Nutrition Science Update - Hormones (Part Seven of
Ten)
There can be no doubt that the field of nutrition has come of age. More than 80 years have passed since the first vitamin was discovered. Today the speed at which laboratory and clinical findings are released is so accelerated that an individual's understanding of nutrition is seriously out-dated if he or she is not abreast of the findings published within even the past year.
This special Nutrition Science Update takes the guesswork out of keeping up-to-date on important nutritional breakthroughs by presenting the following summations of all the most important research released over the past year.
Key Concepts in Hormone
Research:
Melatonin
Melatonin's reputation as a sleep aid is so legendary that it is out of this world, so to speak. NASA is planning to put this hormone to the test, with the help of the National Institute on Aging, and see if it can help space shuttle workers normalize their sleep patterns during space missions.
Dhea
DHEA (a natural hormone secreted by the adrenal glands) is believed to be involved in the aging process. To confirm this, researchers measured DHEA levels in 75 healthy adults 90-106 years old and a group of middle-aged adults. The elderly group had much lower DHEA levels than their younger counterparts. The older people who were in poor health showed the lowest DHEA levels, indicating that DHEA plays a role in successful aging. (Ravaglia, G., et al., Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 1996;81:1173-1178.)
Pregnenolone
Yet another hormone has fallen under scientific scrutiny. Pregnenolone has been studied for many years, but only now have researchers found that pregnenolone may boost memory. Animal research shows significant enhancements in the memory function of mice exposed to even small amounts of this hormone. (Flood, J.F., et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1995;92(23):10806-10810.)
By Victoria Dolby - Vitamin Retailer / February 1997
Courtesy of
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Resource Center.
Don't miss Part Eight - Amino Acids in this Ten Part series
