Optimal hormonal balance seems associated with better long-term health outcomes. Understanding what hormones are and what they do could help you make better decisions regarding how to maintain your health. Studies suggest that most people believe chronic stress has a deleterious effect on health. Many participants in studies already knew that stress releases cortisol and adrenaline and that those hormones can cause various responses in the body. A hormone can be defined as
A substance, usually a peptide or steroid, produced by one tissue and conveyed by the bloodstream to another to effect physiological activity, such as growth or metabolism.
A synthetic compound that acts like a hormone in the body.
Dietary factors as well as environmental influences can have impacts on the hormonal balance with the physiology of the human body. Various studies for different conditions have looked at lowering carbohydrate intake as a tool for better regulation of hormones, many with promising results. "Other potential benefits of carbohydrate restriction may include fat mobilisation and oxidation and reductions in the TG/HDL ratio, a marker of insulin resistance" (3)