Your body’s chemical messengers, (hormones), are made by the endocrine glands. These Glands secrete their hormones directly into the blood and in this way they reach every cell in the body. The endocrine hormones help control mood, body growth, the way our organs work and much more.
- Endocrine: definition: endo within and crine to secrete or separate. So endocrine means to secrete/separate internally via the bloodstream.
- Hormone: chemical messengers that set in motion actions in cells and organs of the body. The endocrine system is composed of bodies of glandular tissue.
- Glands: organs that make hormones situated around the body and in the brain such as the thyroid gland.
The endocrine system uses hormones to control and coordinate body functions in much the same way as the nervous system does using fast electrical signals.The endocrine system is slower than the nervous system because the hormones travel via the bloodstream yet they have longer impact.
Hormones regulate processes such as the breakdown of chemical substances in metabolism, fluid balance, urine production, in the kidneys, sexual reproduction and more. The specific shape of each hormone dictates which cells or organs it will be able to slot into and thus create its effect on its target tissue or organ.
For instance, the thyroid glands control the rate of metabolism including the maintance of body weight, rate of energy use, and heart rate. The thyroid is unique in that it can store its hormones. Hormones carry the chemical messages that control the rate at which glands themselves and other organs work. The master gland is called the Pituitary gland located below the hypothalamus in the brain. It makes eight hormones and releases them into the blood stream such as ACTH, which triggers the adrenal glands over the kidneys to produce a steroid hormone that controls stress response in the body and the body’s use of fats, carbohydrates and proteins as well as minerals.
The adrenal gland nerve fibers are linked to the sympathetic nervous system and it makes the fight/flight hormone adrenaline. Basically, hormones work by altering the chemistry of their target cells and organs.
The levels of hormones in the blood is controlled by the feedback system connected to the hypothalamus in the brain. If too much of a specific hormone is being released this feedback system lets the brain know and it is stopped and likewise if more is needed then it is released. And all these minute actions are going on all the time in our bodies.
So keeping the endocrine working well makes sense and to do so we should get regular exercise and have a good diet. As the nervous system is intimately connected to the endocrine system it should be a priority to get your spine adjusted and your nervous system kept in the best shape possible and that means coming into our clinic or your own clinic and looking after your main office, your body.
Remember you’re the cleaning lady of your own office and that extra effort really pays off in the long run!
Yours in Health,
John Keane, Spinologist
Oct 21, 2021 at 8:28 AM
Thanks for sharing this it is so informative and easy to understand