The pituitary gland is one of those things that gets little to no recognition – until there’s a kink in its performance, that is.
Incredibly important to your overall health, the pituitary gland is part of your endocrine system. It inconspicuously yet consistently toils away, working to keep you healthy around the clock.
Today, we’d like to take a moment to shed some light on this overlooked gland and help you better understand its role and value in the human body.
Plus, we’ll share our top picks of herbs for a healthy pituitary gland.
What Is the Pituitary Gland?
The pituitary gland is the smallest of all endocrine glands, measuring in at roughly the size of a pinto bean.
It’s located below the hypothalamus, but here's a better picture of its location:
If you could see your insides in a mirror, it’d be the tiny part dangling from the bottom of your brain.
What Does It Do?
Your pituitary gland regulates the hormone production of many other glands in the body. It’s often referred to as the master gland, which reflects the fact that it acts as the control center of your endocrine system.
It manages many other glands, including your thyroid gland and anti-diuretic gland as well as the testes and ovaries.
The pituitary gland also produces and discharges hormones that regulate the performance of these glands and communicate signals from your mind to your body.
As a result of this oversight role, the pituitary gland also affects a few critcial body systems like blood pressure, energy level, metabolism, sexual maturation, growth reproduction and more.
Here are some of the hormones produced and stored by the pituitary system and the roles they play in the body:
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Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
HGH maintains a healthy growth rate in children and regulates healthy body composition by maintaining fat distribution, bone and muscle mass in adults.
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Adrenocorticotropin hormone
This hormone stimulates the adrenal gland to release a stress hormone or steroid hormone called cortisol, which helps regulate healthy glucose and blood pressure levels.
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Luteinizing hormone
The luteinizing hormone stimulates the production of sex hormones by acting on the testes and ovaries. They play an important role in egg and sperm maturity as well as maintaining a healthy reproductive system.
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Prolactin
Prolactin triggers milk production in nursing women. It also plays an essential role in fertility and sex hormone levels.
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Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
As the name implies, TSH helps the thyroid gland produce hormones that regulate your nervous system, metabolism, energy level and growth development.
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Anti-diuretic hormone
ADH is used to regulate water balance and blood pressure in our body.
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Oxytocin
Oxytocin is important in the secretion of milk during breastfeeding. It also stimulates uterine contractions during labor.
Why Is Proper Pituitary Support So Important?
When you look at all the systems and processes that the pituitary gland works to regulate, it’s easy to see its value.
It plays a vital role in proper growth and development within the body, while also controlling and regulating the function of so many other endocrine glands.
Not only that, it also maintains normal hormone levels that work to promote overall health.
So, here’s a quick summary of why the pituitary gland is so important – aka why you should pay attention to it and take action to support it properly. It’s involved in:
- Healthy growth rate
- Regulating blood pressure
- Production of breast milk
- Fertility and sex hormones
- Thyroid gland function
- Metabolic function
- Water balance regulation
- Bone and muscle mass function
Best Pituitary Herbs to Support a Healthy Pituitary Gland
Now that you know its importance, you’re probably wondering how you can keep your pituitary gland functioning like it should. Herbs provide a natural way to keep this “master gland” in proper working order – and you healthy!
Here are our 6 favorite pituitary herbs:
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Bladderwrack
Bladderwrack is helpful for those with hypothyroidism. It’s a seaweed most commonly used to treat an underactive thyroid.
As an excellent source of iodine, it helps balance the endocrine system and increase the rate of metabolism.
It’s also useful in treating and maintaining anxiety-related thyroid issues. It allows for the release of TSH to control metabolism, focus, energy and heart rate – all safely and naturally.
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Kelp
Kelp provides an excellent, all-natural source of iodine, which is necessary for proper thyroid and pituitary function.
Kelp as a natural form of iodine helps the pituitary gland regulate metabolism and body temperature. Since proper metabolism is important for weight control, you can add kelp to your list of beneficial herbs for weight loss.
It’s also a natural diuretic, so it’s great for shedding water and toxins.
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Pau d’Arco
Originating from Central and South America, pau d’Arco serves as a hormone balancer to the pituitary gland, being especially helpful in balancing sex hormones.
On top of that, this versatile herb serves as an immune modulator, helping to create an adequate amount of immune-boosting white blood cells.
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Nettle
Nettle is beneficial for reversing and resisting iodine deficiency. It works as a natural kidney and thyroid tonic.
In addition to that, it’s a powerful adrenal ally, working to prevent adrenal fatigue caused by the secretion of too much cortisol (stress hormone).
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Irish moss
Irish moss contains a large amount of iodine and other trace minerals that help the thyroid produce T3 and T4 hormones.
Also known as sea moss, Irish moss happens to be the only known plant source of thyroid hormone. As such, it’s a natural remedy for many thyroid-related issues.
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Barberry root
Barberry root helps reverse hypothyroidism and balance hormones in general. It also stimulates the pituitary gland, helping to balance the thyroid, adrenals, pancreas and more.
We were so impressed by the efficacy of these pituitary herbs that we put them together and formulated an all-natural, 100% organic pituitary supplement.
It uses each of these powerful herbs to naturally support the healthy function of your pituitary gland.
Learn more about our Organic Pituitary Blend here.
Especially when combined with other factors like proper diet and stress management, targeted pituitary herbs can help you keep your pituitary gland in tip top shape.
As a result of caring for your master gland, you’ll also be supporting the health of so many other critical systems and processes.