Today, we focus on your brain and the three master glands inside of it that control your hormones and, therefore, your entire experience of life.
If you have ever struggled with anxiety, depression, thyroid, adrenal, or other hormone trouble, then you don’t want to miss today’s show. It will be 8 minutes well spent replete with an action guide of foods and supplements to support these precious 3 glands.
This is healing from the ROOT cause because you are working with an issue where it begins vs. downstream, which is what we do when we specifically treat the thyroid or sex hormones.
These three small, but mighty glands are only the size of an almond, a pea and a grain of rice, respectively.
Today, we explain (in plain English):
These three major glands all work synergistically – and while they are very small in size, they control so many crucial functions within the body.
We can look at the hypothalamus as the director or conductor and the pituitary gland as the messenger. The hypothalamus works as an interface between the endocrine system (hormonal system) and the central nervous system with the help of the pituitary gland. The pineal gland’s most important responsibility is to regulate our sleep-wake cycle.
The hypothalamus is the size of a single almond. The most important function of the hypothalamus is to connect the nervous system to the endocrine system through the pituitary gland (which controls your thyroid). By inhibiting or stimulating the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus synthesizes and secretes hormones.
The hypothalamus, through its action on the pituitary gland, controls:
In specific disorders or imbalances, the hypothalamus can malfunction. Anorexia and bulimia, trauma (like a concussion), infection, tumors, and genetic disorders are a few things which can disrupt the hypothalamus and lead to dysfunction.
If there is an imbalance within the hypothalamus, this can cause a myriad of symptoms, such as:
Additionally, it can even trigger multiple different autoimmune diseases, such as Addison's disease.
Inflammation or high amounts of oxidative stress within the hypothalamus can lead to brain fog and unclear thinking.
The pituitary gland is the size of a pea and is often referred to as the middleman, as it senses the body’s needs and sends signals (through hormones) to different organs throughout the body. It has so much power for being the size of just one single pea. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland are very connected, as the hypothalamus tells the pituitary what to do. Think of it as you would a parent-child relationship—the hypothalamus looks out for the safety and well being of the pituitary gland.
Within the pituitary, there are two parts (which have different jobs):
Some of the anterior pituitary hormones include:
While the anterior pituitary hormones deal with the regulation of metabolism, stress hormones, and production of milk…
The posterior pituitary gland secretes just two hormones:
Oxytocin is that feel good hormone, which is necessary for childbirth and emotional socialization. It makes us feel love, loved and connects us to others.
Vasopressin is an antidiuretic hormone, which means that it’s a hormone that is in charge of maintaining a healthy concentration of fluid in our cells. It supports memory, muscle tone and kidney health.
Due to the pituitary being in command of so many different hormones, if there is something wrong with the pituitary this can lead to many different hormone imbalances. This includes thyroid hormone production, as well as our sex hormones, such as testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen.
Hypopituitarism is when the pituitary is under-producing hormones, and this can result in hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, and central nervous system problems like:
The third eye, otherwise known as the pineal gland, is the size of a grain of rice. It is located near the center of the brain (in between your eyebrows, hence the nickname third eye), is reddish-gray and about 1/3 of an inch long. The gland is small but mighty, as it plays an essential role in sexual development, circadian rhythm and our sleep-wake cycle. It has also been thought that dysfunction in this gland is a factor in seasonal affective disorder and depression (especially when calcified by too much fluoride so make sure you’re not drinking fluoridated water or using fluoride in your toothpaste).
Melatonin is the only hormone the pineal gland secrets, but boy is it one important hormone!
The function of melatonin is to regulate circadian or biological rhythm and to regulate certain reproductive hormones. Melatonin is one of the most powerful antioxidants produced in the body. And it is not common knowledge, but melatonin is both water and fat soluble – making it able to reach every cell in the body (however, it cannot be stored in the body).
The trigger for the production and release of melatonin is total darkness – so knock off technology an hour before bed, bring on the blackout curtains and/or wear an eye mask to sleep to self-generate enough of this super hormone.
It’s quite amazing how it all works…
All hormones secreted by the hypothalamus are part of a negative feedback loop, similar to the temperature dropping below a thermostat’s set point and the heat automatically kicking on until the desired temperature is reached again.
In the body, when hormones reach optimal levels to maintain normal homeostasis, the hypothalamus is signaled to inhibit production. This negative feedback or balanced feedback signaling prevents overproduction of hormones, such as TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) or cortisol/adrenaline (stress hormones).
If there is a dysfunction within the hypothalamus, pituitary or pineal gland, this feedback loop can be thrown off and problems can occur downstream; this includes:
Supporting these three brain glands through a root cause approach can be the answer to healing our hormones downstream. This includes our sex hormones, such as estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone.
The only way to balance things out from the get-go is to start at the beginning with these seven tips that help nourish, support, and protect your three precious brain glands that do SO much for you.
Now, it’s your turn to tell us which of these seven things sound doable enough to implement in your daily life? Let us know in the comments below what you’re already doing and what you plan to do, as a result of watching/reading about these three precious brain glands.
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