Skip to main content

Dietary Precursors

Meaning

Dietary precursors are specific nutrients, biochemical molecules, or essential compounds consumed as part of the diet that serve as the foundational substrates for the body’s internal synthesis of hormones and other critical signaling molecules. These ingested compounds undergo precise metabolic transformations within the body’s tissues to become fully active hormones, representing a fundamental nutritional requirement for a functioning endocrine system. Cholesterol, the universal precursor for all steroid hormones, and essential amino acids, necessary for peptide hormone production, exemplify this concept. Strategic optimization of these precursors is a core strategy in nutritional endocrinology to support robust hormonal balance.