Hormones are the core substances regulating human physiology, influencing key areas such as growth and development, metabolism, and reproduction.
What Are Female Hormones?
Hormones are important substances that regulate various functions to maintain life, health, activity, physical growth, and reproductive function.
Hormones can be classified into four main chemical categories for everyday understanding:
- Proteins or polypeptides— Examples include insulin (which regulates blood sugar) and growth hormone (which promotes height increase).
- Amino acid derivatives — Examples include thyroid hormones(which influence metabolism) and adrenaline (which helps respond to stress).
- Steroids— Examples include sex hormones(which regulate reproduction) and glucocorticoids (which modulate inflammation).
- Fatty acid derivatives— Examples include prostaglandins (which participate in local regulation).
Their most critical characteristic is “low concentration but high potency”—even at extremely low levels in the body, they can trigger significant physiological responses.
Among hormones, those produced in a woman’s ovaries are “female hormones,” which maintain a woman’s growth, maturation, and reproductive functions.
The Main Functions of Hormones
Hormones are often called the body’s “chemical messengers,” and their actions span the entire lifespan. Here are the five core directions of their influence:
1. Regulating Growth, Development, and Cell Differentiation
These hormones directly determine the speed of physical growth and the direction of organ development. For example: Growth hormone is essential for height increase in children and adolescents, promoting bone, muscle, and organ growth; thyroid hormones affect fetal and infant brain development while regulating whole-body metabolism—deficiency can lead to intellectual impairment and growth retardation; sex hormones (estrogen and androgens) drive puberty changes, such as breast development in females and deepening of the voice/adam’s apple in males, while maturing the reproductive organs.
2. Controlling Metabolism and Energy Balance
Hormones regulate the synthesis and breakdown of substances in the body, maintaining energy homeostasis. The most classic examples are insulin and glucagon: Insulin promotes glucose uptake into cells for energy or storage as glycogen/fat, lowering blood sugar; glucagon does the opposite, breaking down liver glycogen to raise blood sugar. Together, they keep blood glucose stable. Additionally, thyroid hormones and adrenaline regulate heat production and dissipation, influencing basal metabolic rate (which explains why some people gain weight easily while others stay slim).
3. Regulating Reproductive Function and Reproduction
Sex hormones are the central regulators of reproduction. In females, estrogen and progesterone control endometrial proliferation and shedding to form the menstrual cycle while preparing the uterus for pregnancy; in males, androgens promote sperm maturation and maintain normal libido. Gonadotropins (such as follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone) regulate gonadal development and sex hormone secretion, ensuring normal reproductive system function.
4. Participating in Stress Response and Internal Environment Stability
When the body faces trauma, anxiety, cold, or other external stressors, hormones quickly activate an “emergency mode.” For example, adrenaline and cortisol increase heart rate and blood pressure, promote liver glycogen breakdown for energy, and temporarily suppress non-essential processes like digestion and immunity to help the body cope with crises. Hormones also regulate water-salt balance and acid-base homeostasis—for instance, antidiuretic hormone promotes kidney water reabsorption to prevent dehydration.
5. Modulating Immune Function and Cell Communication
Certain hormones regulate immune system activity: glucocorticoids suppress immune cell activity to reduce inflammation; thymic hormones promote T-lymphocyte maturation to enhance resistance. At the same time, hormones act as the body’s internal “communicators,” coordinating activities across different tissues and organs so the body functions as an efficient whole.
Conclusion
Hormones serve as the “central hub” of human physiological regulation. Imbalances in hormone secretion can lead to various diseases—for example, insufficient insulin causes diabetes, excess thyroid hormones cause hyperthyroidism, and sex hormone disorders result in abnormal sexual development. Understanding the nature and functions of hormones helps us better recognize the body’s natural patterns and maintain overall health.