Many of the activities that the body performs every day has some hormones behind them. Those hormones are produced by the endocrine system and they help to regulate everything that we do. Sleep, metabolism, growth, and even someone’s sexual drive are all reflective of the health of the endocrine system. 1. It’s a 2,000 Year Medical Science More than 200 years before Jesus was born, Chinese medical professionals were using gypsum to extract hormones out of donated urine. When combined with saponin, they discovered that these hormones were useful for healing. 2. Watch Out For Them Bones Osteoporosis makes the bones less dense as people get older and about 10% of the senior population suffers from this disease. It’s often thought of as a bone disorder or a problem with genetics or lifestyle habits, but the endocrine system can also cause osteoporosis to happen with low estrogen levels. 3. Hormones? What Hormones? The term “hormone” was actually coined about a century ago. This is because scientists finally figured out what the Ancient Chinese already knew. That there was some form of central communication between the different organs of the body. By using the chemicals, in 1902, it was found that the brain could trigger these chemicals and hormones were born. 4. How Did They Do That? When the endocrine system begins to malfunction, it can leave some telltale signs in the body. The most common disorder is a lack of insulin production, which causes extra sugars to be eliminated through the urine. Before modern testing methods, doctors would actually taste urine to determine if it was sweet enough for a proper diagnosis. 5. Some Are Double The pancreas is unique because it is actually part of two different body symptoms. It acts like a bridge for the endocrine and the exocrine systems. It releases hormones, but it also releases digestive enzymes. This is why it is one of the most critical organs that is in the human body. 6. Alcohol Isn’t So Good Drinking alcohol can have some positive health effects, but it can also have some negative ones. It suppresses a person’s endocrine system so that there isn’t enough hormones for proper processing. That hangover isn’t the only thing to worry about after a long night of drinking or partying. 7. Animal Research Did It In the late 19th century, the knowledge we have of our endocrine system came from experiments that occurred with dogs. Diabetes was purposely induced by having the pancreas removed from the animal. Then they took adrenal gland extracts from dogs and injected it into other dogs to induce a heightened state. 8. Avoid the Castration There was a lot of desperation in the field of endocrinology in its early years. Scientists knew that something was happening, but they didn’t know what it was. Chickens were castrated and then surgically repaired to study this effect. Then one man decided to inject himself with guinea pig hormones that were said to restore his strength. 9. It’s the Stress One of the biggest reasons why the endocrine system will kick into high gear is because of stress. It’s more than just flight or fight as a response. Metabolic activities are increased, blood flows better, and even the heart can increase the amount of blood that is pumped through it. Source
