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How much stress can a body take? Ask yourself:
- Do you often feel weak and tired, for no apparent
reason?
- Are you under chronic stress?
- Do you have trouble getting a night of restful sleep?
- Do you have low sex drive?
- Are you exposed to high noise levels?
- Are you feeling anxious or depressed?
- Do you have menstrual difficulties?
- Are you suffering from joint pain?
- Do you have an eating disorder?
- Have you recently gained or lost weight?
- Do you suffer from ulcers or irritable bowel syndrome?
- Do you have trouble with concentration, memory, or
learning?
- Do you suffer from hypertension?
- Are you taking DHEA or pregnenolone supplements without
the guidance of a trained physician?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you
may be suffering from an over or under-reactive stress response by your adrenal
hormones.
A wide range of physical and emotional disorders have
actually been linked to adrenal hormone imbalances. Now there's an easy way to find out
whether these imbalances are affecting how you feel.
What are adrenal hormones?
There are two small glands attached to the top of your
kidneys, called adrenal glands. They are essential for life. When you feel physical or
psychological stress, these glands release natural chemicals such as adrenaline, DHEA, and
cortisol (called adrenal hormones) directly into your bloodstream.
How do adrenal hormones affect my health?
Adrenals have one of the highest blood flow rates of any
tissue in the body--so the hormones they produce can trigger reactions in all parts of
your body. One major adrenal hormone is cortisol--a powerful anti-inflammatory. Cortisol
levels rise dramatically with stress, prolonging your body's "fight or flight"
response. If your body is producing too much or too little cortisol, you may feel some of
the following symptoms.
- Weakness and Fatigue Cortisol imbalances can throw
off the body's blood sugar metabolism, making you feel weak, tired, and run-down. Too much
cortisol can also interfere with sleep patterns and produce a "wakeful,"
unrelaxing sleep state. So you may feel worn-out even after a full night's sleep.
- Muscle and Joint Pain Excess cortisol in the
bloodstream accelerates the breakdown of body tissue and prevents proper tissue repair,
leading to muscle and joint injuries and chronic pain.
- Obesity Cortisol imbalances can stimulate fat
deposits in various parts of the body, resulting in weight gains in the trunk, chest,
neck, and face.
- Poor Skin High levels of cortisol can reduce the
skin's ability to regenerate, resulting in an unhealthy skin appearance. Over time,
cortisol imbalances can take a heavy toll on your health, wearing down your immune system,
triggering premature aging, and setting the stage for chronic illness. Anxiety,
depression, heart disease, AIDS and osteoporosis have all been linked with elevated
cortisol levels.
What does DHEA do?
Another hormone produced by your adrenal glands, DHEA
(dehydroepiandrosterone) actually works to balance many of the effects of cortisol on your
body, helping it cope with stress. In research studies, DHEA has been shown to improve
memory function, boost energy levels, and reduce fat production. Most importantly, DHEA
appears to protect the immune system from some of the cell damage caused by aging and
disease.
Does age affect DHEA and cortisol levels?
Adrenal hormone levels change dramatically over the
course of a lifetime. DHEA levels usually peak in a person's early 20's and then begin
rapidly diminishing with age.
At an advanced age, your DHEA levels may have dropped
80-85% from their youthful levels! Cortisol levels, on the other hand, may continue to
increase over time. If these two hormones remain chronically "out of sync," it
can tax the body's immune system, making a person less able to cope with stress and more
susceptible to a wide range of illnesses.
How does the Adrenocortex Stress Profile work?
The Adrenocortex Stress Profile is a safe, non-invasive
test that determines your DHEA and cortisol levels using 4 saliva samples which can be
easily collected at home or at work. Balance is the key in assessing the overall effect of
adrenal hormones on the body. That's why, in addition to individual measures of DHEA and
cortisol, the test report includes a DHEA/cortisol ratio that indicates your body's unique
and dynamic balance of these crucial stress hormones. What are the advantages of saliva
testing?
Saliva testing can provide a more accurate indication of
the free, bioactive hormones circulating in your body than other types of analysis. It's
also more convenient and less expensive than conventional blood testing. And because
saliva samples can be easily collected at home in a relaxed setting, test results are much
less likely to be affected by the stress induced by more invasive procedures.
Saliva testing also allows for easy timing of sample
collections, which is very important for analyzing hormones such as cortisol, whose levels
rise or fall depending on the time of day.
How are the results helpful?
After examining your results, your health care
practitioner can suggest a therapeutic program to restore DHEA and cortisol to their
optimal, beneficial levels. Then use the Adrenocortex Stress Profile to specifically
monitor your ongoing progress in the therapy.
GREAT SMOKIES TESTS ARE
AVAILABLE AT OUR OFFICE. PLEASE CONTACT US FOR AN APPOINTMENT TOLL FREE AT
866 551 8487
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