Prologue: Welcome to the Hormone Museum

Chapter 1 Joy
: Hormones that make life magical
? First room.
Why People Can Love and Be Happy [Endorphins, the Love and Passion Hormone]
Klimt's Love, Isolated from the World 17 · Kisses That Induce Positive Hormones 22 · A Life Full of Endorphins 30 · The Hormone That Makes You Walk on Clouds 33 · Endorphin Prescriptions 37

? Second room.
A heart that embraces even pain and sorrow [the caring hormone, oxytocin]
How is Agape Love Possible? 43 · What Transforms Women into Mothers? 45 · Another Name for Love: Caring? 46 · How Long Does Love Last? 50 · Oxytocin Prescriptions 55

? The third room.
A landscape overflowing with happiness hormones [Happiness hormone, serotonin]
Sunday Afternoon: The Time to Create Happiness Hormones 60 · A Journey Filled with Blue Light 62 · When the Red Rhythm Dances 66 · The Gift of Serotonin from Sunlight 68 · Serotonin Prescription 72

? The fourth room.
In Search of Lost Health and Joy [Vitality Hormone, Thyroid Hormone]
Lost Ages, Lost Health 78 · The Story of Mrs. Max and Mrs. Lisa 79 · Check Your Thyroid Engine 86 · How to Fly Like Iron Man 88 · Thyroid Hormone Prescriptions 92

Chapter 2: Anger
: How to control your hormones without being dragged down by them
? The fifth room.
The Hormone That Driven Munch to Scream: Dopamine, the Hormone of Impulse and Obsession
Under the Control of Dopamine 100 · The Hormone of the Con Artist 103 · Love with Depression 107 · "Vanity of Vanities" 112 · The Weight of a Beautiful Flower 115 · Dopamine Prescription 119

? The sixth room.
Can we reclaim our anxiety-ridden daily lives? [The Stress Hormone, Cortisol]
Picasso's "Anger" and Dali's "Anxiety" 126 · Stress that even the Pope and the Skull Can't Escape 133 · Chagall's Way of Relaxing 136 · The Siren Within Your Body That Keeps Wailing 140 · Cortisol Prescription 144

? The seventh room.
A sudden storm in the blood vessels [blood pressure hormone, renin]
Diagnosing Hypertension in a Portrait 150 · Don't Forget the "Storm in the Calm" 152 · If Your Heart Runs Like a Horse 154 · On the Beach at Purville at Sunset 156 · Controlling Hormones Rather Than Being Led by Them 158 · Lenin's Prescription 161

Chapter 3: Sorrow
: A prescription for soothing sorrow through famous paintings
? The eighth room.
The hormone that awakens sleeping beauty [sleep and immune hormone, melatonin]
Why Can't She Sleep? 168 · Why You Need to Rest the Busier You Are 173 · Modern People Losing Melatonin 174 · A Prescription for "True Beauty" 178 · Melatonin Prescription 180

? The ninth room.
The Secret Elixir Undiscovered by Qin Shi Huang [Youth and Rejuvenation Hormones, Growth Hormones]
Artists' Ideal Type: Boy David 186 · Isn't Growing Old Also a Part of Growth? 194 · Is Death an Inevitable Fate? 198 · ​​Growth Hormone That Defies Time 202 · Growth Hormone Prescriptions 205

? The tenth room.
How splendid is the color of patience [the patience hormone, GABA]
Portrait of a Broken Scar 210 · The Tree that Survived Winter Blooms 215 · Gaba in Ophelia's Breath 218 · Gaba's Prescription 224

? The eleventh room.
The Real Cause of Obesity Revealed: Insulin, the Obesity Hormone
Nagging for Baby Angels 228 · The Standards of Beauty and the Paradox of Obesity 230 · Between Willendorf and Modigliani 233 · The Key to Unlocking the Shackles of Obesity 237 · Insulin Prescriptions 240

Chapter 4: Pleasure
: How to smile in a way that suits my body and mind
? The twelfth room.
How to Enjoy the Joys of Aging [Sex Hormones, Testosterone and Estrogen]
Are You a Dandy Too? 248 · For Life, Not Sex 251 · The Winter Brought by Three Pomegranates 253 · The Pain of the Rising and Setting Moon 256 · Sex Hormone Prescription 260

? The thirteenth room.
[Appetite hormones, ghrelin and leptin] so that the joy of eating can be complete.
Erythron, Cursed by the Appetite Hormone 266 · Eating While Conversing 270 · Appetite Hormone You Can't Control 272 · Understanding the Nature of Appetite 277 · Appetite Hormone Prescription 280

? The fourteenth room.
Did even the hero Hercules worry about muscle loss? [Muscle Hormones, Myokines]
The Power to Make the Impossible Possible 286 · Superman Captured in the 20th Century 289 · Muscles Are a Matter of Life, Not Appearance 292 · Hormones Released from Muscle and Fat 294 · Myokine Prescriptions 297

Epilogue: Reading Paintings Through the Eyes of Hormones 300
List of Plates 308

EBS [Name] KBS 1TV [Secret of Birth, Aging, Illness, and Death]
Professor Ahn Cheol-woo, a hormone specialist, visited the art museum
14 Hormone Stories from Famous Paintings

“Mr. Munch, the problem is hormones!”
To you who laughs, cries, and sometimes is in pain
A prescription for the joys and sorrows of famous paintings

“Who knew that the crossover between art and medicine could produce such wonderful synergy?”
_Yoo Seong-moon (former executive producer of KBS 1TV's [Secret of Birth, Aging, Illness, and Death])

Professor Ahn Cheol-woo, director of the Endocrine Diabetes Center at Gangnam Severance Hospital, who has been spreading common sense about hormone health through various broadcasts and lectures, has published a unique art and health book titled “Mr. Munch, You Have Excessive Dopamine” (published by Kim Young-sa).
The author becomes a 'hormone docent', opens a clinic next to an art gallery, and diagnoses and prescribes hormones that control birth, aging, illness, death, and joy and sorrow through works of art.

We look at portraits and discover hormonal issues, and talk about how the feelings evoked by landscape paintings relate to the characteristics of hormones.
And we add a hormonal prescription, including eating habits and lifestyle habits that restore health and balance.
It introduces 14 important hormones that control our body's metabolism, including endorphins that spark love and passion, serotonin known as the happiness hormone, and myokines that activate cells throughout the body, bringing famous paintings to life and conveying medical knowledge in an easy-to-understand manner.
Strangely enough, this exquisite combination of hormones and art doesn't feel awkward at all.
Because whether it's the artist, the object, or the viewer, they are all under the control of hormones.
Following the story of hormones in the famous painting, which is elegantly told, allows you to see not only the famous painting but also life with new eyes.
We invite you to the Hormone Museum's curated exhibition of masterpieces that will fill your body and mind.


From [David] to [Guernica]
From endorphins to myokines
When you look at a famous painting, you see hormones!

“If hormones are the ‘rulers of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure,’ then art and hormones are an inseparable pair.
“The most important material of art is the painter’s joys and sorrows.” _Kim Yeon-jin (Director of K Museum of Contemporary Art)

This book, which explains 14 hormones through over 50 artworks, is divided into four sections.
It is a museum of joy and sorrow that elevates and sometimes soothes each emotion, from the first hall, joy (喜), to the second hall, anger (怒), to the third hall, sadness (哀), and to the fourth hall, pleasure (樂).
Unique artworks curated by hormone docents each have a theme, providing readers with a unique experience.
By the time you leave the museum, the world of hormones, “as vast and wondrous as Homer’s Odyssey,” will come into view.


* [Mona Lisa]'s real eyebrows have a 'sad and funny' story?
A characteristic of [Mona Lisa] is that the woman has no eyebrows.
Some say the reason was a 16th century European fashion trend.
However, the author diagnoses that she may have suffered from 'hypothyroidism', which is a condition in which the thyroid gland secretes less thyroid hormone.
Hypothyroidism is common in middle-aged women.
Symptoms include thinning hair, severe loss of eyebrows, swelling of the eyelids, and depression.
Surprisingly, these are the symptoms that can be found in [Mona Lisa].
If you suffer from thyroid hormone deficiency like [Mona Lisa], it is good to eat seaweed that is rich in iodine or nuts that are rich in tyrosine.

* The yellow color in Van Gogh's [Sunflowers] is divided into eighteen different shades?
[Sunflower] doesn't look monotonous even though it's all yellow.
Because the yellow color is subtly subdivided.
Van Gogh was obsessed with the color yellow his entire life.
There is even a theory that he drank absinthe for this purpose.
Van Gogh's obsession was sublimated into beautiful paintings, but from a hormonal perspective, dopamine excess is suspected.
Dopamine is the hormone that makes us fall in love or feel intense emotions.
However, when secreted in excess, it can lead to obsession, impulsivity, addiction, and even bullying.
However, if dopamine is completely blocked, it can lead to another addiction.
The key to managing dopamine is to develop self-control through regular exercise and sleep.

* What if you sympathize 100% with Edward Hopper's [Sleepers]?
Hopper's [Nighthawks] shows modern people suffering from sleep disorders.
Melatonin deficiency not only causes sleeplessness, but also has a wide range of effects on growth, metabolism, blood sugar, and skin health.
The listless appearance and dark complexion of the figures in the painting can be seen as typical symptoms of melatonin deficiency.
It is also related to immunity, so if you are deficient in melatonin, you are more susceptible to infectious diseases.
If you wake up feeling groggy because you haven't been getting enough sleep, or if you're concerned about your immunity in the COVID-19 era, why not consider melatonin?


* What is the secret hidden in Cranach's [Fountain of Youth], which is said to make you younger just by immersing yourself in it?
Lucas Cranach's [The Fountain of Youth] depicts a magical spring of water that makes one younger when immersed in it.
If you manage your growth hormones well, this dream could become a reality.
Growth hormone plays a number of roles, including fat breakdown, muscle growth, cardiovascular health, and bone density enhancement.
However, growth hormone is only secreted half as much at the age of 40 compared to the level at the age of 20.
If you want to stay young as you age, growth hormone management is essential.
Let's start with small habits like consuming high-quality protein, reducing foods high in cholesterol and trans fat, and getting at least 20 minutes of sunlight.


* Hormonal imbalance found in Magritte's [The Magician]?
René Magritte's [The Magician] is a witty work that depicts the infinite appetite of modern people who seek dessert and drinks immediately after a meal.
If you find yourself pictured in [The Magician], it is a sign that the balance of the appetite hormone ghrelin and the appetite suppressing hormone leptin is broken.
Instead of starving yourself and getting stressed, try to restore the balance between ghrelin and leptin.
You will naturally be able to break free from the shackles of gluttony.

What should I eat and how should I live?
A friendly hormone prescription that protects your precious daily life.
This book introduces dietary and lifestyle habits that can help restore hormonal balance in the appendix of each chapter.
This is a carefully compiled hormone prescription based on actual clinical cases and research results.
You can examine famous paintings, diagnose your own body condition, and then receive guidance on the management methods that are essential for you.
If you want to add joy to your daily life, you can find the answer in the endorphin prescription, and if you dream of a stress-free day, you can find the answer in the cortisol prescription.
The book features cases of patients who, after going from one hospital to another, finally found answers in the endocrinology department.
A patient with high blood pressure who did not improve no matter how much he increased his medication was treated with a prescription for blood pressure hormones.
A high school student who was worried about sleeping too much was able to escape from his sleep hell by solving his melatonin problem.
If you understand the connection between hormones and birth, aging, illness, and death through this book, you will be able to understand and resolve your body and mind from a new perspective.

“We have enjoyed together the beautiful masterpiece that reveals the hormones that were previously invisible to the eye.
I hope that in the future we will be able to clearly picture the hormones running around inside our bodies.
Hormones have reached out to you.
Now it's your turn to reach out to your hormones.” _From the epilogue