What are hormones and why they matter

Helen explains hormones as chemical messengers produced across organs that coordinate metabolism, mood, immunity, and reproduction.

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Episode notes

Hormones control almost every system in your body. They are like an orchestra playing, so when one instrument is a little off-key, it affects the whole system. If you feel tired, anxious, or are gaining weight, your hormones may be involved.

In this episode, leading reproductive expert Dr Helen O’Neill explains how hormone health affects fertility, metabolism, and mental health for both men and women.

The core question is simple: if hormones run your body, how much influence do you have over them?

Alongside ZOE’s head nutritionist, Dr Federica Amati, Helen explores the links between hormones and fatigue, anxiety, weight gain, fertility, and metabolic health. The episode covers thyroid health, chronic pain, sperm health, and why gut hormones play a central role in appetite and weight regulation. We also examine why some female-specific conditions remain misunderstood or undiagnosed, and how better data may help change that.

Most importantly, this episode focuses on what you can do to take back control. With emerging science suggesting that diet plays a key role in hormone regulation, you’ll hear how fibre, plant diversity, healthy fats, and key micronutrients support gut hormone production and fertility. You’ll also learn why changes made over three months may meaningfully influence fertility, and why conception is always a shared responsibility.

Help keep your hormones in tune with this guide to the relationship between gut, diet and hormones, produced in partnership with the hormone experts at Hertility.

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Timecodes

00:00 Intro

03:50 One hormone can change everything

09:50 Injecting testosterone can shut this down

12:30 You were born with all the eggs you’ll ever have

15:15 The subtle signs your hormones are off

17:55 The most common thyroid problem no one spots

20:30 ‘Balancing hormones’ — myth or medicine?

23:10 The condition affecting one in 10 women