The five factors are interrelated and affect metabolism in four main ways, which are also interrelated and interdependent. The four ways are: the starvation response, altered body composition, carbohydrate sensitivity, and hormone imbalance. I'll go into some of these mechanisms in greater detail later, but basically, here is how these metabolism-altering conditions come about.
HORMONE IMBALANCE
Hormones are chemical messengers that stimulate cells to perform certain functions. When these chemicals bring the wrong messages to cells, your metabolism gets the wrong signals, which causes it to slow down and to process fuel improperly.
We've already discussed the importance of insulin, the hormone that transports glucose to the cells and is also involved in fat metabolism. The hormone secreted by the thyroid gland, located in the throat, regulates your body's over all metabolic rate. There are other hormones that influence metabolism less directly: estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, human growth hormone, and DHEA. These hormones all influence each other as well as appetite, body composition, and energy. A prime example is the hormonal swings women experience during their menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause. These times are all characterized by mood swings and food cravings, particularly for carbohydrates. This can result in weight gain, carbohydrate sensitivity, and an altered body composition that favors fat. Testosterone, which is present in both women and men, is responsible for building muscle mass, among other functions. Human growth hormone and DHEA also have been associated with increased muscle mass. As we have already seen, the higher our body fat ratio, the slower our metabolism.
For years I have noticed that women who go on conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT) often gain weight. It has long been known and confirmed in scientific studies that the excess estrogen can interfere with the conversion of the hormone T-4 into another hormone, T-3 a necessary step in thyroid hormone activation. So, in addition to significantly increasing the risk of breast cancer and blood clots, HRT interferes with normal thyroid function and metabolism yet another reason why I am not a proponent of conventional HRT for menopause. Some of my colleagues use testosterone, DHEA, or growth hormone therapy to increase muscle mass in aging people men and women and to improve insulin resistance. I am not in favor of this, either, as a first line of treatment. There are natural ways to support hormone balance, including premenstrual and around the time of menopause, that I would prefer be tried first.
Serotonin is another hormone that is involved in regulating your appetite and hunger. Too little serotonin, and you crave carbohydrates. Increasing your serotonin blunts your yen for carbs. Serotonin is also a mood regulator and increases your sense of well-being. Not surprisingly, when this hormone is stimulated, you eat less, gain less, and burn more calories.
Can't You Lose
Leptin, another hormone, appears to be involved in regulating your appetite for fat. It may act as a satiety factor and decrease your overall food intake as well as increase your metabolic rate; however, research has not convinced me so far of its importance.
It seems that women are more prone to hormone disturbances and may be more sensitive to hormonal effects. The eating disorders bulimia and anorexia are more common in women. These disorders are also associated with the presence of too little and too much serotonin, respectively. Women seem to prefer carbohydrates more than men do and overeat carbs to a greater degree. The major factors that affect your delicate hormone balance are aging, dieting, and excess stress.
Aging
As we age, production of all these hormones tends to slow. The thyroid is well recognized for its role in metabolism, but sluggish thyroid function is often under diagnosed, especially in women. It is estimated that eight times as many women have it as men, and that at least one woman in ten has signs of a failing thyroid by age fifty.
Menopause is a major hormonal event in women, and it alone will affect your metabolic rate. Once your childbearing years are over, your ovaries produce less estrogen, and the role of estrogen production shifts to the fat cells. Some middle-age spread in women is almost certainly nature's way of keeping estrogen at a certain level so we don't get symptoms of menopause.
Testosterone levels shift with age in both men and women. When men get older and their testosterone levels go down, they may be left with too much estrogen, which causes feminine characteristics to develop their breasts enlarge and they may become hippy. Women also may have too little testosterone relative to estrogen, especially if their muscle mass relative to their body fat is low.
Dieting
The standard American diet has been shown time and time again to be deficient in most vitamins and minerals so how can it possibly support good hormonal imbalance? Going on weight-loss diets worsens the deficiencies because we are eating less food. Even if we haven't been "dieting," per se, the high-fat, high-sugar, nutrient-deficient standard American diet is suspected of contributing to all manner of hormone imbalances, in particular those that occur around menopause in women. But no age group is spared: Studies show that young women are beginning to menstruate at an earlier and earlier age, and it is suspected that estrogens and estrogen-affecting substances in our food and environment are contributing factors. Chronic Stress Your adrenal glands govern the production of reproductive hormones as well as produce adrenaline, a hormone that helps you cope with stress. Your adrenals can be forced into overdrive to cope with prolonged stress; as a result, they become exhausted, which results in imbalanced hormones down the line.
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