Know Everything About Hormones That Controls Metabolism

Obstetrics and Gynaecology | Posted on 12/06/2022 by RBH

Is your metabolism functioning properly? Yes? Have you ever thought about the hormones that control our metabolism? Surely, you haven’t and it is just not you as every human acts the same.

Hormones usually get a lot of criticism if something is not right with our bodies. They never receive praise when their body is working fine.

It happens because we don’t feel alarmed until our body is not feeling good. Hormones play a crucial role in our overall health and essentially metabolism.

Different hormones are there in the human body that controls our metabolism. Hence, we must be aware of those hormones. Before we discuss the hormones related to metabolism, let’s first understand a bit about metabolism and its functioning.

What is metabolism?

Metabolism is the process that involves converting food and drink into energy. In this complete process, food and beverage calories are mingled with oxygen for releasing energy so that the body can function effortlessly.

Metabolism is controlled by certain hormones and helps in crucial body functionalities such as digestion and breathing. Your body has a requirement of a certain amount of calories for sustaining the right functions. There are factors like muscle mass, age, sex, and physical that affect the metabolism.

What hormones affect metabolism?

Hormones are an assortment of chemicals formed by the human body serving a comprehensive range of functionalities. Usually, if the hormones are balanced then it makes sure that health is good and other bodily functions are working right such as metabolism. If there is any imbalance in any hormone, then it causes a slow metabolism.

Several hormones affect metabolisms such as insulin, cortisol, leptin or satiety, sexual, ghrelin or hunger hormone, and thyroid hormones.  

Types of metabolism hormones

The two primary types of metabolism process are:

• Anabolism: It is a process that essentially is associated with strengthening or combining compounds from the basic substances needed by the cells. It is useful in storing energy.
• Catabolism: It is a process primarily linked to the breakdown of massive molecules that are organic into smaller ones.

Here are the other types of hormones responsible for affecting hormones:

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone formed by the pancreas. It permits the cells to absorb blood glucose. Further, it can be used for energy and stored for later use. The pancreas continues with the secretion of insulin the entire day in small amounts. It also increases the process of production after meals.

This hormone plays an important role because it is also known as the hormone for fat storage. It can cause health conditions like metabolic syndrome and prediabetes. If it is not treated on time, then it can transform into type 2 diabetes and also increases cardiovascular risk.

Cortisol

Cortisol hormone is released when an individual is under a lot of stress. This stress hormone is not harmful but if it becomes chronic then it can turn into high cortisol overflow. It not only has the physiological effects combining high blood pressure but also an immune system that is inhibited.

Cortisol hormone also causes an impact on metabolism. As per the experts, it enhances fat and carbohydrate metabolism. An individual experiencing this hormone can have huge food cravings. Additionally, the levels of high cortisol cause contribute to the resistance of insulin.

Satiety hormone or leptin

Fat cells are responsible for the production of a satiety hormone. It is usually also called leptin hormone as it signals to your brain when there is a requirement of reducing appetite. It hints you to not get involved in forceful eating. The hormone can have a huge impact on metabolism.

There are individuals for whom it might not work as intended which results in the resistance of satiety hormones. If there is leptin resistance in an individual, then it would be difficult for anyone to get a signal when one must stop eating. It means that your brain is not getting the signals whether you are starving or not hence resulting in overeating.

Hunger or ghrelin hormone

Hunger hormone also known as ghrelin is produced and released by the stomach. It indicates to your brain when to eat and when not to eat. The hunger levels enhance during meal times and reduce after the stomach is full. Obese people have low levels of the hunger hormone, whereas people who limit their calorie intake have high levels of ghrelin.

Hunger affects metabolism by increasing the appetite and slowing down the metabolism. It also decreases the efficiency of the body to burn fat.

Thyroid hormones

Thyroid hormone is a hormone accountable for controlling the metabolism in your body. It is a process that involves transforming food into energy. The thyroid hormone releases triiodothyronine and thyroxine.

This hormone is responsible for controlling the metabolism speed and is also crucial for the development of the brain. It enhances the expression of genes in varied tissues that leads to the consumption of increased oxygen rate, and body temperature. It also involves inducing lipolysis depending on the metabolic condition.

Sexual hormones

Sexual hormones that affect our metabolism are testosterone and estrogen. In testosterone, individuals having lean muscle mass have more efficient metabolisms than those who have accumulated fat in the body. Muscles require additional energy than fat. For instance, if you have a muscular body, you might require more calories. Testosterone is useful in increasing protein formation which benefits building muscle mass. It also involves the regulation of the body's process of fat for energy.

When we talk about estrogen, then both men and women form estrogen. Although, women produce higher estrogen levels than men. It involves promoting the storage of fat and is crucial for the women’s reproductive system regulation. If the levels are low or too high, then it might store fat in excess which causes weight gain and lethargy.

Tips to maximize metabolism

Here are some tips that can help in maximizing your metabolism:

• Firstly, you must make sure to get yourself involved in regular physical activity. You must exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.
• Include eating a healthy diet in your daily routine as it provides energy to the body you need to get going. It will benefit in preventing inflammation and other problems which can affect hormones.
• Managing stress is very important as high cortisol levels can end up in overeating and making you feel hungry often. It causes weight gain and many other health diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, etc.
• If you don’t sleep on time and are also sleep-deprived, then there are chances you might experience hormonal-related problems. You must ensure at least 8 hours of sleep every day so that hormones are functioning right.
• Avert yourself from consuming alcohol and smoking as this also contributes hugely to affecting your hormones.

Final words

Metabolism is an intricate process and is affected by various varied hormones. Your metabolism is functioning properly which means your hormones are fine but if there is any issue your hormones will give you certain indications. If you understand your hormones well, it would be easier for you to keep a note of your health. Hence, to ensure that your metabolism is working fine, you need to keep your hormone levels in check.

You can get in touch with professionals so that they can assist you better by prescribing medications to keep metabolic hormones in check. They will not only assist you with prescriptions but also will recommend lifestyle changes that you need to make to maintain hormonal balance.

FAQs

 

What hormones are involved in metabolism?

The hormones that are involved in metabolism include growth hormones, leptin, insulin, and sex hormones. It leads to influencing our appetite, distribution of body fat, and metabolism.

What gland affects metabolism?

The thyroid hormone or gland is involved in affecting the human metabolism process specifically for normal development and metabolism regulation among adults. It is well-known that the thyroid is accountable for correlating body weight and energy outflow.

How do I know if my metabolism is slow?

There are certain symptoms that you must observe such as dry skin, hair thinning, mood swings, difficulty losing weight, sudden weight gain, fatigue, and inefficiency to concentrate.