What is a hormone, anyway?

Hormones get a lot of bad press, especially when people are talking about food. So what are these things, why do we care, and are they good or bad?

Hormones are basically messengers. They are little proteins that are made by one part of the body, they travel through the blood to another part of the body, and then they tell that part of the body what to do.

For example… Insulin is a hormone. It is made by the pancreas, travels through the blood to all the other tissues and cells in your body, and tells your cells when to take glucose out of your blood and into the cells. The cells then use glucose for energy.

Image from http://www.vivo.colostate.edu

Ever had a food question?

Hello, my name is Marybeth, and I have food questions.

Ever feel like you need a support group just to get through the grocery store? I know I have.

Even with all the education I have in veterinary medicine (specifically large animal medicine), I still have questions about how my food is raised, what is the best way to cook a particular cut of beef, and what some of the strange package labels mean.