News from CRIS: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals - Background

November 17, 2020

What do I need to know?

To understand endocrine disrupting chemicals, we need to understand a few basics, including our endocrine system and hormones.

What is our endocrine system and what does it control?

Our endocrine system works as a chemical messenger system that produces and sends regulatory hormones as signals throughout our bodies using our bloodstream.
 
Hormones are produced by our primary endocrine glands including the thyroid and adrenal glands. Other systems in our bodies have secondary endocrine functions like our liver, kidneys, and more.

What are hormones?

Hormones are signaling molecules produced by our bodies with diverse functions. They primarily communicate throughout our organs and tissues to help regulate our physiology and behavior, including digestion, metabolism, sensory perception, sleep, stress, growth and development, reproduction, mood, and more.

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Read the entire blog post at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-background.