What are hormones?

Hormones are chemical messengers that coordinate different functions in your body by carrying messages through your blood to your organs, skin, muscles, and other tissues. These signals tell your body what to do and when to do it. Hormones are essential for life and your health. All the glands and tissues that synthesize and secrete the hormones constitute the Endocrine system.

Hormones affect nearly every process, including:

 Metabolism, Growth and Development, Emotions and Mood, Fertility and sexual function. Sleep, Blood pressure.

What are the main types of female hormones?

Female sex hormones regulate the female reproductive system and reproductive behavior. They are involved in reproductive functions in females such as menarche, menstrual cycle, development of secondary sexual characteristics, pregnancy, parturition, and lactation. There are several hormones that are naturally produced and secreted by the glands of the endocrine system. The Ovaries secrete the hormones Estrogen, Progesterone, and Testosterone to influence a woman’s reproductive health and are termed female hormones. Testosterone is a male reproductive hormone, but it is also present in females in smaller quantities. Other hormones that are involved in the functioning of the female reproductive system are Leutenizing Hormone (LH), Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Prolactin, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), Oxytocin and Vasopressin.

What is the function of each type of hormone?

Estrogen: it is a steroid hormone associated with the female reproductive organs and is responsible for developing female sexual characteristics.  Estrogen is often referred to as estrone, estradiol, and estriol. It enables the following organs to function:

Ovaries: Estrogen helps stimulate the growth of the egg follicle.

Vagina: In the vagina, estrogen maintains the thickness of the vaginal wall and promotes lubrication.

Uterus: Estrogen enhances and maintains the mucous membrane that lines the uterus. It also regulates the flow and thickness of uterine mucus secretions.

Breasts: The body uses estrogen in the formation of breast tissue. This hormone also helps stop the flow of milk after weaning.

Progesterone: A steroid hormone that is commonly produced by the adrenal cortex as well as the ovaries and the testes. Progesterone is known as the pregnancy hormone in females, and most of its function relates to maintaining pregnancy specifically by preparing the endometrium, decreasing myometrial contractions for implantation, promoting gestation, and inhibition of lactation during pregnancy

Progesterone is also secreted by the ovarian corpus luteum during the first ten weeks of pregnancy, followed by the placenta in the later phase of pregnancy. Progesterone is a derivative of cholesterol and has numerous functions in the human body, especially within the reproductive system. Progesterone plays a vital role in the maintenance of the uterus during pregnancy. One of the primary responsibilities of progesterone throughout pregnancy is to maintain a decreased level of vascular tone in the myometrium. Progesterone also influences the production of inflammatory mediators, such as human T-cells within the uterine cavity. Thus, a loss of progesterone leads to an increase in myometrial contractility coupled with a decrease in fighting off immunologic threats, ultimately leading to a higher risk of miscarriage and early delivery of the fetus. It also plays a role in the menstrual cycle, causing capillary growth and development with the result of increased vascularization and blood flow.

Prolactin: is a polypeptide hormone that is responsible for lactation, breast development, and many other actions needed to maintain homeostasis. The two primary responsibilities of Prolactin are milk production and the development of mammary glands within breast tissues. It promotes the growth of mammary alveoli, which are the components of the mammary gland, where the actual production of milk occurs & stimulates the breast alveolar epithelial cells to synthesize milk.

Prolactin receptors are down-regulated on mammary glandular tissue during periods of elevated progesterone levels (i.e., during pregnancy).

After delivery, the serum progesterone level drops, allowing for the up-regulation of prolactin receptors on the mammary alveolar cells, enabling lactogenesis.

Oxytocin:  is a hormone produced in the hypothalamus and released into the bloodstream by the pituitary gland. Its main function is to facilitate childbirth, which is one of the reasons it is called the "love drug" or "love hormone."  The following are the major functions associated with oxytocin

Parturition and uterine contraction: Oxytocin causes contraction of uterine muscles

Milk ejection: Discharge or expulsion of milk from the breast 

Sexual arousal, Recognition, Trust, Romantic attachment, and Parent-infant bonding.

Vasopressin: Vasopressin or antidiuretic hormone (ADH) or arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a nonapeptide synthesized in the hypothalamus & maintains Osmolality.

Vasopressin drives the expansion of total blood volume in pregnancy and lactation. The main role of vasopressin is to maintain body fluid balance.

Luteinizing Hormone (LH): a glycoprotein hormone that is co-secreted along with follicle-stimulating hormone by the gonadotrophin cells in the anterior pituitary. LH contributes to the maturation of primordial germ cells & helps to regulate the length and order of the menstrual cycle by playing roles in both ovulation and implantation of an egg in the uterus.

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG): produced primarily by syncytiotrophoblastic cells of the placenta during pregnancy. The hormone stimulates the corpus luteum to produce progesterone to maintain the pregnancy. Smaller amounts of hCG are also produced in the pituitary gland, the liver, and the colon.

Follicle Stimulating hormone (FSH): It helps control the menstrual cycle and stimulates the growth of eggs in the ovaries. FSH levels in women change throughout the menstrual cycle, with the highest levels at ovulation. In men, FSH helps control the production of sperm.

Androgens: are also essential for female health, physical and emotional. They act not only as the precursor of estrogens but also affect most organ systems of the female body, including the cardiovascular, muscular, and skeletal systems. Interestingly, they also directly affect the female reproductive system, breasts, mood, cognition, and other systems.

In women, active androgens include the following:

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S)

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)

Androstenedione

Testosterone

Dihydrotestosterone

Normal levels of testosterone have multiple functions on the overall health of women: It keeps bones healthy, promotes cognitive health, and helps maintain sex drive.

Why do hormones change and fluctuate?

Hormone fluctuations are normal at certain points in the lifespan, such as puberty, perimenopause, and the menstrual cycle. However, they can also be due to a condition like diabetes, thyroid disease, or even stress.

A healthy lifestyle, regular exercising, and getting enough sleep can help regulate hormone levels.

What are the main symptoms of a hormonal imbalance?

Female Hormonal Imbalance occurs when hormones rise above or drop below normal levels in the bloodstream and can have an impact on:

Mood, body temperature, metabolism, heart rate, sleep, reproductive cycles, growth, stress

Bloating, weight gain, fatigue, mood swings, and spikes in body temperature are only some of the many symptoms of hormonal imbalance in women. Delayed or skipped periods can also be caused by hormone imbalances. These imbalances can impact personal comfort, focus, health, work performance, and relationships.

What are some measures that one can take to rectify the same?

A hormonal imbalance happens when you have too much or too little of one or more hormones. Even small changes in hormone levels can result in adverse effects, including extra stress on the body. Symptoms can grow worse over time, and a hormonal imbalance can lead to chronic issues. For some people, making simple lifestyle changes can help restore proper levels of hormones.

The following measures might be of help:

Getting enough sleep, managing stress, exercising, avoiding sugars, too much light at night, consumption of tobacco, consuming fiber-rich diet