LOVE POTION #9 – HOLY HORMONES!

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Here’s a hormone you can really get into: oxytocin. It’s called the “cuddle hormone”, the “bonding hormone”, the “love hormone”, even the “sex hormone” by some. It helps excrete breast milk and cements the bond between mother and child. It is also released by both sexes during orgasm and produces bonding between intimate adults. You can even increase levels when you watch emotional movies or even pet your cat or dog. That doesn’t mean it turns us into blubbering piles of love. But you’ll be amazed at some of its other functions:

IT HELPS TURN OFF FEAR

Oxytocin inhibits the brain’s fear center. Findings suggests oxytocin could be used to treat anxiety disorders in the future.

IT MAY BE THE CAUSE OF YOUR MOMMY ISSUES

Oxytocin has been shown to influence how men remember their mother’s affection toward them as children. While under the influence of the hormone, men with strong attachments and happy memories of their mother had these memories heightened, and recalled being closer to her as a kid.

IT MAKES US CHEATERS AND LIARS

In one study, participants were asked to predict the outcome of a coin toss and self-report their accuracy. Correct guesses resulted in money. Predictably, a financial reward encouraged participants to lie about their success rate. But a dose of oxytocin made them lie even more, and without hesitation. (yep, for real)

 IT MAKES YOUR DOG LIKE YOU MORE

Humans aren’t the only animals affected by oxytocin. One study suggests the hormone makes dogs more friendly toward their owners. (big lick time)

IT COULD HELP TREAT EATING DISORDERS.

In one study, researchers found that oxytocin helped patients suffering from anorexia stop obsessing over things like food and body image.

WHEN HGH TURNS TO “UGH”

Human Growth Hormone.

Images of men (and some women, actually) with oil-greased rippling muscles deadlifting almost 900 pounds is the first thing that might come to your mind when you hear HGH. Human growth hormone is made by the pituitary gland and actually has several important functions. In children, growth hormones help them grow taller, increase muscle and the length of their bones, and decrease body fat. In adults, growth hormone stimulates metabolism—the way cells break down food to produce energy and make the substances needed by the body. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved growth hormone for these conditions.

On the down side, there is also a synthetic form that you can load up on at a bunch of places. But growth hormone supplements don’t always contain what the label says. They could even be contaminated with harmful ingredients. So the side effects can be pretty awful. You could get joint and muscle pain, tingling and swelling in the hand or feet. Taken long-term more than a few months it could lead to diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. Maybe even benching 250 pounds or so is a thought instead of using HGH.

Because the body’s HGH levels naturally decrease with age, some so-called anti-aging experts have speculated and claimed that HGH products could reverse age-related bodily deterioration. The use of HGH for anti-aging is not FDA-approved, nor has it even been shown it works. Tick-tock, it won’t turn back the clock.

THE REAL DOPE

Human growth hormone has been on the list of forbidden substances in sports since the early 1990’s. If you’re a sports fan, you’ve probably heard of something called “doping” which refers to the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs by athletic competitors.  The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) – athletics’ world governing body – became the first international sports federation to ban doping. The first Olympic testing came in 1968, at the Winter Games in Grenoble and Summer Games in Mexico. By the 1970s, most international federations had introduced drug-testing. American cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to doping in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, and was stripped of his seven Tour de France wins, banned from the sport for life. It’s not an isolated problem. Despite being banned by the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency, HGH abuse still taints many sports, including Major League Baseball and the National Football League. How sporting is that?

HORMONES UNHINGED

AS YOU CAN SEE, GLANDS, HORMONES AND THE WAY THEY CAN WREAK HAVOC ON YOUR BODY WOULD GIVE ANYONE THE WILLIES. IT’S SUCH A COMPLEX SYSTEM, HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW TO KEEP IT FROM FALLING TO PIECES? THE ANSWER IS CLOSE BY. AT DENVER HORMONE HEALTH DR. STEPHEN A. GOLDSTEIN, M.D, F.A.C.S. HAS THE ANSWERS. REKNOWNED IN THE FIELD, HIS EXPERTISE, ALONG WITH ONGOING EDUCATION IN STATE-OF-THE-ART RESEARCH, MAKES HIM THE PERFECT DOCTOR TO SEE TO EXAMINE ANY HORMONE IMBALANCES THAT MAY BE MESSING UP YOUR LIFE AND HOW YOU FEEL. HELPING HIS PATIENTS FEEL THEIR OPTIMAL BEST IS HIS NUMBER ONE GOAL. AFTER SIMPLE TESTS, HE WILL DEVELOP A UNIQUELY INDIVIDUAL TREATMENT PLAN, TAILORED JUST FOR YOU. CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT NOW.

AND GET YOUR HORMONES HUMMING.