Hormones, Truth, and the Signal the Body Keeps

By Dr. Kathryn Dundas, MD, CCFP
Sublime Life | The Journal

This week, a number of my patients told me they were going to hear Gabor Maté speak while he was in Calgary.
Almost all of them asked me the same question:
“What do you think of his work?”
My answer was simple.

He’s paying attention to something medicine ignored for a long time.
We’ve historically spoken about The Body Keeps the Score in the context of trauma.
But I think it can be taken a step further.
Because clinically, what I see every day is this:

the body keeps the signal.
What That Actually Means (Clinically)

We tend to talk about hormones as if they are separate systems:

• thyroid
• estrogen / progesterone / testosterone
• cortisol
  But they are not separate.
  They are a network of signaling loops—constantly communicating.

A Simple Way to See It (Diagram in Words)
Think of this as a loop—not a line:
1. Brain (Hypothalamus + Pituitary)
↓ sends signals to
2. Adrenals → cortisol (stress response)
↓ influences
3. Thyroid → T4 → T3 (metabolic output)
↓ interacts with
4. Sex hormones → estrogen / progesterone / testosterone
↓ feeds back to
1. Brain again
Now layer in reality:

• Chronic stress → ↑ cortisol

• Cortisol → reduces T4 → T3 conversion
• Cortisol → alters sex hormone production + binding
• Estrogen/testosterone → affect thyroid receptor sensitivity
• Thyroid → modulates metabolic and adrenal responsiveness
  This is not theory—it’s physiology.
  
  Recent work continues to reinforce this:
• Elevated cortisol is associated with lower circulating T3 levels  
• Chronic stress inhibits the HPT (thyroid) axis and alters metabolic signaling  
• The HPA (stress), HPT (thyroid), and gonadal axes function as an integrated system, not isolated pathways  

So when someone says:

• “My thyroid is off”
• “My hormones are off”
• What they are often experiencing is:

a signaling disruption across the entire system.
Where Nutrients Fit In (The Quiet Layer)
This is where it becomes even more interesting—and often missed.
Because the body doesn’t just signal through hormones.
It signals through nutrient availability.

Under chronic stress:

• B vitamins are depleted
• → affecting methylation, neurotransmitters, adrenal resilience
• Boron levels shift
• → influencing free testosterone and estrogen balance
• Magnesium, zinc, and others follow

So now you don’t just have:

• hormonal disruption

You have:

• impaired signaling
• impaired conversion
• impaired receptor response

The Part We Don’t Always Say Out Loud

This is where the work of Gabor Maté and the ideas behind The Body Keeps the Score begin to overlap with physiology.

Because the question becomes:

What is driving the signal?

Not always trauma in the way we define it.

But often:

• chronic overextension
• suppression of emotion
• living out of alignment with what we know is true
  A quieter form of stress.
  A sustained override.

A Line Worth Sitting With

“The attempt to escape from pain creates more pain.”
— Gabor Maté
In physiology, that translates to
the attempt to override the signal amplifies the signal.

The Reframe
Hormonal imbalance is often not the root problem.
It is the body’s attempt to:

• adapt
• compensate
• maintain function
  
  in a system that is under continuous pressure.

Where This Leaves Us (Practically)

Before we:

• adjust thyroid medication
• replace hormones
• add another supplement
  
  we need to ask:

What is the body trying to communicate?

Because if we only correct the downstream markers…
the signal doesn’t disappear.

It simply finds another pathway.

Deeper Diagnostic Layer
Cellular Nutrient Assay + Systems Optimization Plan

This is where the physiology becomes visible.

• Measures intracellular nutrient status
• Identifies patterns (not just deficiencies)
• Maps findings onto your Longevity Systems Wheel
• Produces a personalized Systems Optimization Plan
  Because:
  what your labs show is not just what you have—
  
  it is what your body is trying to tell you.

Closing

The body does not hold onto things to work against you.

It responds.
It adapts.
It signals.
And it will continue to keep the signal—
until something upstream changes.

Make presence your protocol

Dr. Kathryn Dundas M.D., C.C.F.P.
CEO and Medical Director