Wellness Can't Happen When Hormones Are Out-of-Balance
“You should get your hormones tested!” How many times have you heard that comment? We’re often encouraged to look closely at our hormones when we experience symptoms that hint at conditions like hypothyroidism, menopause, or low testosterone.
Many people have symptoms that ultimately reflect a hormonal imbalance. As hormones play an important role in maintaining health, the assessment of hormone levels can help identify the cause of many health-related conditions. In both men and women, adequate levels of a number of hormones are necessary for optimal health and well-being.
Our modern fast-paced lifestyle means we have less time and reserves to recuperate, whilst simultaneously being exposed to an unprecedented array of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Indeed, fatigue, depression, hair loss, weight gain, weight loss, temperature sensitivity, mood changes, sleep disturbances, and anxiety are all common symptoms of hormonal changes or imbalances. But even if you know that a hormone test might be a good idea, you may not know what it entails—or where to get one.
What Happens When Hormones are out of Balance?
Since major bodily processes are so dependent on hormonal regulation, even a microscopic surplus or deficiency can have a major impact on how we feel and function. Many factors contribute to altered hormone levels. These include environmental factors, such as chemical exposure and pesticides, lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol, lack of exercise, poor diet, specific conditions such as hypothyroidism, infertility, endometriosis, and enlarged prostate, and biological factors such as menopause and andropause.
When your hormones are off-balance, you are too. The relationship between your thyroid, cortisol, and sex hormones is complex. If your body is under constant stress and requires a lot of the stress hormones, your body shifts from equal hormone distribution and will focus primarily on regulating cortisol. This then starts affecting the other body systems, such as your primary trio of sex hormones. These sex hormones play a crucial role in your overall wellness, and even a slight imbalance may set off a chain of side effects throughout the body. Before you know it, you feel miserable on multiple fronts.
Attain Vitality and Wellness with Hormone Testing
Before you can restore the vital balance of your body’s hormones, you must begin with a detailed assessment that offers real, meaningful insights. Measuring the rise and fall of your adrenal and thyroid hormone levels through a defined period of time, plus your primary trio of sex hormones helps indicate if your healthy hormonal pattern is disrupted and if you might have an imbalance. With this actionable information, you can take the necessary steps to get your hormone levels in check.
The Holistic Approach - Now Offering ZRT Wellness Metrics Profile
Baseline measurement of hormone levels in saliva and blood spot provides an accurate assessment of the activity of sex hormones and the functioning of your Thyroid and Adrenal glands. Research shows that a combination of saliva and blood spot testing provides an accurate assessment of hormone status in both men and women of all ages. By combining both Saliva and Blood Spot test materials in an all-in-one test kit, anyone can simply, from the comfort of their homes, collect samples for the three major hormone groups—reproductive, adrenal, and thyroid—on the same day at the optimal time.
The ZRT Wellness Metrics Profile uses a combination of saliva and blood spot samples, collected at home, to identify specific imbalances of one or more of these hormones governing key aspects of your health, contributing to changes in mood, energy, libido, altered metabolism, increased body fat deposition, food/sugar cravings, and increased risks for cardiometabolic disease and diabetes.
Saliva testing is a convenient, inexpensive, and above all, accurate means of testing steroid hormones.
Scientific studies have shown a strong correlation between steroid hormone levels in saliva and the amount of the hormone active in the blood. A blood spot test, on the other hand, uses a single sample from a nearly painless finger prick to run several tests. It provides results that are at par with those from serum tests but without the cost and inconvenience of conventional blood drawing. By combining Blood and saliva samples in the same test kit, we can test a larger variety of hormones.
What Symptoms Should Prompt You to Take the ZRT Wellness Metrics Profile Test?
The following signs and symptoms may allude to a problem in the hormonal balance of your body. As such, taking a screening test that effectively reports on the levels of these hormones in your body is highly recommended.
- Excessive fatigue
- Weight gain and/or excess belly fat
- Sugar cravings
- Chronic stress
- Low sex drive
- Sleep disturbance
- Mood swings
- Thinning Hair
- Decreased muscle mass
- Headache
- Decreased urinary flow (in men)
In women:
- Pre-menopausal or menopausal symptoms
- Menstrual bleeding abnormalities
- Infertility
- Excessive facial/body hair
- Hair loss
- PCOS(Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)
The ZRT Wellness Metrics Profile reports the levels of:
- Estradiol (E2). The commonest type of estrogen in women of childbearing age. It is responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics.
- Progesterone (Pg). A steroid hormone is produced in the female reproductive organs during the second half of menstruation. It prepares the wall of the uterus (womb) for the potential of pregnancy after ovulation.
- Testosterone (T). It is responsible for many of the physical characteristics specific to adult males. It plays a key role in reproduction and the maintenance of bone and muscle strength.
- Diurnal Cortisol (C). A steroid hormone is made in the adrenal glands. It is often called the "stress hormone" because of its connection to the stress response, however, cortisol is much more than just a hormone released during stress. It is measured at different times of the day i.e. morning, noon, evening, and night to detect the level of stress in the body at different times.
- DHEA-S (DS). This is a steroid that is produced by the adrenal glands and is crucial for testing adrenal function. It works to make other hormones, such as estrogen in women and testosterone in men.
- Thyroid Stimulating Hormone(TSH). This is the pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid to produce Thyroxine.
- Vitamin D (25-OH D2/25-OH D3). Vitamin D is important for calcium absorption in the body and promotes bone growth.
- Insulin. Insulin helps keep the sugar in your blood within a normal range. It does this by taking glucose out of your bloodstream and moving it into cells throughout your body. The cells then use the glucose for energy and store the excess in your liver, muscles, and fat tissue.
- Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test measures the amount of blood sugar (glucose) attached to hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. A high HbA1c means you have too much sugar in your blood. This means you're more likely to develop diabetes complications, like serious problems with your eyes and feet. Knowing your HbA1c level and what you can do to lower it will help you reduce your risk of devastating complications.
ZRT Wellness Metrics Profile Optional Add on
You can purchase an optional add-on that gives you a further detailed report on the following crucial chemical messengers in the body:
- Free Triiodothyronine (fT3) & Free Thyroxine (fT4). Thyroxine is the main hormone secreted into the bloodstream by the thyroid gland. It is the inactive form and most of it is converted to an active form called triiodothyronine by organs such as the liver and kidneys. Thyroid hormones play vital roles in regulating the body’s metabolic rate, heart, and digestive functions, muscle control, brain development, and maintenance of bones.
- Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO). Thyroid peroxidase is an enzyme produced by the thyroid gland. It is an iron-dependent enzyme responsible for oxidizing iodine and attaching it to tyrosine residues on the thyroid-specific protein thyroglobulin to begin the process of synthesizing triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine(T4). It is essential for diagnosing thyroid carcinomas and autoimmune thyroid illness.
- Blood Lipids: Triglycerides (TG), Total Cholesterol (CH), HDL Cholesterol (HDL), LDL Cholesterol (LDL), and VLDL). These are fats present in the blood. They are elevated in a condition referred to as Hyperlipidemia. Hyperlipidemia is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and can be controlled by fitness training and other lifestyle modifications such as a better diet.
- High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). It gives an indication of inflammation in the body. This is because C-reactive protein is a protein found in blood plasma, and its circulating concentrations rise in response to inflammation.
Your Hormone Management Testing Plan
Maintain a state of balance in your body by ensuring that your thyroid, adrenal, and sex hormones are within the optimal ranges. Follow the following steps to effectively test and appreciate your body’s hormonal trends.
- Step 1: Start by selecting the ZRT Wellness Metrics Profile, using the guide below. You will receive an at-home testing kit that fits your unique concerns and needs. No prescription or visit to the doctor’s office is required. Your test kit is delivered directly to your front door.
- Step 2: Take the test to establish the starting hormone baseline at the beginning of your plan. Consider developing your plan alongside:
- a licensed health care provider for medical conditions, especially for severe "out of normal range" results
- or a health care consultant for nutrition and supplements that will support your desired results
- Step 3: Develop a plan based on your hormone test results, establishing a one-year or more outlook.
- Keep logs of your intakes, and daily routines related to your hormone test results.
- Step 4: After 6-12 months of actively working on your plan, take the same test again to determine your progress.
