THE MENTAL SYMPTOMS OF FOOD AND ALLERGY INTOLERANCE: ADRENALS’ ACTIVITY
The sympathetic nerves achieve their effects by releasing the hormone noradrenalin from the nerve-tips, which are located close to the organs that they influence. A very similar hormone, adrenaline, can also be generated by a pair of glands known as the adrenals that sit above the kidneys. The sympathetic nerves control the adrenals’ activity, so they are really part of the same system. The inner part of the gland, the adrenal medulla, produces adrenaline, while the outer part of the gland, known as the adrenal cortex, is responsible for producing corticosteroids (’steroids derived from the cortex’). As the bloodstream carries these hormones around the body, the adrenaline produces the ‘flight or fight’ reaction already described, while the corticosteroids have a great variety of effects. They too are capable of mobilizing glucose, but they also suppress inflammation and inhibit some immune functions. Their main function in emergencies is to release glucose and thus perpetuate the ‘flight or fight’ reaction initiated by adrenaline and noradrenalin – they have a longer-lasting effect on the body.
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