by Raymond Peat

There always seems to be a rough balance between tissue regeneration and tissue degeneration, with growth and repair occurring when the equilibrium shifts in one direction,and with atrophy or degeneration occurring when the balance shifts in the other direction. If we can understand the mechanisms of atrophy, and how to retard or to block tissue destruction, then we can restore the balance to a degree which might allow regeneration to occur, even if we don't clearly understand the mechanisms of growth.

在组织再生和组织退化之间似乎总有一个粗略的平衡，当平衡向一个方向移动时，生长和修复就会发生，而当平衡向另一个方向移动时，萎缩或退化就会发生。如果我们能理解萎缩的机制，以及如何延缓或阻止组织破坏，那么我们就能恢复平衡，在一定程度上允许再生，即使我们不清楚生长的机制。

Skin and bones are such different types of tissue that it will be useful to start with them, because if we can see similar processes of degeneration or regeneration in them, then the chances are good that the same processes will occur in other tissues too. Bone is a relatively stable tissue, while skin is a tissue whose cells divide rapidly.

皮肤和骨骼是不同类型的组织，从它们开始研究是很有用的，因为如果我们能在它们身上看到类似的退化或再生过程，那么同样的过程也很有可能发生在其他组织中。骨骼是一种相对稳定的组织，而皮肤是一种细胞分裂迅速的组织。

It is common medical knowledge that cortisone and realted glucocorticioid-type hormones cause skin to atrophy, becoming thinner. Using topical applications of a synthetic derivative of cortisione,CM Papa and A M. Kligman showed that the atrophy extended to the pigment cells,reducing theirr size and eliminating most of their dendritic branches. Some animal studies have found that estrogen caused the skin to become thinner. The other steroids they tested,progesterone, testosterone,and pregnenolone, acted in the opposite direction, making aged and atrophied skin thicker and more regular. They also made the pigment cells larger, and increased their branchinhg.l Since these hormones were already known to have protective actions against cortisone and estrogen, these results were not too surprising, though they did directly contradict the claims of people who made estrogen-containing cosmetics.

众所周知，可的松和相关的糖皮质激素会导致皮肤萎缩、变薄。通过局部应用皮质酮的合成衍生物，CM Papa和a M. Kligman显示萎缩延伸到色素细胞，缩小了它们的大小，消除了它们的大部分树突分支。一些动物研究发现雌激素导致皮肤变薄。他们测试的其他类固醇，孕酮、睾酮和孕烯醇酮，作用相反，使老化和萎缩的皮肤更厚，更有规律。它们还使色素细胞变大，并增加了它们的分枝。由于这些激素已经被知道对可的松和雌激素有保护作用，这些结果并不太令人惊讶，尽管它们确实直接与那些制造含雌激素化妆品的人的说法相矛盾。

Since progesterone and pregnenolone do not cause healthy, young skin to thicken, their effect in damaged skin is probably partly to replace the deficiency of that type of steroid which occurs with aging, and to offset the damaging effects of the catabolic hormones, whose influence does not decrease with age.

由于孕酮和孕烯醇酮不会使健康、年轻的皮肤变厚，它们对受损皮肤的作用可能部分是替代随着年龄增长而出现的这类类固醇的缺乏，并抵消分解代谢激素的损害作用，其影响不会随着年龄的增长而减弱。

Many years ago it was found that in old age a woman's estrogens were increasedd relative to the 17-keto steroids adrenal androgens. Later, it was found that the conversion of androgen to estrogen increases with age in both men and women, and that this occurs largely in fat cells. Several years ago, P. K. Siiteri found that low thyroid modified the enzymes of fat cells in a way that would tend to increase the conversion of androgen to estrogen. More recently, it was found that adding progesterone to the enzymes had the opposite effect of aging and hypothyroidism, protecting the androgen from conversion to estrogen. These researchers (C. J. Newton and colleagues, of London) concluded that the decreased output of progesterone after the menopause might account for the increased production of estrogen.3 Since progesterone declines in aging men, too, this could account for the same process in men.

许多年前，人们发现老年女性的雌激素相对于17-酮类固醇肾上腺雄激素会增加。后来，研究发现男性和女性体内的雄激素向雌激素的转化随着年龄的增长而增加，而这主要发生在脂肪细胞中。几年前，P. K. Siiteri发现低甲状腺会改变脂肪细胞的酶，从而增加雄激素向雌激素的转化。最近，研究发现在酶中添加黄体酮对衰老和甲状腺功能减退有相反的效果，保护雄激素不被转化为雌激素。这些研究人员(伦敦的C. J.牛顿及其同事)得出结论，绝经后黄体酮分泌减少可能是雌激素分泌增加的原因随着年龄的增长，男性体内的黄体酮水平也会下降，这也可以解释为什么男性体内的黄体酮水平也会下降。

Vitamin A's effect on the skin opposes that of estrogen.4 There are several mechanisms that could account for this. Vitamin A is used in the formation of steroids, and since the skin is a major site of steroid metabolism, vitamin A might help to maintain the level of the anti-catabolic steroids. A deficiency of vitamin A causes excessive release of the lysosomal enzymes, acid hydrolases, resulting in tissue catabolism.5 Also, vitamin A is necessary for the proper differentiation of cells in skin and other membranes. A deficiency tends to cause an increased rate of cell division, with the production of abnormal cells, and a substitution of keratinized cells for other types. Estrogen also promotes keratinization and speeds cell division. A deficiency of vitamin A can cause leukoplakia in the mouth and on the cervix of the uterus; although this is considered “pre-cancerous,” I have found it to be very easily reversible, as I have discussed elsewhere.6 I suspect that the intracellular fiber, keratin, is produced when a cell can't afford to do anything more complex. Adequate vitamin A speeds protein synthesis, and allows it to be used more efficiently.

维生素A对皮肤的作用与雌激素相反有几个机制可以解释这一点。维生素A用于类固醇的形成，由于皮肤是类固醇代谢的主要部位，维生素A可能有助于维持抗分解代谢类固醇的水平。维生素A缺乏会导致溶酶体酶和酸性水解酶的过量释放，导致组织分解代谢此外，维生素A对于皮肤和其他细胞膜细胞的正常分化也是必要的。缺乏角化细胞往往会导致细胞分裂率增加，产生异常细胞，并用角化细胞替代其他类型的细胞。雌激素还能促进角化，加速细胞分裂。缺乏维生素A会导致口腔和子宫颈白斑;虽然这被认为是“癌前期”，但我发现它是非常容易逆转的，正如我在其他地方讨论过的我怀疑细胞内纤维，角蛋白，是在细胞无法承担任何更复杂的功能时产生的。充足的维生素A可以加速蛋白质的合成，并使其得到更有效的利用。

Prolactin (which is promoted by estrogen, and inhibited by progesterone) increases with stress and with age. It probably affects every tissue, but it seems to have its greatest efects on the secretory membranes. It is known to have strong effects on the kidney, gut and skin (sweat and oil glands, hair follicles, and feathers inbirds), and on the gills of fish. Its involvement with milk production suggests that it might mobilize calcium from bones, and inf fact it does contribute to osteoporosis. This was foreseen by G. Bourne, in his book on the metabolism of hard tissues, when he suggested that estrogen, acting through the pituitary, might be expected to promote osteoporosis.

催乳素(由雌激素促进，由孕酮抑制)随着压力和年龄的增长而增加。它可能影响每一个组织，但似乎对分泌膜的影响最大。众所周知，它对肾脏、肠道和皮肤(鸟类的汗腺和油腺、毛囊和羽毛)以及鱼类的鳃有强烈的影响。它与产奶的关系表明它可能会调动骨骼中的钙，而事实上它确实会导致骨质疏松症。这是g·伯恩在他关于硬组织代谢的书中预见到的，他认为通过脑垂体作用的雌激素可能会促进骨质疏松症。

Since reading Bourne's book, I have doubted that it was rational to use estrogen to prevent osteoporosis, especially when it is known to be carcinogenic and when the ratio of estrogen to and

rogens and progesterone increases after menopause. Now that several publications have appeared clearly showing that estrogen increases prolactin, that prolactin increases with cancellous bone; adrenal androgens. Thyroid. Rate of formation, overall metabolic rate.

自从读了伯恩的书后，我一直怀疑使用雌激素来预防骨质疏松是理性的，特别是当它是已知的致癌性和雌激素与和的比例。雌激素和孕激素在绝经后增加。现在已经有一些出版物明确表明雌激素会增加催乳素，如：催乳素会随着松质骨的增加而增加;肾上腺雄激素。甲状腺。形成率，总代谢率。

ARTHRITIS AND NATURAL HORMONES

关节炎和自然激素

A very healthy 71 year-old man was under his house repairing the foundation, when a support slipped and let the house fall far enough to break some facial bones. During his recovery, he developed arthritis in his hands. It is fairly common for arthritis to appear shortly after an accident, a shock, or surgery, and Han Selye's famous work with rats shows that when stress exhausts the adrenal glands (so they are unable to produce normal amounts of cortisone and related steroid hormones), arthritis and other “degenerative” diseases are likely to develop.

一位非常健康的71岁老人在他的房子下面修理地基时，一个支撑物滑了下来，让房子掉了下来，摔断了一些面部骨头。在康复期间，他患上了手部关节炎。是相当常见的关节炎出现事故后不久,一个冲击,或手术,和汉族Selye著名的老鼠的工作表明,当压力耗尽肾上腺(所以他们不能产生正常的可的松和相关类固醇激素),关节炎和其他“退行性疾病有可能发展。

But when this man went to his doctor to “get something for his arthritis,” he was annoyed that the doctor insisted on giving him a complete physical exam, and wouldn't give him a shot of cortisone. The examination showed low thyroid function, and the doctor prescribed a supplement of thyroid extract, explaining that arthritis is one of the many symptoms of hypothyroidism. The patient agreed to take the thyroid, but for several days he grumbled about the doctor 'fixing something that wasn't wrong' with him, and ignoring his arthritis. But in less than two weeks, the arthritis had entirely disappeared. He lived to be 89, without a recurrence of arthritis. (He died iatrogenically, while in good health.)

但是当这个人去找医生“治关节炎”的时候，他很生气，因为医生坚持要给他做全面的体检，而且不给他打一针可的松。检查显示甲状腺功能低下，医生给他开了补充甲状腺提取物的处方，解释说关节炎是甲状腺功能减退的众多症状之一。病人同意服用甲状腺药物，但一连几天他都在抱怨医生给他“治了个没毛病的病”，忽视了他的关节炎。但不到两个星期，关节炎就完全消失了。他活到了89岁，关节炎没有复发。(他死于医源性疾病，但健康状况良好。)

Selye's work with the diseases of stress, and the anti-stress hormones of the adrenal cortex, helped many scientists to think more clearly about the interaction of the organism with its environment, but it has led others to focus too narrowly on hormones of the adrenal cortex (such as cortisol and cortisone), and to forget the older knowledge about natural resistance. There are probably only a few physicians now practicing who would remember to check for hypothyroidism in an arthritis patient, or in other stress-related conditions. Hypothyroidism is a common cause of adrenal insufficiency, but it also has some direct effects on joint tissues. In chronic hypothyroidism (myxedema and cretinism), knees and elbows are often bent abnormally.

Selye与疾病的工作压力、抗应激激素肾上腺皮质，帮助许多科学家更清楚地思考有机体与其环境之间的相互作用，但它让别人过分狭隘地关注的肾上腺皮质激素(皮质醇和可的松等)，忘记关于自然抵抗力的古老知识。现在可能只有很少的医生会记得检查关节炎患者的甲状腺功能减退，或者其他与压力相关的疾病。甲状腺功能减退是肾上腺功能不全的常见原因，但它也对关节组织有一些直接影响。慢性甲状腺功能减退症(黏液水肿和克汀病)患者，膝关节和肘部经常异常弯曲。

By the 1930's, it was well established that the resistance of the organism depended on the energy produced by respiration under the influence of the thyroid gland, as well as on the adrenal hormones, and that the hormones of pregnancy (especially progesterone) could substitute for the adrenal hormones. In a sense, the thyroid hormone is the basic anti-stress hormone, since it is required for the production of the adrenal and pregnancy hormones.

到20世纪30年代，机体的抵抗力不仅依赖于肾上腺激素，还依赖于甲状腺作用下的呼吸所产生的能量，而且妊娠激素(尤其是孕酮)可以替代肾上腺激素。从某种意义上说，甲状腺激素是基本的抗应激激素，因为它是产生肾上腺激素和妊娠激素所必需的。

A contemporary researcher, F. Z. Meerson, is putting together a picture of the biological processes involved in adapting to stress, including energy production, nutrition, hormones, and changes in cell structure.

当代研究人员F. Z. Meerson正在拼凑一幅适应压力的生物过程的图片，包括能量生产、营养、激素和细胞结构的变化。

While one of Selye's earliest observations related gastrointestinal bleeding to stress, Meerson's work has revealed in a detailed way how the usually beneficial hormone of adaptation, cortisone, can cause so many other harmful effects when its action is too prolonged or too intense.

虽然Selye最早的观察之一将胃肠出血与压力联系在一起，但Meerson的工作以一种详细的方式揭示了通常有益的适应激素可的松，当其作用过长或过强烈时，会导致如此多的其他有害影响。

Some of the harmful effects of the cortisone class of drugs (other than gastro-intestinal bleeding) are: Hypertension, osteoporosis, delayed healing, atrophy of the skin, convulsions, cataracts, glaucoma, protruding eyes, psychic derangements, menstrual irregularities, and loss of immunity allowing infections (or cancer) to spread.

可的松类药物的一些有害影响(不包括胃肠出血)是:高血压、骨质疏松、延迟愈合、皮肤萎缩、抽搐、白内障、青光眼、突出的眼睛、精神错乱、月经不调和免疫力下降，导致感染(或癌症)扩散。

While normal thyroid function is required for the secretion of the adrenal hormones, the basic signal which causes cortisone to be formed is a drop in the blood glucose level. The increased energy requirement of any stress tends to cause the blood sugar to fall slightly, but hypothyroidism itself tends to depress blood sugar.

虽然正常的甲状腺功能是肾上腺激素分泌的必要条件，但导致可的松形成的基本信号是血糖水平的下降。任何压力带来的能量需求增加往往会导致血糖轻微下降，但甲状腺功能减退本身往往会降低血糖。

The person with low thyroid function is more likely than a normal person to require cortisone to cope with a certain amount of stress. However, if large amounts of cortisone are produced for a long time, the toxic effects of the hormone begin to appear. According to Meerson, heart attacks are provoked and aggravated by the cortisone produced during stress. (Meerson and his colleagues have demonstrated that the progress of a heart attack can be halted by a treatment including natural substances such as vitamin E and magnesium.)

甲状腺功能低下的人比正常人更可能需要可的松来应对一定程度的压力。然而，如果长时间大量分泌可的松，激素的毒性作用就会开始显现。根据米尔森的说法，心脏病发作是由压力产生的可的松引起并加重的。(Meerson和他的同事已经证明，包括维生素E和镁等天然物质在内的治疗可以阻止心脏病发作的进程。)

While hypothyroidism makes the body require more cortisone to sustain blood sugar and energy production, it also limits the ability to produce cortisone, so in some cases stress produces symptoms resulting from a deficiency of cortisone, including various forms of arthritis and more generalized types of chronic inflammation.

虽然甲状腺机能减退使身体需要更多的可的松来维持血糖和能量的生产，但它也限制了可的松的生产能力，所以在某些情况下，压力会产生可的松缺乏导致的症状，包括各种形式的关节炎和更广泛的慢性炎症。

Often, a small physiological dose of natural hydrocortisone can help the patient meet the stress, without causing harmful side-effects. While treating the symptoms with cortisone for a short time, it is important to try to learn the basic cause of the problem, by checking for hypothyroidism, vitamin A deficiency, protein deficiency, a lack of sunlight, etc. (I suspect that light on the skin directly increases the skin's production of steroids, without depending on other organs. Different steroids probably involve different frequencies of light, but orange and red light seem to be important frequencies.) Using cortisone in this way, physiologically rather than pharmacologically, it is not likely to cause the serious problems mentioned above.

通常，生理剂量小的天然氢化可的松可以帮助患者应对压力，而不会产生有害的副作用。虽然在短时间内用可的松治疗症状,努力学习是很重要的问题的根本原因,通过检查对甲状腺功能减退,维生素a缺乏症,蛋白质缺乏,缺少阳光,等等。(我怀疑光在皮肤上直接增加皮肤的类固醇的生产,没有根据其他器官。不同的类固醇可能涉及不同频率的光，但橙色和红色的光似乎是重要的频率。)以这种方式使用可的松，从生理上而不是药理学上，不太可能引起上述严重问题。

Stress-induced cortisone deficiency is thought to be a factor in a great variety of unpleasant conditions, from allergies to ulcerative colitis, and in many forms of arthritis. The stress which can cause a cortisone deficiency is even more likely to disturb formation of progesterone and thyroid hormone, so the fact that cortisone can relieve symptoms does not mean that it has corrected the problem.

应激性可的松缺乏被认为是多种不愉快条件下的一个因素，从过敏到溃疡性结肠炎，以及多种形式的关节炎。导致可的松缺乏症的压力更有可能干扰孕酮和甲状腺激素的形成，所以可的松可以缓解症状并不意味着它已经纠正了问题。

According to the Physicians' Desk Reference, hormones similar to cortisone are useful for treating rheumatoid arthritis, post-traumatic osteoarthritis, synovitis of osteoarthritis, acute gouty arthritis, acute nonspecific tenosynovitis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, acute and subacute bursitis, and epicondylitis.

根据内科医生的参考资料，类似可的松的激素可用于治疗类风湿性关节炎、创伤后骨关节炎、骨关节炎的滑膜炎、急性痛风关节炎、急性非特异性腱鞘炎、银屑病关节炎、强直性脊柱炎、急性和亚急性滑囊炎和上髁炎。

Although cortisone supplementation can help in a great variety of stress-related diseases, no curewill take place unless the basic cause is discovered. Besides the thyroid, the other class of adaptive hormones which are often out of balance in the diseases of stress, is the group of hormones produced mainly by the gonads: the “reproductive hormones.” During pregnancy these hormones serve to protect the developing baby from the stresses suffered by the mother, but the same hormones function as part to the protective anti-stress system in the non-pregnant individual, though at a lower level.

虽然补充可的松对许多与压力有关的疾病都有帮助，但除非发现基本原因，否则无法治愈。除了甲状腺，在应激疾病中经常失衡的另一类适应性激素是主要由性腺产生的一组激素:“生殖激素”。在怀孕期间，这些激素保护发育中的婴儿免受母亲所遭受的压力，但在未怀孕的个体中，同样的激素作为保护性抗压力系统的一部分，尽管水平较低。

Some forms of arthritis are known to improve or even to disappear during pregnancy. As mentioned above, the hormones of pregnancy can make up for a lack of adrenal cortex hormones. During a healthy pregnancy, many hormones are present in increased amounts, including the thyroid hormones. Progesterone, which is the most abundant hormone of pregnancy, has both anti-inflammatory and anesthetic actions, which would be of obvious benefit in arthritis.

有些类型的关节炎在怀孕期间可以改善甚至消失。如上所述，怀孕期间的荷尔蒙可以弥补肾上腺皮质激素的不足。在健康的怀孕期间，许多激素的含量都会增加，包括甲状腺激素。孕酮是孕期最丰富的激素，具有抗炎和麻醉作用，对关节炎有明显的益处。

There are other naturally anesthetic hormones which are increased during pregnancy, including DHEA, which is being studied for its anti-aging, anti-cancer, and anti-obesity effects. (One of the reasons that is frequently given for the fact that this hormone hasn't been studied more widely is that, as a natural substance, it has not been monopolized by a drug patent, and so no drug company has been willing to invest money in studying its medical uses.) These hormones also have the ability to control cell division, which would be important in forms of arthritis that involve invasive tissue growth.

还有其他的天然麻醉激素在怀孕期间增加，包括脱氢表雄酮，它的抗衰老，抗癌和抗肥胖作用正在被研究。(这种激素没有得到更广泛的研究的一个常见原因是，作为一种天然物质，它还没有被药品专利垄断，所以没有制药公司愿意投资研究它的医疗用途。)这些激素还具有控制细胞分裂的能力，这在涉及侵袭性组织生长的关节炎中非常重要。

While these substances, so abundant in pregnancy, have the ability to substitute for cortisone, they can also be used by the adrenal glands to produce cortisol and related hormones. But probably the most surprising property of these natural steroids is that they protect against the toxic side-effects of excessive adrenal hormones. And they seem to have no side-effects of their own; after about fifty years of medical use, no toxic side effects have been found for progesterone or pregnenolone.

这些物质在怀孕期间大量存在，可以替代可的松，但它们也可以被肾上腺用来产生皮质醇和相关激素。但也许这些天然类固醇最令人惊讶的特性是，它们可以防止过量肾上腺激素的毒性副作用。而且它们本身似乎没有副作用;经过大约50年的医疗使用，没有发现黄体酮或孕烯醇酮的毒性副作用。

Pregnenolone is the material the body uses to form either progesterone or DHEA. Others, including DHEA, haven't been studied for so long, but the high levels which are normally present in healthy people would suggest that replacement doses, to restore those normal levels, would not be likely to produce toxic side effects. And, considering the terrible side effects of the drugs that are now widely used, these drugs would be justifiable simply to prevent some of the toxic effects of conventional treatment.

孕烯醇酮是身体用来形成孕酮或脱氢表雄酮的物质。其他的，包括脱氢表雄酮，还没有被研究这么久，但健康人群体内通常存在的高水平表明，替代剂量，以恢复这些正常水平，不太可能产生毒性副作用。而且，考虑到现在广泛使用的药物的可怕的副作用，这些药物仅仅是为了防止传统治疗的一些毒性作用是合理的。

It takes a new way of thinking to understand that these protective substances protect against an excess of the adrenal steroids, as well as making up for a deficiency. Several of these natural hormones also have a protective action against various poisons; Selye called this their “catatoxic” effect.

这需要一种新的思维方式来理解这些保护物质既能保护肾上腺激素不过量，又能弥补不足。这些天然激素中有几种对各种毒物也有保护作用;Selye称其为“解毒”效应。

Besides many people whose arthritis improved with only thyroid supplementation, I have seen 30 people use one or more of these other natural hormones for various types of arthritis, usually with a topical application. Often the pain is relieved within a few minutes. I know of several other people who used progesterone topically for inflamed tendons, damaged cartilage, or other inflammations. Only one of these, a woman with rheumatoid arthritis in many joints, had no significant improvement. An hour after she had applied it to her hands and feet, she enthusiastically reported that her ankle had stopped hurting, but after this she said she had no noticeable improvement.

除了许多仅仅通过甲状腺补充来改善关节炎的人之外，我还见过30个人使用一种或多种这种天然激素来治疗各种类型的关节炎，通常是外用。通常疼痛会在几分钟内减轻。我知道有几个人用黄体酮局部治疗肌腱发炎、软骨受损或其他炎症。其中只有一名患有许多关节类风湿性关节炎的女性没有明显好转。在她的手和脚上敷了一个小时后，她热情地报告说她的脚踝已经不疼了，但之后她说她没有明显的改善。

We often hear that “there is no cure for arthritis, because the causes are not known.” If the cause is an imbalance in the normal hormones of adaptation and resistance, then eliminating the cause by restoring balance will produce a true cure. But if it is more profitable to sell powerful drugs than to sell the nutrients needed to form natural hormones (or to supplement those natural hormones) we can't expect the drug companies to spend any money investigating that sort of cure. And at present the arthritis market amounts to billions of dollars in drug sales each year.

我们经常听到“关节炎无药可治，因为病因不明。”如果原因是正常的适应和抵抗激素失衡，那么通过恢复平衡消除原因将产生真正的治疗。但是，如果销售药效强的药物比销售形成天然激素(或补充这些天然激素)所需的营养素更有利可图，我们就不能指望制药公司花任何钱来研究这种治疗方法。目前，关节炎市场每年的药品销售额达数十亿美元。

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/tissue-destruction.shtml