Your body makes anabolic hormones (growth hormone, testosterone, estrogen and thyroid) and catabolic hormones (adrenaline/noradrenaline, cortisol and aldosterone). Anabolic hormones effect on the body is to increase lean body mass and muscle strength….and to decrease body fat. In the brain they wipe out free radicals and act as antioxidants. They also improve the immune system, decrease the release of cytokines (pro-inflammatory markers), improve endurance, positive mood via dopamine and serotonin. Catabolic hormones on the other hand increase fat production, increase blood glucose and decrease lean body mass by breaking down muscles to make glucose and also an increase in insulin, a fat producing hormone.

Anabolic hormones work for you – and tend to be high in your 20s, 30s, with a slight decrease in your 40s and a drastic redution in your 50s and onward. On the other hand, catabolic hormones tend to be low in your 20s and 30s BUT stress and the individual toxic load you carry can drastically increase these hormones in these earlier years of your life. So let’s recap:

• Anabolic hormones:build muscle mass, reduce body fat production and protect you from many illnesses.They are high during your reproductive years but with a high toxic load (bad diet, stress, lack of sleep, chemical exposure) can be lower than they should be.

• Catabolic hormones: reduce muscle mass, increase body fat production and increase your risks of degenerative diseases and tend to be higher as you get closer to the end of your reproductive years.

MY ADVICE:

• As you get into your 40s, if you have any health issues, it is very very important to address these before reaching your 50s as your body will naturally and normally produce less “protective hormones” and it will be much harder to stay on top of the increase in catabolic hormones (or more accurately, lower anabolic hormones).

• If you are already in your 50s, it is vitally important to be more diligent with you diet, stress reduction (leave the office for the gym), exercise is a MUST to maintain muscle mass and bone density but also reducing the effects of your catabolic hormones and maintaining higher anabolic hormones than is normal for your age (this can be done – but it requires dedication).

• If you are in your 20s and 30s, cherish your anabolic hormones and if these are not working correctly, seek the advice of a holistic practitioner in helping to rebalance these hormones with a natural approach (returning what’s missing) and addressing the root cause of these imbalances, they can be restored to their normal levels.

Again, keep in mind that with aging, the anabolic hormone plummet and the catabolic hormones escalates.

Marie-Josée Brown

Registered Orthomolecular Health Practitioner

Certified Holistic Cancer Practitioner

1-709-728-3001

mjbrown@ascendnl.com