Hormone

Ernest Starling coined 'hormone' at a 1905 Royal Society dinner after discovering secretin—the first confirmed chemical messenger. Legend has it he consulted classical scholar W.T. Vesey over dinner to find the perfect Greek root, settling on 'horman' (to set in motion) rather than alternatives suggesting slower processes. This casual dinner conversation gave medicine a word that would unlock treatments for diabetes, infertility, and countless endocrine disorders within decades.

Your body responds to hormones measured in picograms—that's one trillionth of a gram, equivalent to a single grain of sugar dissolved in an Olympic swimming pool. Estradiol, the primary female sex hormone, circulates at concentrations around 100 picograms per milliliter yet profoundly influences bone density, mood, cognition, and cardiovascular health. This extreme sensitivity explains why hormone replacement requires such precise dosing and why endocrine disruptors in our environment at parts-per-billion can matter.

Before 1922, a Type 1 diabetes diagnosis was a death sentence within months, with starvation diets the only 'treatment.' When Banting and Best's insulin first saved 14-year-old Leonard Thompson, they literally resurrected dying children from diabetic comas within hours—scenes physicians described as witnessing Lazarus rise. Yet the Nobel Prize committee almost overlooked Banting, initially planning to credit only his supervisor, until the scientific community erupted in protest at this injustice.

Your gut produces more serotonin than your brain—about 90% of your body's total supply—which is why gastroenterologists sometimes joke they're the real psychiatrists. This gut-brain hormonal axis explains why anxiety gives you butterflies, depression often accompanies IBS, and why that 'gut feeling' about decisions might actually be hormonal wisdom. Emerging research suggests manipulating gut bacteria might treat depression as effectively as SSRIs, turning your microbiome into a psychopharmacy.

Cortisol gets vilified as the 'stress hormone,' but you'd die without it—literally, as Addison's disease patients discovered before hormone replacement. The real problem isn't cortisol itself but its rhythm: healthy people have high morning cortisol (giving you energy to face the day) that drops by evening, while chronic stress flattens this curve, leaving you simultaneously wired and exhausted. This explains why stress management isn't about eliminating cortisol but restoring its natural symphony—early morning sunlight, consistent meal times, and screens off at night conduct the orchestra.

BPA, phthalates, and other synthetic chemicals can hijack your hormone receptors by molecular mimicry—they're close enough in shape to fool your cells, like fake keys jamming locks. Studies show these endocrine disruptors may be contributing to declining sperm counts (down 50% since 1970), earlier puberty in girls, and rising obesity rates, even at exposures previously considered safe. The practical takeaway: heating plastic containers, conventional cleaning products, and thermal receipt paper expose you to hormone imposters, making seemingly trivial choices—glass instead of plastic, 'fragrance-free' products—surprisingly consequential.