Human Hormones

The secret to a long and healthy life has haunted mankind for centuries. From the mythical Fountain of Youth to the modern day obsession with plastic surgery, mankind has tried to find ways to prolong our lives, and cheat death.

Of course, all human beings die at some point. This is inescapable, and the classic dilemma that human beings experience. However, new research has shown that a hormone, and whether or not it is present in the human body, can be an indicator of whether or not one will live a long and happy life, or a shorter one, relatively speaking, than the rest of the human race. All of the research has centred on the thyroid.

The thyroid is found in the neck. The research has shown that those with lower levels of the hormones that are released by the thyroid are more likely to live longer than those who have higher levels. This is interesting because there are many people who, on a daily basis, go to their doctors for medical help as regards their thyroid gland. Seen as a master gland, that does a lot of work to promote the healthy regulation of the human metabolism, an underactive or overactive thyroid is commonly thought to be the cause of many of the human race’s most common ailments.

Thyroid stimulating hormone is what is released by the thyroid, and it is through the checking of this that scientists can measure the activity of the thyroid on a long-term basis. This means of course that scientists can also see when someone has a thyroid that is underperforming or indeed one that is doing so well that it needs to be put in check.

Levels of thyroid stimulating hormone can be checked and if the thyroid is seen to be over stimulated, then this is called hyperthyroidism. A high level of thyroid stimulating hormone leads to a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. This means that the thyroid is underactive.

Anyone with hypothyroidism can suffer from weight gain, hair loss and a general sluggishness and tiredness. This can be very distressing for them. So they go to the doctor and get a diagnosis of their condition.

Hyperthyroidism, on the other hand, leads to considerable weight loss. This can be as distressing as weight gain of course. They can also suffer from racing of the heart, which in older people can be very alarming. This is accompanied by a sever shaking of the hands.

The research showed that a high proportion of people over 100 years of age had thyroid levels that were relatively low compared to other people. This lead to the speculation that low levels as regards the thyroid meant that life could be prolonged.

All that is required now is some thyroid replacement therapy to be used for this reason (prolonging life) and the research will be effective. This, of course, remains to be seen…