Hormones are essential to maintaining homeostasis mainly because

they cause specific responses in specific targets

they act faster than nerve impulses

they catalyze specific chemical reactions in brain cells

the body requires them for digesting food

Hormones are essential to maintaining homeostasis mainly because they cause specific responses in specific targets.

Explanation:

The endocrine system through different glands secrete hormones that act on specific targets by function. For example: in the pancreas, insulin is a hormone released by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans of that organ, whose purpose is to lower glucose levels (when these are elevated in blood) and glucagon released by alpha cells whose effect is antagonistic (prevents hypoglycemia in the body, increasing glucose, for example through processes of gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis).