance of Hormonal Balance High cor sol decreases thyroid hormone. In a healthy diet, the moderate ups and downs of cor sol as it helps regulate blood sugar is not going to effect thyroid func on. However, high carb, high sugar diets send insulin and blood sugar surging up and down all day. This affects both cor sol and ul mately thyroid hormone as well. Therefore, as part of normalizing thyroid hormone func on naturally, it's essen al to have a good diet and keep blood sugar in an acceptable range. Courtesy of Saul Marcus, ND - Naturopathic Doctor