The Power of Hormones: The new science of how hormones shape every aspect of our lives

by Max Nieuwdorp

Our hormones shape us at every stage of our lives, from the second we are conceived to the moment we breathe our last breath. They are essential to our immune system, sleep, digestion, hunger, stress levels and so much more. When our hormone systems derail this can wreak havoc on our health and our wellbeing – and yet most of us know very little about the far-reaching power of our chemical messengers.

Professor Max Nieuwdorp, an international authority on hormones, sets out to change this. He explores the role our hormones play from our early years through to puberty, pregnancy and old age, combining stories from his day-to-day life treating his patients with the amazing, cutting-edge new science of hormones. These discoveries are changing the way that we understand our bodies, from the decline in male hormones during andropause to the new science on how gut bacteria impact on our hormone balance.

This eye-opening, myth-busting book shines a light on the incredible and under-explored role of hormones, which are essential not only to our health but to our moods, our relationships, and so much of what makes us who we are.
 

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Science, Audiobook, Biology, Ebooks, Education

351 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 23, 2024

Reviews

[Robin Mandell · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I think this is a good book, and an important book.
It’s engagingly written, even in translation.
The average person doesn’t know a lot about the endocrine system overall so I’m really glad there is a book on this topic geared towards the general population.
Why did I only give this two stars then?
Inaccuracy and oversimplification.
1. This author still subscribes to the inaccurate belief that a “healthy weight” can be calculated based on a person’s height and current weight. The scientific support for this is weak at best. Relatedly, he asserts that being overweight *causes* particular diseases and poor health. While he calls out fat shaming as harmful, this author ends up repeating a lot of inaccuracies as scientific facts, and naming both correlations and contributing factors as causes.
All of this is really too bad because he does have some useful things to say about the ways that hormones affect metabolism, satiety, and stress.
2. This doctor includes cancer in a list of diseases that he labels “diseases of affluence.”
Last time I checked, cancer is caused by a variety of factors, everything from genetics to prolonged exposure to environmental toxins . There is no clear clarification on which types of cancer he is referring to so this statement is misleading, directing the reader to believe that cancer is caused by a modern and western diet and lack of exercise.
3. We get a clear and detailed description of pregnancy and fetal development. However, in the chapter where all of this is spelled out, the author fails to tell us that intersects conditions are common. In fact, the existence of intersects people is given just a brief mention in the chapter on gender and sexual orientation Which means that in the chapter on pregnancy and early development the idea that there are only two biological sexes with almost no variation is reinforced. The last time I looked, the estimate was about one in 2000 babies will be born with some type of intersex characteristics. Those are not rare variations.

[Gwynn_Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

In general, we know very little about the human body and physically there is a big difference between the female and male bodies. Doctor Nieuwdorp has written a comprehensive book that gives an understandable picture of the currently known facts for the reader. The human body and its hormone balance is an incredible system that we have begun to observe in the last few decades, and it tries to summarize these and illustrate them with examples for the reader. A readable, useful book.

[Robbe Rooms · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic and clear and accessible language, but the transphobic language was disappointing in a book from a doctor who works with trans people. Using a deadname instead of someone’s real name is not done. This made the chapter I was the most exciting about the one that dragged down the rest of the book.

[Magdalena Kruszyńska · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5🎧
Recommended for everyone who want to be educated about their own body. Lots of very interesting information presented in language accessible for everyone. I’ve learned soo many things about hormones and find out that many symptoms have scientific explanations.
One quote I really liked-
‘’Everyone wants to become old, but nobody likes being old.’’

[Maaike G · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate Nieuwdorp’s descriptions of how various hormones, medications, and other factors impact men vs. women. He calls out how clinical trials, since the birth of modern medicine, have focused on men (because their hormones are more constant from week to week), and then medical professionals would assume that women’s physiology was just a “light” version of men’s. This has led to enormous information asymmetry between men and women’s health, and women’s health conditions continue to be misdiagnosed and poorly addressed as a result.

ie, Women’s! Health! Is! Grossly! Under! Researched!

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tad repetitive but very interesting - hormones are so cool!!!

[Kirsten Gorter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zeker een leerzaam boek, met ook de nodige nieuwe interessante feitjes voor mij. Maar, de schrijfstijl was niet prettig. Veel tekst, vaak van de hak op de tak. En na sommige hele inhoudelijke en serieuze stukken kwam dan opeens een heel flauw ‘grapje’ of bijvoorbeeld een vergelijking met bekende acteurs. Zo niet gepast.

[Leonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik heb dit boek in een middag in de bibliotheek gelezen en ik schat een kwart van de tekst gelezen. Het is een goed boek om alleen de delen die je interesseert van te lezen (in mijn geval slaap, gewicht, seksualiteit, auto immuunziektes). Zou zeker niet het hele boek lezen, daarvoor is het wat te droog en zit er geen opbouw of verhaal in. Als je een interesse hebt in gezondheid heeft het ook veel overlap met dingen die je al weet. Maar ik zou het dus aanraden om eens door te gaan, de schrijver legt de werking van hormonen op een hele toegankelijke manier uit.

[Anna Sawlani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not scientifically minded, and I really enjoyed how accessible this book was for me. I listened to it quite slowly, treating it almost like mini podcasts for me to dip in and out of, but it made it really easy to be able to treat it this way. Such an engaging book, and SO interesting. Some of the things I’ve learnt are super fascinating. I found some chapters less personally interesting than others, but regardless it was aways engaging and has a good narrative.

[Svetlana · Rating 5 out of 5]

To quote Max Nieuwdorp: “It was an informative process, especially because I kept arriving at the sobering conclusion that we actually know so little about the cause of our diseases.” Or how to measure all the fascinating interactions of hormones. Or how to fix things that go wrong with them, with a degree of certainty. Fascinating read.

[Ilse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry ik vond het echt teveel info. Goed wel goeie info dus 2,5 ☆ maar voor mij persoonlijk kwam ik er niet door johhhh.

[Liselore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interessant boek!

Hoewel het boek gebaseerd op wetenschap geschreven is, leest ie toch goed door. Veel geleerd!

[Annerieke Ten Haken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinerend boek over het lichaam en al de hormonen. Erg complex maar fijn geschreven met leuke weetjes en voorbeelden.

[Chris Mokken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aardig om te lezen omdat ik de man ken, maar het boek is vrij breed opgezet; niet alle onderwerpen spraken mij aan.

[Robin Yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leuke informatie, maar wel erg van de hak op de tak.

[Paloeka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ik was super enthousiast om dit boek te lezen, aangezien ik graag meer wil(de) leren over hormonen. Het boek is op zich wel makkelijk leesbaar, maar soms ook een beetje chaotisch. Dit laatste is niet heel erg, zeker niet met de uitgebreide index in de achterkant van het boek (ik had de papieren versie gekocht).
Maar teleurstelling kwam snel. Het is duidelijk dat Max Nieuwdorp veel kennis over hormonen heeft, dat stuk is vaak goed geschreven, maar zodra het "vertaald" wordt naar socio-culturele of historische gebeurtenissen is het zeer problematisch. Zijn taalgebruik kan daarin zelfs best kwetsend zijn. Ik heb het idee dat hij dead-named (oude namen gebruikt van mensen die in gendertransitie zijn geweest). Daarnaast fatshamed hij en is soms seksitisch. Ik besprak dit boek met een vriendin van mij en zij was ook verbaasd dat dit boek dit jaar was uitgekomen en niet 50 jaar geleden. Ik raad de auteur aan om terug de schoolbanken in te gaan en vakken binnen sociale en historische wetenschappen te volgen.

Het boek inspireert mij wel om in endocrinologie te duiken, om dit boek te kunnen herschrijven. Hormonen zijn fantastische molecule die sommige/veel dingen in ons lichaam kunnen bepalen. Wat ik juist zo fantastisch vind is dat ze zo fluide zijn, dat levels verschillen en zo juist de diversiteit van het lichaam laten zien (en niet de blame en shame wat in dit boek naar voren komt).

[An · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are so many arbitrary simplifications and noticeable hiccups throughout the book. I wouldn’t recommend it, to be honest. Below are some random thoughts and quotes to emphasize my point:


i am on chapter 2 where the author talks about endocrine disruptors and phytoestrogens and the author mentions this

Think, for example, of vegetarian meat substitutes, but also of the waste from processed soya beans (soya-bean meal), which is one of the most important sources of protein for pigs and poultry. While it remains unclear whether these natural endocrine disruptors can be harmful to our offspring,24,25 we must be vigilant. Studies have shown that soya products (in infant formula) can affect the development of the child’s brain.26

i read the paper cited in the last line "26" {Exposure to soy-based formula in infancy and endocrinological and reproductive outcomes in young adulthood by B L Strom} and the paper clearly says in the conclusion

Exposure to soy formula does not appear to lead to different general health or reproductive outcomes than exposure to cow milk formula. Although the few positive findings should be explored in future studies, our findings are reassuring about the safety of infant soy formula.

idk why the author doesnt clearly say the conclusion of proper risk assesment analysis. not to mention all of the studies cited were from 2000-2001s , ik funding is always low so citing a recent one is kinda hard but oof the sampel size is about 800 people

Omaga this book is making me rage! I don’t understand why, in 2024, it’s still perpetuating the same binary belief that in prehistoric times women were always nurturing and men were hunting. It’s so much more complicated than that! There are elements of communal parenting, and some recent, well-publicized archaeological studies from after 2020 show that women were also big game hunters.
the roles often varied greatly depending on factors like the tribe's location, the season, and the gender ratio. “Eve” by Cat Bohannon isn’t a perfect book, but at least it explores these issues with multiple theories.
Not to mention, why isn’t he addressing the sociological factors behind gender differences in things like hobby preferences and toy choices among infants and teens? Cordelia Fine’s book on neurosexism has talked about this shit

atleast the chapter(4) on gender identity and sexual preference wasnt that bad although ig it was very basic so there is nothing much to mess up with
also ik sex hormones are more studied and general people have more interest on it but really? non sex hormones had only about 3 chapters and sex hormones have approx 7 chapters :cringeHarold:
i still feel stupid about peptide, adrenal, thyroid , pancreatic hormones even after readint this book

[Wayne Augusto · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I loved about this book is that is written by a doctor citing scientific researches but made for people not in the medical field!! and it is so eye opening!!! So much if not everything in our life is related to hormones! But we don’t seems to think about it…. Or ever make a correlation. Hence this a book that everybody should read. Really interesting facts put in an easy-to-read narrative making it relatable and not boring. I would describe this book as light and informative. A must read.

[Greet Bakker · Rating 5 out of 5]

In dit boek wordt op boeiende wijze uitgelegd hoe onze hormonen werken en welke invloed ze hebben op ons leven. Leuke voorbeelden uit de dagelijkse praktijk van de schrijver en ook diverse verwijzingen naar de geschiedenis en de bijbel. Een absolute must-read!

[Maja Fredebold · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a very interesting topic with an all over the place storyline. Could have been a brilliant book, ended up really frustrating me.

Gets really repetitive towards and end. He’ll explain some parts in painful detail but fails to explain the really important and interesting stuff in depth.

[Ankedesign · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leuk boek als je houdt van dingen als de populair wetenschappelijke boeken van Ap Dijksterhuis etc. Leest lekker weg, interessante info over wat hormonen doen met je lichaam.

[Sienna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars
This book was not what I expected it to be.

I assumed from the title of the book that it would be broken down into here is this organ, this is the hormone, and this is the function of the body it helps activate or run. As someone who does not naturally produce her hormones I was interested in finding out what other bodily functions may be working harder due to my health condition and this book was never intended to be that.

I understand the book was going to discuss pregnancy and the breakdown of the female body as all these interesting hormonal changes occur, but I didn’t expect this to be such a large portion of the book.

The last point I want to make is for a book titled Power of Hormones, the author will make a statement of how hormones run something, but then state the environment and current conditions of the person. Trust me, I believe the environment you grew up in is a huge factor, but bringing it up so much after every chapter that every case is situational because outside factors weaken your points. If everything is situational, why did we need this book if every case is different?

[Rudi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Het boek is mooi verhalend geschreven over de impact van hormonen binnen onze levensfasen , voor deze lezer was er behoorlijk veel nieuwe informatie die op een leuke manier gebracht werd , die hormonen fabrieken lijken ons gedrag en humeur nogal veel te beïnvloeden, maar hoe deze fabrieken precies werken en hoe zij beïnvloed worden zijn nog veel vraagtekens, het onderzoekwerk is nog niet ten einde , veel vragen blijven over , zijn het mijn hormonen of de hormonen ?kunnen deze worden overgedragen en hoe ? , en in hoeverre kunnen/moeten we de speelbal zijn van die dingen ? , bacteriën, virussen, schimmels, en nu ook die hormonen, dan nog een hiërarchisch systeem erbij , in hoeverre hebben we dan zelf nog iets in de pap te brokken ? Dan speel je niet met de bal dan ben je de bal , en in de rechtbank een bal met nogal wat verantwoordelijkheid ,

[Alona Tytarenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was left with a weird feeling after finishing this book. The last part conclusion, which was about aging boiled down to "don't eat sugar," felt inaccurate, especially after reading more comprehensive books on aging. There wasn't even a mention of avoiding animal products or saturated fats, both of which are known to contribute to aging. If the author didn't research these areas, it feels misleading to provide such narrow advice.

Moreover, the book often strayed from the topic of hormones more than it should have. Beyond just explaining the structure of the endocrine system, I expected to learn more about how hormone concentrations present from birth influence our personality traits (e.g., the effects of high or low serotonin levels). Unfortunately, this aspect was not explored in depth, which left me wanting more.
I did learn something new for sure!

[Agata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a strong believer that hormones shape our lives in more ways than people tend to realise and therefore it was a huge pleasure for me to read this book.

I didn’t know what to expect from the author. Having come from a nursing background, I often find that medical books can be either too difficult for general public to relate to or sometimes they’re disappointing for professionals due to lack of medical jargon and science.

This books genuinely delivers on all fronts. I loved how thoroughly Max chose to illustrate the power of our endocrine system. I enjoyed his decision to discuss hormonal process in relation to human life (from conception to old age) as opposed to focusing on each bodily system separately. I thought it was a clever touch and a very approachable way to engage a wider audience.

Brilliant book, I would strongly recommend it.

[Teodora Ghenciu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Am aflat multe lucruri interesante din cartea asta. Și din zona de istorie, curiozități ale lumii, cum funcționează corpul nostru, cazuri de boli/terapii/efecte din viața reală, despre obezitate, menopauză, andropauza, homosexualitate, alimentație și multe altele. Totul, prin filtrul hormonilor. Despre care, într-adevăr, nu știam ca au un rol atât de important.

Am simit efortul medicului de a vorbi pe limba pacientului. Însă au existat câteva pasaje care m-au plictisit și am găsit de multe ori nepotrivită insistența de a menționa denumirile științifice ale tuturor hormonilor.

Cu toate acestea, aș zice ca e o carte de cultură generală utilă, bună de citit, care răspunde la multe întrebări și sparge multe mituri legate de sănătate.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Totaal niet mijn schrijfstijl. De schrijver springt ook van de hak op de tak en het boek voelt chaotisch aan.

Bij verschillende onderwerpen vroeg ik me even af of dit boek een herdruk was uit de jaren stilletjes of toch echt een recente uitgave. Ik kreeg geregeld het gevoel dat er weinig empathie was met de patiënten die lijden aan de aandoeningen waarover hij schrijft. De info over de anticonceptiepil en de menopauze bvb zijn bedroevend gedateerd en afwijzend tov de ervaringen van zoveel vrouwen.

Voor wie meer wil weten over de menopauze: prof dr Herman Depypere. Zowel zijn boeken als zijn medische publicaties zijn zeer interessant en up-to-date.

[Michele Telerski-Rees · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is factually accurate without being too technical, easy to follow, and gave generous back matter for those who want to know even more about the science BUT I felt the chapter on homosexuality and transgender individuals was poorly written relied on the use of dead names and the chapter on the transition between the end of menopause and old age left me wishing I would be run over by a Mack truck instead of having another birthday. His attempts to convince me that chin hair, an altered face shape, and thick bushy eyebrows should be embraced and that I should leave every meal still hungry because of aging alters leptin production left me truly demoralized.

[Stephanie Magnuson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little rough around the edges, perhaps due to cultural bluntness and translation, but an enjoyable, education narrative about the hormones in our bodies from birth to death. I appreciated the Dutch-centric perspective which highlighted great minds and research from that region, as opposed to being all USA or Australia focused.
A massive works cited list at the end could be a good reference for those wanting to delve deeper into a specific topic like male menopause or teenage sleep.