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Company:  ZRT Laboratories

The Problem – Hormonal Imbalance

Hormones have a profound effect on your everyday health and well-being. Although present in only tiny amounts, hormones act on every cell of your body. Hormones have individual affects, but also interact with each other to produce dramatic effects in the body.

As women progress through the stages of life, their hormones can fluctuate dramatically, particularly at Puberty and Menopause. During the reproductive years (teens to mid-forties), the most common hormonal issues can be associated with an imbalance in Estradiol, Progesterone, and Testosterone; usually too much Estradiol, too little Progesterone, and too much Testosterone. An excess of Estradiol, relative to Progesterone, causes symptoms of Estrogen Dominance, which include weight gain in the hips and thighs, fibrocystic and tender breasts, uterine fibroids, irritability (PMS), water retention, and associated thyroid problems. These symptoms usually worsen as women approach Menopause and Estrogen levels swing wildly from high to low without the balancing effects of Progesterone. The early stages of Menopause, often referred to as Peri-menopause, occur at or about age 45 to 55. During this transition, erratic hormonal shifts can trigger some of the most aggravating hormonal symptoms a woman will ever experience. As the ovaries settle into Menopause, no longer producing Estrogen and Progesterone, a new subset of symptoms welcomes the Menopausal woman. Hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, foggy thinking, more rapid skin aging and bone loss, and weight gain in the waist are just some of the symptoms and conditions that now result from not producing enough Estrogen and Progesterone. If you are experiencing some of these symptoms, at any stage of life, your hormones are likely out of balance.

The ovaries produce many hormones. Chief among them are Estrogen, Progesterone, and Testosterone. The ovarian hormones Estrogen and Progesterone interact to coordinate a woman’s menstrual cycle during her reproductive years. The brain produces the hormones Follicle Stimulating Hormones (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) which trigger hormone production from the ovaries. When any of the hormones coming from the brain or the ovaries are imbalanced, symptoms may occur. Imbalances are most common in Puberty and Menopause, but imbalances can happen at any age. Several conditions are well known to be associated with hormonal imbalance including: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), Endometriosis, Breast Disease, and Menstrual irregularities.

Symptoms of Female Hormone Imbalance:

• • Acne or oily skin
• • Bloating
• • Bone loss
• • Decreased fertility
• • Depression
• • Excess facial and body hair
• • Hot flashes
• • Heavy or painful periods
• • Irregular periods
• • Irritability
• • Loss of muscle mass
• • Loss of scalp hair
• • Low libido
• • Memory lapses
• • Mood swings
• • Nervousness
• • Night sweats
• • Poor concentration
• • Sleep disturbances
• • Tender or fibrocystic breasts
• • Urinary incontinence
• • Vaginal dryness
• • Weight gain

Female Blood Profile II Test

There is a simple way to test yourself to see if you have an imbalance in your sex hormones. It involves a simple prick of the finger with a very small needle (like the one used for diabetics), and placing blood drops on a filter paper to dry. It’s that easy! Once dry, you just place the filter paper containing the blood drops in an envelope and send it to the laboratory. There, the dried blood spots are removed and analyzed for the sex hormones (Estradiol, Progesterone, Testosterone), in addition to an Estrogen-regulated protein, SHBG.

Estradiol is tested because it is the female hormone necessary for maintaining optimal function and well being. It is important for the health of your skin, cardiovascular system, bones, and brain. When you have too much or too little Estradiol, the irritating symptoms and conditions described above can surface.

Progesterone helps balance Estradiol. It works in synergy with Estradiol to optimize its function in the body. In young women with regular monthly ovulatory cycles, Progesterone plays an essential role in returning the Estrogen-activated growth of the reproductive tissues and breasts back to the resting state. Too little Progesterone produced by the ovaries results in too much growth stimulation of these tissues, resulting in overgrowth of the uterine lining, fibrocystic breasts, and uterine fibroids. In older women using estrogen supplements, a deficiency in Progesterone can result in symptoms of Estrogen dominance, and if not corrected, can lead to cancers of the uterus and breasts, thyroid problems, weight gain, insulin resistance, and a host of other problems. Maintaining appropriate Estradiol/Progesterone balance at any age is essential for optimal health.

Testosteroneis an important hormone in women, as it is in men. Too much Testosterone, often caused by ovarian cysts, leads to conditions such as excessive facial and body hair, acne, oily skin and hair, and weight gain around the waist. Ovarian cysts are thought to be caused, in part, by insulin resistance. On the opposite spectrum, too little Testosterone is often caused by excessive stress, medications, contraceptives, and surgical removal of the ovaries. This leads to symptoms of androgen deficiency including loss of libido, thinning skin, vaginal dryness, loss of bone and muscle mass, depression, and memory lapses.

SHBGis a protein produced by the liver in response to Estrogen exposure. All forms of Estrogen introduce themselves to the liver and increase SHBG production. This is true whether they are Estrogens produced naturally by the body, or consumed as foods or herbals (Phytoestrogens), or from exposure to contaminants from plastics and petrochemical products that contain Xenoestrogens in our environment. SHBG gives a good index of not only exposure to Estradiol but all the other Estrogens to which your body is exposed.

Blood spot testing reliably identifies hormone imbalances. Hormones exist in harmony with each other – partners in a delicate balancing act. When levels of each hormone are in the right proportions, body systems are stable. When balance is lost, hormone deficiencies and excesses can become toxic to the body causing unwanted symptoms, disorders and disease.

The Female Blood Profile II Test is an overall assessment of female health and vitality; indicator of sex steroid, adrenal, and thyroid hormone imbalances. Includes: Female Blood Profile I (E2, Pg, T, SHBG, DS, C1)+ Complete Thyroid Profile (TSH, fT3, fT4, TPO)..