B  ecause they are the chemical messengers that literally run your body, hormones are at the very core, not just of your health, but of having any health at all!  It's a fact - without those little chemicals constantly adjusting things, ultimately it would be bye-bye to you!

That's why it's essential to keep your body supplied with what it needs to make them.

And in attempting to do so, it's easy to get lost in a lot of details about exactly what to eat and what not to eat, until you start stressing out trying to figure out how to supply your body so it doesn't stress out!

But it's just not that complicated.  Here are the three elements necessary to supply your body with what it needs to make various hormones:  minerals, vitamins and enzymes.

Here's how it works:

Normal functioning of every endocrine gland absolutely depends on trace elements, i.e. minerals, vitamins and enzymes. That's because hormones are made from them.  Each hormone actually has a mineral in its center which activates it.  For example,

Thyroid: Your  thyroid requires a sufficient quantity and quality of the trace element iodine to form the hormone thyroxin.  And, it requires the mineral selenium to activate it.

Pancreas:  Your  pancreas requires the trace mineralszin c and chromium to make insulin, the hormone that controls your blood sugar. 

Pituitary Hormone production depends on manganese and vitamin E.

Ovaries or adrenals  depend on copper and boron  to carry out female estrogen production.

Testes require    zinc   to maintain testosterone production and produce viable sperm.

The third essential ingredient is enzymes.  They are what make trace elements and vitamins available to be manufac­tured into hormones.  They are organic catalysts formed by living cells yet are capable of acting independently of the cells producing them.  They can induce chemical changes in other substances without changing themselves in the process. 

Enzymes are specific in their action.  Some enzymes break down carbohydrates, while others break down fats or proteins.  Each has an optimum temperature at which it acts with greatest efficiency.  Thus an enzyme's activity can be inhibited or retarded by low or high temperatures, the presence of salts or heavy metals such as copper or mercury, dehydration, and radiation.  

Many enzymes  are destroyed through  being cooked, canned or frozen. However, they can easily be provided  by eating some fresh, whole fruits and vegetables every day.

Perhaps this is one reason a diet both high in animal fats and low in fruits and vegetables can increase  risks for for a variety of illnesses.  When the core of your diet is composed of unprocessed   whole foods, you cut your risk of many illnesses. Consuming these foods also increases your  intake of fiber, which is another factor that promotes hormone balance.  

To summarize:

without real, live vitamins, enzymes, and the minerals liberated by them,
the ductless endocrine glands they serve will
simply atrophy and cease to function.

And the easiest way to get them?  Simple:  Eat sufficient real, live, minimally processed whole foods,

They contain the  vitamin, minerals and enzymes  required for a healthy hormonal state.