Your endocrine system plays an important role in all of your bodily functions.
It’s connected to many of your organs.
This system makes sure your body and organs function properly.
Any issue to your endocrine system could cause a health issue, or damage to another major system of your body.
You may have heard of your endocrine system, but what you may not realize is just how complex and important it is to your overall health and well-being.
Let’s start off today by talking more about what your endocrine system is, and how it’s useful to you.
Afterwards we’ll look at the numerous common disorders that can affect your endocrine system and how a naturopathic doctor can play a role in improving your health.
What Is Your Endocrine System?
Your endocrine system includes the parts of your body that regulate and produce hormones.
It helps control your development, your reproduction, and the way your organs function.
The tissues in the endocrine system release hormones directly into your bloodstream, hence the “endo” in endocrine, from the Greek word meaning “inside”.
The parts of the endocrine system include some names you’ll recognize, like your:
The ovaries and testes, for example, are responsible for producing estrogen and testosterone, respectively.
Your endocrine system also includes some lesser known bits like your adrenal glands and adipose tissue.
Your adrenal gland and pituitary gland are responsible for controlling stress levels through the release of the hormones cortisol and aldosterone.
Issues with these glands can result in various diseases, stress, and autoimmune disorders.
In contrast, the tissues in your exocrine system deliver their packages to the outside of the body, or places that come in contact with the outside of the body.
Your exocrine system secretes substances onto an epithelial surface, such as your skin and gastrointestinal tract.
For this reason, they’re called exocrine, from the Greek word “exo”, meaning “outside”.
The exocrine system includes your sweat glands, mammary glands, olfactory glands, prostate, uterine glands, sebaceous glands, and many more.
Interestingly, your pancreas and your liver are considered both a part of your endocrine and your exocrine system.
They secrete pancreatic juice and bile, respectively, into the GI tract, and secrete other substances into your bloodstream.
Your pancreas is important in its production of insulin, which is essential to your function.
A lack of production of insulin or too low levels of insulin can cause diabetes.
RELATED: Frequently Asked Questions About Hormones
Why Is Your Endocrine System Important?
Your body uses hormones to tell its different parts how to behave in order to coordinate efforts.
One obvious example is during puberty.
Your respective biological parts send signals to the rest of your body to tell it to begin growing certain things in certain places.
Endocrine disruptors could cause a delay in puberty and various other issues.
Without your endocrine system, your body won’t know how to work together, and everything will work independently.
This can disrupt your circadian rhythm and sleep (controlled by hormones from your pineal gland), and lead to sleep issues like insomnia.
It can also disrupt your metabolism and cause hypothyroidism, or disrupt your sexual capability, or your ability to manage stress, among many other potential issues.
The endocrine system produces many essential hormones.
Imbalances in these hormones can cause:
Issues to the endocrine system can also cause issues with:
- Metabolism
- Digestion
- Reproduction
- Respiration
- Physical activity
- Sensory perception
RELATED: Naturopathic Solutions For Hormonal Imbalance
What Are Some Of The Common Endocrine Disorders?
There are many disorders which can affect parts or all of your endocrine system.
Since your endocrine system is connected with other essential organs in the body, many of the disorders impact one or more of your essential organs.
These disorders interfere, at some level, with the flow of hormones in your body.
Some of them may cause your hormone flow to be too low, or too high.
Each of these can be just as detrimental as the other.
They may also cause issues with your bloodstream, which transports the secreted hormones, or the reception of hormones at the other end.
An entire article could be written about each one of them, but we’ll list some of them here.
Common endocrine disorders include:
- Hypothyroidism or Hyperthyroidism
- Goiter
- Graves’ disease
- Thyroiditis
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS)
- Certain types of cancer
- Arthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Cushing’s disease
- Gigantism
Each of these diseases will have different causes and involve damage to different parts and organs of the body.
The degree to which they affect how your body functions will vary person to person.
What Are The Signs Of An Endocrine Disorder?
Each of the above diseases has different warning signs and symptoms.
Speak to a qualified health care practitioner to help you identify whether you have any of the above conditions.
However, there are some common signs, symptoms, and factors that can contribute to an endocrine disorder.
These include:
- Chronic, unexplained fatigue
- Digestive Issues
- Dehydration
- Changes to the skin
- Insomnia
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sensitivity to cold
- Hair loss
- Unexplained weight gain
- Weight loss
- Menstrual issues
If you’re showing any of these symptoms, a naturopathic doctor can help.
Book Your Appointment With The Mindful Healing Clinic Today
If you’re experiencing one or more of the above symptoms, it could be a sign that you have an endocrine disorder.
But there is help. At Mindful Healing Naturopathic Clinic, we offer naturopathic treatments for endocrine disorders.
Book an appointment with me, Dr. Maria Cavallazzi.
During your FREE 15 minute optimal health consultation, you’ll get a chance to ask any questions you may have about naturopathic medicine and how it may be able to help you.
From there, we’ll talk about a treatment plan we can use to help you achieve your optimal level of health.
Endocrine disorders can disrupt your life, making it difficult to complete the simplest tasks.
Contact our clinic today, and let’s talk about where your health concerns are coming from, and what you can do about it.
Book your appointment with The Mindful Healing Naturopathic Clinic today.
Until next time,
Dr. Maria Cavallazzi, N.D
Mindful Healing Naturopathic Clinic
Mississauga, ON L5M 1L7
(905) 819-8200
► https://g.page/MindfulClinicNaturopathic
Dr. Maria Cavallazzi is a medical doctor from Colombia where she practiced as a family physician for 8 years until she moved to Canada 16 years ago and became a naturopathic doctor in Mississauga.
