Hormones tell our bodies when to start developing breasts or producing sperm. Hormones direct the cells in the fetus, guiding them to become cells of the reproductive organs, cells of the brain or the various glands, cells of all the particular tissues of our bodies. Betsy says she's living in hormonal hell. I'm starting to have hot flashes and my doctor wants me to take hormones because my mother had osteoporosis. In a way, Betsy is right.
Hormones regulate puberty, fertility, pregnancy, and menopause.
When our hormones send us into a frenzy, they can do more than urge us to sidle up to that cute cowboy at the bar or to eat another handful of chocolate-covered almonds. Hormonal imbalance can contribute to diseases like endometriosis and breast or prostate cancer. However, it's not only our natural hormones that can wreak havoc with our lives. As if this wasn't already confusing enough, now there's another aspect to hormones that we must learn to take into consideration if we're going to stay healthy ourselves as well as raise healthy families. Certain man-made chemicals, many of which are found in the household products we use regularly and in the foods we consume every day, are under suspicion.