The Hormone Web

Hormones are often treated one at a time: a thyroid tablet here, a contraceptive pill there, something for sleep, something for mood. But your hormones don't work alone. They're a web of messengers in constant conversation, and when one thread is pulled, the whole web moves.

The body's messengers

Hormones are chemical messengers, made in glands and carried in the blood to cells all over the body. Tiny amounts have enormous effects. Together, your glands form the endocrine system:

• the hypothalamus and pituitary in the brain, the conductors of the orchestra,
• the thyroid, which sets the pace of your metabolism,
• the adrenal glands, which make cortisol and adrenaline,
• the pancreas, which makes insulin,
• the ovaries or testes, which make oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone, and (See Mojo Matters.)
• the pineal gland, which makes melatonin.

Even your fat cells, gut and muscles release hormones of their own. The brain sends signals down three main "axes", to the adrenals, the thyroid and the reproductive organs, and each listens to the others.

Pull on one thread of the hormone web, and every other thread feels it.

Insulin: the thread that pulls on everything

If there's one hormone at the centre of the web, it's insulin. Every time you eat carbohydrates, insulin moves sugar out of the blood and into your cells. But a diet high in refined carbohydrates and sugar, combined with stress, poor sleep and too little movement, can leave cells less responsive to insulin, so the body makes more and more of it.

This insulin resistance is remarkably common. By one estimate, around a third of adults in England have prediabetes.¹ And its effects ripple across the web: (See Balancing the Sugar Seesaw.)

• High insulin encourages the ovaries to make more testosterone, a key driver of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which affects around one in ten women.
• It lowers the protein that carries sex hormones in the blood, changing the balance of oestrogen and testosterone in both women and men.
• It encourages fat storage around the middle, and that fat in turn makes more oestrogen and inflammation. (See The Quiet Fire.)

Steadying blood sugar is often the single most powerful step towards hormonal balance.

Stress: the hormone thief

When stress is constant, the body prioritises survival over everything else. Cortisol rises, and the systems for reproduction, digestion and repair are turned down. Long-term stress can disrupt menstrual cycles, lower libido and fertility, and slow the conversion of thyroid hormone into its active form. (See The Cortisol Clock and Fertile Ground.)

Sleep: when hormones reset

Many hormones are released or rebalanced during sleep. Growth hormone surges in deep sleep, melatonin rises in the dark, and appetite hormones are reset. Testosterone is closely tied to sleep too: when healthy young men slept just five hours a night for a week, their testosterone levels fell by 10–15%, the equivalent of ageing 10 to 15 years.² (See The Art of Sleep.)

Your gut: a hidden hormone organ

• Oestrogen recycling. A group of gut bacteria, known as the estrobolome, decides how much oestrogen is cleared from the body and how much is recycled back into the blood. (See The Master Regulator.)
• Your own GLP-1. The gut naturally makes GLP-1, the hormone copied by today's weight-loss injections, which helps control appetite and blood sugar. When gut bacteria ferment fibre, the compounds they make stimulate its release.³ Fibre, protein and healthy fats all help your body make more of its own. (See Beyond the Jab.)
• Thyroid support. The gut helps convert thyroid hormone into its active form, and helps absorb the minerals the thyroid needs.

The thyroid: your metabolic thermostat

The thyroid sets the pace of almost every cell. When it slows, you may feel tired, cold, low, foggy and gain weight easily. It depends on a few key nutrients:

• Iodine, found in fish, seafood, dairy and eggs. In a UK survey, around two thirds of teenage girls were iodine deficient, most of them mildly.⁴ Plant milks often contain little unless they're fortified.
• Selenium, found in Brazil nuts, fish and eggs. In people with Hashimoto's, the most common cause of an underactive thyroid, selenium has been found to lower thyroid antibodies.⁵
• Iron and zinc, both needed to make thyroid hormone.

Everyday chemicals that mimic hormones

Some chemicals in plastics, toiletries and pesticides are endocrine disruptors: they can mimic or block our hormones. Sperm counts in Western countries have fallen by more than half since the 1970s,⁶ and scientists believe these chemicals may be one of the reasons. Reducing your exposure is a gentle but important step. (See Lightening the Load and Why Eat Organic?)

Through the stages of life

Hormones shift naturally through puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause, menopause and later life, in men as well as women. These are times when symptoms often appear, and when support can make a big difference. For many women, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is an effective and important option, and it's worth discussing with your GP. Diet, lifestyle and herbal support can work alongside it, or help those who can't or prefer not to take it. (See The Second Spring.)

Food for hormonal harmony

• Build meals around protein, fibre and healthy fats to keep blood sugar and insulin steady.
• Eat plenty of fibre from vegetables, beans, lentils, oats and seeds, to feed the gut and help clear used hormones.
• Include cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts, which support the liver's processing of oestrogen.
• Enjoy flaxseed, rich in lignans, plant compounds that gently interact with oestrogen.
• Consider soya foods. In a review of trials, soy isoflavones reduced the frequency of menopausal hot flushes by about a fifth more than placebo.⁷
• Eat oily fish for omega-3 fats, the building blocks of anti-inflammatory hormones.
• Add a Brazil nut or two a day for selenium.

Herbs and supplements

• Agnus castus (vitex). In a trial published in the BMJ, more than half the women taking agnus castus had a marked improvement in premenstrual symptoms, compared with a quarter of those on placebo.⁸
• Spearmint tea. In women with PCOS, two cups a day for a month lowered free testosterone levels.⁹
• Myo-inositol, a nutrient related to the B vitamins, has been found to improve insulin sensitivity and ovulation in women with PCOS.¹⁰
• Sage is traditionally used to ease hot flushes and night sweats.
• Ashwagandha has been studied for supporting thyroid function, as well as calming stress.¹¹
• Shatavari, an Ayurvedic herb, is traditionally used to nourish women through every stage of life.

Hormonal herbs are powerful, and the right choice depends on your pattern and your energetics. To learn more, read The Architecture of Balance. Some herbs interact with the contraceptive pill, HRT, fertility treatment and thyroid medicines, and agnus castus isn't suitable in pregnancy. For accuracy and safety, it's best to seek guidance from a qualified practitioner rather than self-prescribing.

At Rootwise, we look at your hormones as a whole: your blood sugar, stress, sleep, gut, nutrients and life stage, and where helpful, your test results. Then we build a plan to bring the whole web back into balance, rather than chasing one symptom at a time.