Product Description

Hormones are chemicals that are used to convey messages throughout your body. The endocrine system controls the release of hormones from their sources – specialized glands located throughout your body and specialized nervous system cells located in your brain. These signals are essential to the process of homeostasis – your body’s need to secure a stable internal environment – whereby they provide feedback to keep physiological processes within well-defined limits.The two most immediate, important variables critical to survival are 1) body temperature, and 2) energy availability. In addition your endocrine system controls other important processes including body fluid regulation, growth, and reproduction.

Your endocrine system ensures delivery of energy in the form of carbohydrate (glucose) or fat to the tissues in your body. To do this it must have the capability to precisely respond to both your food intake and energy expenditure. Glucose and fat must be mobilized from storage depots and carried to the specific tissue or organ. These sites use hormones to signal their energy status and direct the release of glucose, fat, and protein (another potential energy source) as well as the uptake of energy into the cells. If internal energy stores are low or high, your endocrine system can also influence your decision to obtain energy from outside sources, i.e. to eat food!

A number of different hormones work in concert to regulate energy storage, release, and use. Hormones can be classified as anabolic (tissue building) or catabolic (tissue breakdown). Insulin is a hormone released by your pancreas in response to food intake. Its primary function is to permit the entry of glucose from the blood into cells but it also has other important anabolic functions that include promoting amino acid uptake into cells and protein synthesis. Insulin also promotes fat storage. Normally insulin release is highly responsive to blood glucose levels, increasing in proportion to the rate of glucose appearance in the blood following a meal. Ideally, relatively low amounts of insulin should be adequate to clear glucose from the circulation and this ability is referred to as insulin sensitivity. However in overweight and obese individuals insulin sensitivity is often reduced resulting in increased insulin secretion or insulin resistance. The increases in body fat, blood sugar and insulin, and changes in blood lipids that develop are referred to as “metabolic syndrome”. And over time, the inability to control insulin can lead to degenerative diseases including diabetes, vascular and heart disease

Recently evidence has emerged that the sex steroid hormones testosterone and estrogen can influence the effectiveness of insulin. In addition a link between adiposity – the amount of fat and location stored, and production of these hormones in both men and women has been established. It has been determined that overweight and obese men and women have subtle hormone imbalances involving the ratios of these hormones. In men these result in lower amounts of circulating testosterone, although these levels are still within a “normal” range indicated by laboratory tests. As fat accumulates, fat cells convert testosterone to estrogen. The decreased testosterone to estrogen ratio leads to even further fat accumulation resulting in even further estrogen production and insulin resistance.

In women the situation is reversed. During menopause estrogen production declines, increasing the normally very low ratio of testosterone to estrogen (testosterone is the precursor for estrogen). In women who haven’t yet reached menopause, individual variation may also result in subtle hormonal imbalances. Higher levels of androgens (male hormones) in women are also associated increased insulin resistance. These changes influence how much and where fat is deposited, typically directing fat to the abdominal area.

Many physicians now advocate hormone replacement therapy in both women and men to address these issues. However there are potential side effects and complications associated with the drugs now being used, not to mention the costs. Perhaps a better way to correct hormonal imbalances is to get your body to correct itself. Much like the program variables intensity, duration, frequency, and mode are manipulated in an exercise program to improve physical fitness, the Metabolix Nutritional System uses meal planning, dietary supplementation, and exercise to redirect your metabolism, i.e. - improve your metabolic fitness.

Hormonal Balance by Metabolix Nutritional System is a synergistic blend of four research supported components designed to help correct these subtle hormone imbalances. Hormonal Balance is a blend consisting of tribulus, DHEA, ZMA, and piperine. The active components in the tribulus are saponins extracted from Tribulus terrestris, a thorny plant found in many areas over the world. These saponins, like those found in the Hoodia cactus (see Metabolix Appetite Inhibitor product description) belong to a class of phytochemical compounds referred to as triterpenoids (plant lipids/fats), which include phytosterols, bioflavonoids, and isoflavones, which include those found in soy products. Many of these molecules may have important potential health benefits with regards to both carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. They also possess powerful anti-inflammatory and other biological actions.

In particular, tribulus has been shown to influence control over the production of testosterone in men by subtly enhancing the production of luteinizing hormone (LH) which stimulates the production of testosterone, elevating it towards a more desirable level but still well within the normal range of a young adult male. In women it increases the release of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), which in turn, is responsible for stimulating to production of estrogen but still keeping it within normal limits.

DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is produced by your adrenal glands where it serves as a precursor molecule to testosterone and estrogen synthesis. It is the most abundant circulating hormone in the body and has its own set of diverse actions as a hormone secreted into your circulation. One of its most important actions is that it counteracts the effects of cortisol, another hormone produced and secreted by the adrenals in response to stress. Chronically elevated cortisol has a strong link to obesity, insulin resistance, loss of muscle mass and coronary heart disease. DHEA diminishes with age and administration of low doses of DHEA has been to shown restore circulating levels.

To help support the production of the sex hormones and metabolism in general we have included a patented blend of zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B6 known as ZMA. Zinc is an anabolic mineral required for production of growth hormone and testosterone as well as activation of their receptors. It also has an inhibitory effect on the enzyme 5A-reductase, which converts testosterone to dihydrotesterone, and this is potentiated by vitamin B6. This conversion interferes with testosterone's anabolic effects in the body, so the combined supplements keep testosterone around longer. Also, vitamin B6 is essential for energy metabolism while magnesium activates enzymes necessary for metabolism of carbohydrates and amino acids.

Nutrients must be delivered to their sites of action in your body for them to be effective; which comes down to one single problem - nutrient bioavailability. By far, the greatest factors that reduce the bioavailability of nutrients are those that diminish the intestine's absorption capacity. To address this we have added piperine, a chemical naturally found in Piper nigrum and Piper longum, the plants from which pepper was originally obtained. In addition to giving pepper its spicy flavor; piperine has the ability to increase the bioavailability of many drugs and nutrients. For example bioflavonoids (e.g. b – carotene, curcumin) and vitamin B6 absorption were dramatically increased when ingested with piperine. Piperine also shares many potentially healthful benefits, e.g. antioxidant properties, with other related phytochemicals.

References:

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Genazzani AD, Stomati M, Bernardi F, Pieri M, Rovati L, Genazzani AR.
Long-term low-dose dehydroepiandrosterone oral supplementation in early and late postmenopausal women modulates endocrine parameters and synthesis of neuroactive steroids. Fertil Steril. 2003 Dec;80(6):1495-501.

Kroboth PD, Amico JA, Stone RA, Folan M, Frye RF, Kroboth FJ, Bigos KL, Fabian TJ, Linares AM, Pollock BG, Hakala C. Influence of DHEA administration on 24-hour cortisol concentrations. J Clin Psychopharmacol 2003 Feb;23(1):96-9

Kawano H, Yasue H, Kitagawa A, Hirai N, Yoshida T, Soejima H, Miyamoto S, Nakano M, Ogawa H. Dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation improves endothelial function and insulin sensitivity in men.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Jul;88(7):3190-5.

Khajuria A, Thusu N, Zutshi U. Piperine modulates permeability characteristics of intestine by inducing alterations in membrane dynamics: influence on brush border membrane fluidity, ultrastructure and enzyme kinetics. Phytomedicine. 2002 Apr;9(3):224-31.

Naidu KA, Thippeswamy NB. Inhibition of human low density lipoprotein oxidation by active principles from spices. Mol Cell Biochem. 2002 Jan;229(1-2):19-23.