Your metabolism is the process of using cellular energy to conduct all of the chemical and physical processes in your body that keep you alive. These processes include the proper function of your brain and nervous system, muscle contraction, body temperature, food digestion, blood circulation and breathing. Metabolic processes of all types are heavily influenced by your endocrine system, which is a system of glands located throughout your body.
Endocrine Glands
There are many types of endocrine glands, including the pituitary and hypothalamus in your brain, the thyroid gland in your neck and reproductive glands, including your gonads. There are also major organs that act as endocrine glands, including the stomach, liver and pancreas. Endocrine glands produce signaling molecules, including hormones and small proteins, which are secreted into the bloodstream and act as communication messengers to another part of the body.
Hormones
Hormones, including testosterone and estrogen, are small chemical messengers that affect many cellular processes, including your sexual function, growth and development, mood and your metabolism. The hypothalamus in your brain connects the nervous system to your endocrine system. The hypothalamus makes hormones that tell the pituitary gland what hormones to secrete. The pituitary gland is sometimes referred to as the master gland because it secretes hormones that instruct the rest of the endocrine glands what to do.
Secretion Effects
The endocrine glands secrete hormones that bind to cells that have receptors specific for a particular hormone. When they bind to their target cells, it sends a signal that instructs those cells in a particular tissue or organ what to do. For example, the pancreas secretes the protein insulin, which then binds to target cells and signals those cells to let in blood sugar, or glucose, so that it can be metabolized.
Metabolic Effects
The thyroid gland produces special hormones that control the metabolic rate at which cells use energy. Individuals who have an underactive thyroid gland are said to have hypothyroidism, which can lead to obesity, arthritis and heart disease. According to MayoClinic.com, older women are much more likely to develop hypothyroidism, which can be successfully treated with synthetic hormones.
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