Why Hormones Decline

The pituitary is a magical little gland in the back part of the brain.  It, along with the hypothalamus, operate like a thermostat – but – instead of measuring temperature, it measures various hormones, e.g. testosterone, thyroid, cortisol, etc.,.  As the pituitary senses the body needs a certain hormone, it secretes a stimulating hormone to stimulate selected glands to produce more of that hormone.  For example, when it senses the body needs testosterone, it secretes Lutinizing Hormone (LH) that flows through the blood to the testes to stimulate them to produce more testosterone.   As testosterone levels rise, the pituitary shuts the LH down. It works the same for the thyroid – but – rather than secrete LH it secretes TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) to stimulate the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormone.

Testosterone or thyroid levels decline because the respective glands slow down and the pituitary slows due to natural aging.

More prevalent in recent times, the effects of environmental pollutants particularly petrochemicals from insecticides etc., have caused the pituitary to slow prematurely. It is not uncommon in the last 5 years for us to see clients in their mid to early thirties with hormone levels of 65 year old men.