Asthma / The Adrenocortex Profile

submitted by Dr. Gary Farr Last Updated July, 2, 2004

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The Adrenocortex Stress Profile

If you're under excessive stress, don't feel alone.

Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we make attempts to adjust our environment to our own internal wants and desires. Just how successful we are in making these adjustments to our environment, determines our physical and emotional well-being.

As a positive influence, stress can help compel us to action; it can result in a new awareness and an exciting new perspective. As a negative influence, it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression, which in turn can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.

Are You Among the "Statistics"?

Stress is one of the most common but poorly dealt with syndrome that patients visit doctors:

• 43% of all adults suffer adverse health effects due to stress
   
• 75-90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints or disorders.
   
• Stress has been linked to all the leading causes of death, including heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis and suicide.
   
• An estimated 1 million workers are absent on an average workday because of stress related complaints. Stress is said to be responsible for more than half of the 550,000,000 workdays lost annually because of absenteeism.
   
• A three-year study conducted by a large corporation showed that 60% of employee absences were due to psychological problems such as stress.
   
• Nearly half of all American workers suffer from symptoms of burnout, a disabling reaction to stress on the job.

Is Your Body Handling Stress?

The Adrenocortex Stress Profile is a powerful and precise non-invasive test that evaluates levels of the body's important stress hormones, cortisol and DHEA. This profile serves as a critical tool for uncovering biochemical imbalances that can underlie anxiety, chronic fatigue, obesity, diabetes and a host of other clinical conditions. It's also a crucial tool for monitoring DHEA and/or cortisone therapy.

Changing amounts of DHEA and cortisol over an individual's lifetime may signal important alterations in adrenal function that can profoundly affect his/her energy levels, emotional state, disease resistance, and general sense of well-being. That's because adrenal hormones exert a profound influence on the body's carbohydrate, protein, and lipid metabolism, immune response, thyroid function, cardiovascular health, and overall resistance to stress.

To make an informed choice before you do anything, get the information you need about your hormone levels with Great Smokies' Adrenocortex Profile. Here's why.

How Much Stress Can A Body Take?

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?

The adrenal glands 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?

About 95% of the DHEA circulating in the bloodstream is in a sulfate form called DHEA-S. The Adrenocortex Stress Profile is a safe, noninvasive 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.

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. You should talk with us about the Adrenocortex Stress Profile and see it it might be helpful for you.

Sample Case Test

Adrenal Stress Profile

This sample case test shows a 55 year-old female complaining of severe fatigue. I have made the image clickable so you can see the actual graphs presented in the report. You may also download the entire report at this link (Adobe Acrobat reader is required).

In her particular case, there was stress to the adrenal glands as shown by her excessive amounts of DHEA. The test also indicated the possibility of hypoglycemia and excessive emotional stress that she was not handling well.
 

We Are Here to Help

Our goal is to help your body effectively manage the stresses in your life and to return your body to a normal state of function. If you're suffering from the adverse affects of stress, we can guide you through an effective, safe and proven nutrition and lifestyle program. Our nutritional program focus is uniquely individualized and it's scientific, yet natural. It's rational. It's functional. And it's safe. The practical application of this knowledge will help you look and feel your best. Remember, we are here to help you, so please do not hesitate to ask for more information.

For prices and purchasing information regarding the Adrenocortex Profile click

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