Hormones

by novicegod

The Endocrine system is a system of glands also called endocrine organs which secret hormones into the bloodstream that control and regulate body function. Hormones regulate cell metabolism by accelerating, slowing, or maintaining enzyme activity in receptor cells. Hormones control growth and development, metabolic rate, sexual rhythms, reproduction, and more yet to be explained by science. Genes are segments of DNA that consist of codes for proteins the body makes and uses to run itself on a daily basis. Genes are also the codes that make physical characteristics and contain the instructions for how hormones are to operate influencing the out come of every human on three fundamental levels of development, physically, emotionally, and mental/spiritually. The most noticeable time to see the physical effects that hormones have on the body is during puberty; the process of childhood to adulthood, when the body begins producing growth hormones causing changes in size and shape of entire physical development until it stops. What causes puberty to begin and end is still not completely understood by science. When hormones are working properly the body will be free of illness and will not age. Deepak Chopra writes in his book Ageless Body Timeless Mind "the connection between aging and stress hormones has been strongly demonstrated, but the problem of how to control these hormones remains. Because the stress reaction can be triggered in a split second and without warning, it is impossible for us to control the molecules themselves" (162). Three main causes for the hormones not to work properly are stress, nutrition, and pollution. The first cause stress, even though different people respond to stress differently, the body responds to stress by producing increased amounts of the adrenal hormones Cortisol and DHEA The body was designed to deal with acute, life threatening stress not the stresses in today's world. When the body becomes overwhelmed and can no longer produce enough stress hormones the body feels fatigue. Chronic stress can lead to mood wings, depression, weakened immune system, severe nerve damage, even accelerated aging. The second cause is nutrition; Everything is made from tinier and tinier substances, from molecules, atoms, subatomic particles, and beyond. The body is no exception it to is made from the substances it ingests, which it turns into other compounds useful for physical development. The body is only as good as the substances put into it and the environment which conditions what substances there are to put into it. Poor nutrition has been linked to many physical/neurological disorders.

The third cause is Pollution. All kinds of unmanaged human waste has always been a problem that is too often over looked until some thing bad happens, until someone gets hurt. Hurt is here but its not just one person who has been harmed its an entire generation. In Harms Way: Toxic threats to Child development, A report by Greater Boston physicians for social responsibility, reports on an epidemic of developmental, learning, and behavioral disabilities affecting America's children today. Nearly 12 million children 17% in the United States under age 18 suffer from one or more learning, developmental, or behavior disabilities. Scientific research points to contamination in the womb as a significant contributor to these problems". (Shettler, T, Sec.2) Endocrine disruptors are pollutants that manage to enter the blood stream usually through lungs and skin eventually into the reproductive organs of humans inhibiting proper genetic development, resulting in birth defects and other chemical imbalances, far worse than the ones caused by alcohol and tobacco. Along with genetic engineering, hormone therapy is one of the most common treatments for correcting birth defects, chemical imbalances, and other glandular/genetic disorders. Hormones are more powerful than DNA (genes), produced in great amounts they act like paint thinner does to paint, DNA being the paint. A second major effect hormones have on human development is on emotion. Emotions biologically are not that complex but play an intricate role in human interaction. Emotions are internal and/or external projections of problems, often the inability gain what the mind thinks the body can use or need. Emotion changes with intelligence, most importantly, because a person cannot have a problem if they are too intelligent to have a problem. As a person becomes smarter, previous notions of what was thought to be needed or desired become less desirable and more trivial (childish). Adults are less emotional than children because they are more experienced with gaining and losing things (desensitized). Further explanations and theories for humans emotionally charged behavior include, psychological behavior tests, eat right for by blood type books, Ketsuekigata, and continuing studies of outer space, but the chemical processes of hormones are still the closest link to understanding emotion. The greatest resource for finding information is the internet causing all other ways of obtaining and passing information to be obsolete. A web site on emotional health Family Doctor.org describe normal emotion as "People with good emotional health are in control of their thoughts, feelings and behaviors. They feel good about themselves and have good relationships, and can keep problems in perspective", (Sec.1). Unhealthy emotion is described as "It's important to remember that even people with good emotional health sometimes have emotional problems or mental illness. Mental illness often has a physical cause such as a chemical imbalance in the brain. Stress and family or work problems can sometimes trigger mental illness or make it worse. However, people with good emotional health have learned ways to cope with stress. They know when they need to seek help from their doctor or a counselor about getting help", (Sec.1) A third and most important influence hormones have on levels of development are on the mind and spirit. The mind and spirit are closely related, because the division between the two, are the divisions between science and religion. The mind mostly relates to intelligence and in a reality where everything is made of information, it is the over all ability to interpret, retain, and apply information. The ability to retain information (memory) is most important. Because the body responds to the orders of the mind and the body cannot do anything the mind cannot remember how to do.

Mental processes rely on hormones working properly. It is easier to see on the outside what the effects of puberty has on the body. Inside even before birth, the brain is developing and depending on how growth hormones distribute within each brain, the brain will be under and/or overly developed in different areas, affecting each individual's ability to learn different kinds of information. Childhood is the best time to learn between the ages of 2 and 4 when the brain is most active see Preschool Brain Growth and Development. ("Gayle's Preschool Rainbow" , Sec.1). Typically, brain activity begins to decline with age. A lot more than training is needed for healthy brain development. It cannot be enforced enough that everyone needs to be provided an environment that best suits the need of every individual's brain development. The brain receives signals from the five senses taste, touch, sight, hearing, and smell to explain and understand reality. Chemical messenger hormones called neuropeptides carry the signals through the blood stream. Everyone perceives reality differently, not only because of brain development but also hormonal development. Quality of the hormones affected by stress, nutrition, and environment, will affect how accurate someone views reality. Over or under abundance of hormone can cause long term or short term memory loss, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. Memory is held chemically. Improved nutrients can improve intelligence. Some mind enhancing nutrients include huperzine A, NADH, Vinpocetine, phosphatidylserine, acetyl-l-carnite, Ginko Biloba, DMAE, Choline, Pyroglutamic acid, and Ribonucleic acid.

Intelegen .com is a web site, presenting many informative ways of understanding and enhancing brain and brain function, they put it this way: Imagine this you have a machine with: Over a billion parts featuring advanced nano-technology. A machine capable of self-repair. One so advanced that a million of its hydraulic pumps can fit on a pin. An advanced central processing unit that dwarfs anything made of silicon. This CPU is so advanced that it requires no physical interface. You control it with your thoughts. This biological machine needs a constant supply of raw chemicals to support chemical (molecular processes) reactions occurring at a micro level. If it is lacking any of these chemicals it requires it will malfunction. Some of the nano devices it builds will be defective, some nerve impulses may not jump the gap, new neural pathways may not get laid very fast. Stop imagining, get the reality?. This machine can be tweaked just like a cars carburetor. That machine is what you call your body. ("Brain/mindnutrients",Sec.1) The spirit relates to outside forces that can aid or hinder the progress of humans, and the ability to contact or avoid these forces. Many spiritual phenomenons can be explained by hormones. Over production of hormones can have a hallucinogenic effect on the brain that is why many experiences called supernatural are really just misunderstood biological functions. In particular the pineal gland which is known to affect sleep rhythm and all the functions of the other glands turning them off and on by secreting the hormone melatonin. It has recently been researched that the pineal gland does much more than what was first reported by science:

Parapsychologist Serena Roney- Dougal points out that the pineal gland can produce a substance called pinoline. This interacts with other materials resulting in a substance called, DMT, which can give an altered state of consciousness. Pinoline is similar to harmaline, the active substance in the drink ayahuasca. This drink is used by certain South American native people to promote psychic abilities such as clairvoyance in time and space, shamanic healing and contact with the psychic world. Four times every night, when we dream, we enter this altered state of consciousness, and according to Serena's research, this is the state which two thirds of all psychic experiences occur. ( Serena Roney, 4). Possibly, the most advanced religious study of how the body's physiology affects spirituality was done by the Taoist; A 5000 year old religion that mixes mythology, and history with colorful uses of modern science. It is a religious practice, which also acknowledges the role of brain function and hormones. Tao as explained by Master Mantak Chia in his book Awaken Healing Light of the Tao means the way, the way of nature and the universe, the way of natural reality, the way of God, or simply the best way (1). As advanced the world may seem human civilization is still living in the dark ages, still suffering from ignorance. What the body is made from and how it can be improved is the furthest thing from most people's minds. Society has become obsessed with entertainment when it should be obsessed with learning. This is exemplified by the trend of overpaid entertainers and the underpaid educators. The system that governs how people are educated makes it difficult for students and the teachers who have to follow guidelines, enforced by people who are nether educator, nor student (politics). Learning has become something that is forced rather than enjoyed at one's own pace. Learning is a life long task it does not end at a grade level. People remember and forget as hormones go in and out of balance. Hastened, too often competitive education causes learning to be viewed as a burden more than a gift, which is why most people find it quite enjoyable to sit back and do nothing at all, spending their time being entertained instead of learning. If people are not becoming smarter they are becoming more of the opposite. Ignorant people are the worst kind of pollution/disease in society. Today people know more about what goes into a car than what goes into a body so that it can run properly and people know more about how to make babies than the consequence of having them. There are an infinite amount of things to know and learn how to do, causing a difference between smart and educated; None of this infinite amount of information could be processed if the brain did not have a proper balance of hormones to do it with. The further study of hormones will have a great effect on society especially in illness, religion, government reform, education reform, and individual lifestyle. Hormones are in plants, animals, insects, and add further questions to the mystery of creation itself.

Works Cited

Chia, Mantak. Awaken Healing Light of the Tao. New York: Healing Tao books. 1994. ISBN: 0-935-621-46-6.

Chopra, Deepak. Ageless Body Timeless Mind. New York: Harmony Books.1993. ISBN: 0-517-59257-6.

"Brain/Mind Enhancing Nutrients Nootropic and Smart Drugs". Intelegen.com. 2001. <http://intelegen.com/nutrients/brainnutrients.htm>.

"Keeping Your Emotional Health. " Family Doctor 10 Oct. 2001. <http://familydoctor.org/handouts/589.html>.

"Mind Body Healing Aging." The connection. Host Deepak Chopra M.D. PBS. WFSG. FL. 1995.

"Preschool Brain Growth and Development." Gayle's Preschool Rainbow. 12 Oct 2001.<http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/brain-growth.htm>.

Rodney-Dougal, Serena. "The Bridge between the Physical and Spiritual Reality". Element books Ltd, 1991.<http:///www.alphaomaga.se/english/pineal.html>.

Schettler, T, J Stein, and M Valenti. "Emerging science on the impacts of endocrine disruptors on intelligence and behavior". Our stolen future 10 Oct. 2001 <http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/behavior/behav.htm>.