Our thymus gland lies behind our breast bone. It’s all about our immune system. When they talk about the various t-cells that go to war when disease rampages against us, that’s short for thymus cells. They used to believe the gradual loss of the thymus was a normal part of life, but now they’re learning that loss doesn’t have to happen. Exciting research going on.

Note from Bette: I discuss the endocrine glands one at a time, but keep in mind they work as a group, instant messaging each other back and forth 24/7 in a looped feedback kind of system. If one shows sign of trouble, the others jump in to do what they can to help out. Endocrine problems are system-wide, not local.

The two adrenal glands perch atop the kidneys in your mid-to-upper back. These babies are a real piece of work, with an uncanny ability to get into trouble. They handle our energy and stress. If heavy stress goes on and on, they can conk out. They can also go down trying to help the thyroid gland get straightened out. And if you try to fix an ailing thyroid gland without first doing something about malfunctioning adrenal glands (which doctors do), it’s World War III. Adrenal problems are huge, and we’ll obviously have to talk more about this.

The pancreas, another big problem maker, is below our stomach, front and center, near the bottom of the rib cage. Just to make things more complicated (and who in the world thought that was necessary?), the pancreas is both an exocrine organ (with tubing to direct its action) that makes digestive enzymes and an endocrine organ that produces insulin to handle our sugar levels. We’ll talk more about the pancreas later in this series, but for now, hear this: Get away from high fructose corn syrup if you value your pancreas. That’s not the only problem, but HFCS is HUGE!

The gonads, testes and ovaries, finish up the traditional list of endocrine organs. They work with estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Everybody has all three, but in different proportions. And they’re mostly out of whack because of the things we eat, the medicines we take, the things in our food supply that shouldn’t be there, and on, and on. If you haven’t heard of estrogen dominance yet, you will. It’s a huge and growing problem, and it needs more attention. And if you eat or drink soy, you’re volunteering for it. But don’t look for that warning on the container.

That used to do it in terms of the endocrine system. For years.

But times, they are a’changing. Endocrine poobahs recently added two new members to the endocrine system: Our body fat and our bones. They have no glands to call home, but what they do and how they do it (emitter/receptor) make them part of the family.

As I mentioned, the endocrine system constantly engages in a round-robin of conversation. That being the case, can you imagine the stories your blubber is telling on you? Sheesh!

Anyway, our white fat is chock-a-block full of endocrine hormones, chief among them being leptin, which tells us to stop eating, and grehlin, which encourages us to chow down. How they lose their way is an interesting story I’ll tell another day.

Our bones get included because their constant activity of renewal, what with the osteoblasts and osteoclasts, involves hormones.

One final thought for today: If you hear the word ‘hormone,’ you know the topic is the endocrine system–the source of all our hormones.

Next time, a closer look at the hypothalamus. (Are you saluting?)

Here’s a fact: Our food supply doesn’t give our bodies what they need, no matter how hard we try. To be healthy–and stay healthy–we need to take vitamins and minerals. Which brings up another fact: We have no idea what’s good, what’s hype or how to build a balanced program.

Based on years of research and experience, Bette wrote an e-book to get you past the vitamin learning curve and into health. Pep for the Pooped: Vitamins and Minerals Your Body Is Starving For helps you build a solid health foundation even if you can’t tell one vitamin from another or explain why we need minerals.

Besides giving you the information you need, the book provides links to take you directly to the right brand, the best type, at the lowest price, which will save more money than the cost of the book. Skip the guesswork and get the help you need at http://PepForThePooped.info

Product recommendation: Endocrine problems eat your energy, making a full-time job tough duty. If you’re looking to the internet as a way to make money–and work from home eventually–you almost surely need a web site. But what if you don’t want to mess with the technology? Check out Easy Little Web Sites. You make simple choices, and it sets things up for you–basing everything on market research about how to get the best results! Stumped about the wording? It’ll offer suggestions to help you along. It’s a slick tool with lots of resources. Go here and listen to my friend Rich Hamilton explain how it works.