The Anti-Stress Hormone
Hormones protect us. They protect us from getting really sick and dying. Here are some of the roles that hormones play:
- Protect from blood sugar dropping too low – without sugar in the blood we pass out and die from lack of fuel
- Keep calcium at normal levels in the blood – our heart depends on calcium every second as do our bones and teeth
- Protect from too much salt leaving through the kidneys – salt( sodium) keep the circulation open and efficient, we go into shock without salt
- Protect cells from damage – damaged cells produce low energy that leads to inflammation
Hormones help the body adapt to its environment. If you are pregnant, nursing, ill, mal-nourished, over exercising or highly stressed your hormones have to work even harder to keep the body in balance.
The hormones that are secreted and protect you from serious failures in the body like low blood sugar are called anti-stress hormones.
The anti-stress hormones come in two types:
-Hormones with long term side effects
-Hormones that are highly protective and have no side effects
Adrenalin and cortisol are two hormones that are secreted from the adrenal glands and they raise blood sugar by utilizing the body’s own tissues. But if adrenalin and cortisol remain chronically high they have side effects like:
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- Increased heart rate
- Breakdown of tissue like skin and muscle to raise blood sugar levels
- Osteoporosis
- Atrophy of brain tissue
- Increased fat around the middle
- Edema
Parathyroid hormone, which is secreted from the parathyroid gland (behind the thyroid gland in the neck), can normalize blood levels of calcium by taking it from bone, but it also can:
- Cause bone loss
- Slow down metabolism or calorie burning
- Increase calcium spurs
- Increase cortisol
* The parathyroid hormone levels normalize when there is enough calcium in the diet and there are high levels of vitamin D and progesterone.
Aldosterone secreted from the adrenal glands when sodium levels drop in the blood can:
- Increase blood pressure
- Increase cortisol
* The aldosterone levels normalize when there is enough salt in the diet, as well as protein and pregnenolone and progesterone.
Protective hormones that do not have side effects at normal levels:
- Thyroid hormones – increases calorie burning, relaxes the cells, makes protective hormones with cholesterol and vitamin A – pregnenolone, stimulates the production of vitamin D, helps to keep blood sugar levels stable, and stimulates the production of digestive enzymes.
- Pregnenolone – the mother hormone of all steroid hormones made from cholesterol, thyroid hormone and vitamin A, is also a brain protecting neurosteoid. This means that pregnenolone protects the nerves in the brain from damage due to poor energy supply, high estrogen, high cortisol, heavy metals and lack of oxygen. Ray Peat, PhD states that pregnenolone and sucrose tend to prevent over production of cortisol. According to Dr. Peat, pregnenolone can sometimes very quickly allow swollen tissues to release their water. Pregnenolone and sugar can suppress the production of adrenalin and quickly lower stress. And last but not least pregnenolone can act as a powerful anti aging hormone by acting as an antifibromatogenic agent. Fibrin is a toughening of the tissues as we age.
- Progesterone – is the hormone made from pregnenolone. Its roles are prolific. It protects the mother and baby during pregnancy, and protects the thymus gland, which is the key gland for the immune system. Progesterone relieves anxiety, improves memory, protects the brain cells, and lowers intra ocular pressure in the eye in certain people. It can prevent seizures, promote respiration and improve the tone of the blood vessels. It can, as well, improve the efficiency of the heart, slow down aging, and promote healthy bone growth.
- DHEA (dydroepiadrosterone) is one of the three “youth related hormones” coined by Ray Peat, PhD. The other two are pregnenolone and progesterone. DHEA can act as an antioxidant and in a study it decreased lipopolysaccharides (endotoxin that are made from bacteria in the gut and get into circulation). DHEA can also help to stimulate bone building. Ray Peat found that DHEA can lower cortisol and decrease weight around the mid-section. But DHEA converts into estrogen so should be used sparingly and only for a very short period of time.
Steroid hormones are those hormones that use cholesterol as their base therefore they are fat soluble. Steroid hormones are called adaptive hormones because they help the body adapt to stress. Adrenalin and parathyroid hormones are also adaptive hormones but they are not made from cholesterol. Adrenalin is made in the adrenals and parathyroid hormone is made in the parathyroid gland. They are both made from protein.
Pregnenolone and progesterone stimulate their own production, so the more that your body makes or the more you take the more you will have. Both of these hormones lower cortisol and other anti stress hormones that have side effects.
You can add pregnenolone and progesterone to your dietary supplements. DHEA can be taken at very low doses for short periods of time as it can convert to estrogen, which can be highly pro inflammatory.
Both men and women can take pregnenolone. There are no known side effects for pregnenolone. Many people feel a mental lift and positive feelings as well as an increase in libido. It is best to purchase the pure pregnenolone powder . Consult a professional for how to use.
Progesterone is fat soluble, and Ray Peat, PhD has found that it fully dissolves in vitamin E without the side effects from using vegetable oils. Progesterone is commonly used by women (men can use small amounts on their skin), but there be side effects in high amounts. Please do not take any hormones unless you have been tested and please work with a professional for best possible results
References (www.raypeat.com):
- “Progesterone, Pregnenolone and DHEA:- Three Youth Associated Hormones”
- “Fats and Degeneration”
- “Water: Swelling, Tension, Pain, Fatigue, Aging”
- “Preventing and Treating Cancer with Progesterone”
- “Menopause and its Causes”
- “Osteoporosis, Harmful Calcification and Nerve/Muscle Malfunction”
Call: 847-722-4376 for your free consultation
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About Linda DeFever