Hormones impact almost all of our bodily functions, from skin, to the gut, to our moods. Here, experts on hormonal and metabolic health explain how to stay well
“Most people would like to have more energy and be leaner,” says Prof David Ray, an endocrinologist at the University of Oxford who also provides NHS services. “There is a connection between how we choose to live, what our bodies look and feel like, and the hormones that are going around the body. What endocrinologists deal with is disorders of either a lack of hormones, or too much of a hormone.”
Hormones impact almost all bodily functions, from skin, to the gut, to our moods. “During an average day, the hormones in our body will vary depending on what time it is and what we’re doing,” he says. “For example, have we recently had something to eat or are we hungry? Are we having a stressful day or a calm and quiet day?”
“Metabolic rate refers to metabolism, which describes how the body uses different components from the foods that we eat and turns those into all the various things that it needs to fuel the body, build proteins and other essential molecules,” says Dr David Cavan, a consultant endocrinologist specialising in diabetes and weight management at University Hospitals Dorset and the London Diabetes Centre, and author of A Guide to Weight Loss Injections, published on 29 January. “If you have a very slow metabolic rate, then you will use up less energy and gain weight more than if you have a faster metabolic rate, in which case you’re burning the energy up more quickly.
