How Does Nutrition Influence Hormones?

The food we intake greatly impacts the production and secretion of various hormones in our bodies. The food composition not only regards the diversity of the nutrients that we consume but also the quantity, quality, and duration. For instance, insulin is the best example to explain the effects of food intake and gut health.

- Dr. Rohini Patil

Nutrition that we get from the food influence the sensitivity of the tissues and cells towards some hormones. Some hormones are the products of endocrine glands and thus, protein is the main component of the hormone. Hormones like insulin, oxytocin, adiponectin, and growth hormones are some examples of protein hormones.

Vitamin D as a hormone

It should be duly noted that vitamin D is essentially a hormone and not a vitamin. It's common knowledge that vitamin D is used to absorb calcium present in our guts into the bloodstream. When our body is exposed to sunlight, vitamin D is activated by the liver and kidneys and this activated form acts like a hormone to regulate calcium metabolism in the system. Calcium deficiency can lead to a troublesome overall growth and development of the body and maintenance of the bones and teeth. The deficiency of vitamin D has also been associated with a decrease in testosterone levels in males and sterility in both females and males. Vitamin D also decreases the risk of breast cancer in women.

Vitamin C