The adrenal glands themselves have a very high content of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Since we know that vitamin C is used in large doses to help fight infection, the bottom line now is that this vitamin helps stimulate the adrenal glands to produce more curtain, the disease-fighting hormone. Because this pair of glands was designed by nature to release adrenaline in times of physical danger or emotional crisis, ongoing mental or emotional stress overloads your “emergency glands” to the point where your nerves and vital organs are constantly being held. activated. fever due to too many false “emergency” messages from the brain, which sends the powerful hormone adrenaline into the bloodstream when it is not really needed. In times of stress, the adrenal glands also release a substance called cholesterol (the waxy substance now blamed for causing hardening of the arteries. See Chapter 9) into the bloodstream. For this reason, many doctors believe that arteriosclerosis and other “diseases of aging” such as coronary thrombosis and cerebral hemorrhage can develop as a result of this constant overstimulation of the adrenal glands by high-tension, day-to-day living. day. -Out of mental or emotional tension.

This emergency function of the adrenal glands to act as a powerful stimulant on the organs of the body is a holdover from the days when man needed instant physical and mental reserves to save himself from animal or human enemies. But today, when most of our emergencies are primarily emotional or mental, this continual rush of high-potency adrenaline into the bloodstream causes the heart and blood vessels to pound terribly. And because adrenaline is continually injected into the blood under the stress and strain of our highly emotional civilization, the curtain is also constantly needed in large doses to bring the body’s machine back to normal. Since we know that the adrenal glands use vitamin C to make the cortical hormone, it is not difficult to understand that a life of continuous high stress (whether physical, mental or emotional) uses up a lot of vitamin C and releases a lot of cholesterol into the blood. The result is depletion of vitamin C stores, unless special attention is paid to replenishing this vitamin through the diet; a greater tendency to infection (note how easily an influenza epidemic lays down its victims in times of local or national crisis); and high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries: that excess amount of cholesterol from overstimulated adrenals has to land somewhere, and where it’s more convenient than on the walls of the arteries where it obstructs the free flow of blood, causing the arteries ‘harden’? If you want to feel and look younger than you are, you’d better stop setting off those mental and emotional ‘false alarms’ that keep your body taut like a mainspring. The old adage that “worry kills more people than cannons” was unconsciously aimed squarely at the adrenal glands, as reckless use of their powerful hormone by an emotionally unstable mind is equivalent to killing your youth, you too, per inches. One final tip on caring for your adrenal glands: feed them plenty of high-grade protein; provide them with plenty of vitamin C (the best sources are citrus fruits, melons, apricots, strawberries, green vegetables, and particularly tomatoes); make sure that foods rich in vitamins A and B complex are consumed at least twice a day; and provide them with the minerals magnesium and silicon (the richest sources are citrus and other fruits, green leafy vegetables, yellow vegetables, nuts, and egg yolks).

The pancreas, your insulin factory

To impress you with the importance of this endocrine gland, I need only mention the word ‘diabetes’. Although diabetes was blamed on the kidneys for years, medical science has discovered that this stealthy disease actually begins in the pancreas—that is, after the pancreas fails at the job of secreting insulin, one of its hormones. When not enough insulin is produced, the bloodstream becomes overloaded with sugar. Insulin helps the body ‘burn’ its sugar, turning it into energy. When not enough insulin is produced due to an inactive or diseased pancreas, unused sugar remains in the bloodstream like unburned charcoal on a stove. The fastest way to put your pancreas out of commission is to continually gorge yourself on sweet, starchy foods. After committing this dietary crime for years, the pancreas gets discouraged and stops trying to produce enough insulin to burn all the sugar that builds up in the bloodstream. So, my friend, you have diabetes, a controllable but definitely not curable disease, and a potential killer at any moment of carelessness. As if the work of burning sugar wasn’t enough, the pancreas must also dump enough enzymes (substances that speed up digestion in the body) into the upper intestine to help digest starches and sugars before they can be converted to sugar in the blood. From this, you can easily appreciate the never-ending task that ultimately becomes for the heavy sugar and starch eater’s pancreas: working hard to produce enough enzymes and insulin to handle a carb-rich meal, and then being forced to do so. the same thing again in a few hours, not just today or tomorrow, but year after year. Any organ or gland in the body is bound to wear out under the load of work greater than nature designed it to perform. If you want to show some consideration for your hard-working pancreas, give it plenty of high-protein foods, as protein is necessary in the body to ensure normal production of the hormone insulin. The minerals sulfur and chlorine (found in green vegetables, all berries, fresh coconut, egg yolks, cheese, particularly blue cheese, dairy products, lean meats, saltwater fish, lobster , crabs, mussels, and shrimp) stimulate the pancreas. .

Three other members of its family of glands

The four tiny parathyroid glands (two on each side of the thyroid gland) are primarily concerned with regulating the body’s supply of calcium. For this reason, the parathyroids are an important quartet, as calcium is so vital for a healthy heart, nerves, muscles, teeth, and bones, all of which are the foundation for a youthful mind and body. Parathyroid hormone is needed to unlock calcium stores in your bones before this essential mineral can be delivered into your bloodstream for distribution to your ‘regular customers’. All the calcium in the world’s food, calcium tablets, or mineral concentrates is of no use to your health if your four tiny parathyroid glands can’t secrete enough of your hormone to move the calcium out of your bones and into your body. bloodstream where it can be used It is worth remembering that while they control the body’s calcium supplies, the parathyroids themselves need calcium to stay healthy. Therefore, a diet low in calcium is a double-edged sword: there is not enough calcium for the parathyroids, which then retaliate by not producing the hormone that releases bone calcium into the bloodstream for the nerves, muscles, heart , teeth and bones. Besides meat and eggs, the best food sources of calcium are found in dairy products, such as nonfat dry milk, buttermilk, yogurt, and cheese. The thymus gland is located in the chest, not far below the thyroid. When you are born, the thymus gland weighs about half an ounce, then it increases to almost triple its weight until the time of adolescence, after which it begins to shrink again, until when you are fifty years old, the thymus returns to its original state. original size. The full functioning of this endocrine gland is not yet fully understood by medical science, although it is suspected that it helps control the body’s use of phosphorus and calcium, and is involved in the production of white blood cells, one of the guardians against infection. Also, we know that any failure of the thymus to behave properly is caused by improper development of the frontal lobe of the pituitary gland. The main precautions for the normal behavior of this gland are to keep the pituitary gland healthy and well nourished with foods rich in protein. The most mysterious of all your endocrine glands is the pineal. This is a small cone-shaped organ, no larger than a grain of wheat, suspended by a stalk just behind the midbrain. It is known that there is some connection between the pineal gland and your brain, as well as your sexual organs. Sometimes the pineal gland will shrink and fill with deposits of salts known as “brain sand.” This abnormal condition is caused by faulty nutrition, and recent scientific experiments have shown that a degenerated pineal gland will respond to a high-protein diet in a remarkably short time. The minerals potassium and sodium are also known to feed the pineal gland. The richest sources of these minerals are potato skins (especially potassium), eggplant, celery, corn, green vegetables, berries, melons, black olives, citrus and other fresh fruits, lean beef, beef and lamb, cottage cheese and others, buttermilk, and skim milk powder. , Lobsters and Oysters.

Your Sex Glands (Gonads)

I’m saving the tassels for last, which should perhaps come first in your effort to retain the looks and feel of youth, since staying young is the same as saying ‘remaining sexually attractive and sexually capable’.

What qualities or attributes make people say of a certain man or woman: ‘He (or she) is very young for his age’? My first answer would be sexual vitality, because these two words contain confidence, the inner feeling of power, energy, vitality, enthusiasm, mental alertness, the feeling of attractiveness, security, resistance and desire. radiant glow that are gifts for the young of years. , and can also be found in people of any age whose sex glands are healthy.