Why hormone tests are important
Hormone tests indicate whether your hormone levels are within the normal range and if their function is unimpeded. Hormones are messenger substances in the body; they travel through the blood to pass on chemically encoded information to various parts of the body. Depending on the hormone, this information relay can take just a few seconds, or several hours. Once they have reached their destination, hormones usually trigger a complex chain of reactions. Hormones are therefore involved in numerous processes in the body.
Hormones are produced by glands located in different organs. Adrenaline and cortisol are produced in the adrenal gland, the sleep hormone melatonin in the pineal gland in the brain, the happiness hormone serotonin in the intestines and nerve cells, the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone mainly in the ovaries and testicles. With the cerascreen® tests, you can check your levels of these different hormones.
What happens when hormone levels are unbalanced?
If a hormone concentration becomes too high or too low, this causes a hormone deficiency or surplus. This can have serious health consequences. Hormone imbalances cause a variety of symtoms which are not always easy to interpret.
Over time, hormone imbalances can lead to health problems. Too high or too low a level of the sleep hormone melatonin leads to sleep disorders and sleep deprivation. If your serotonin concentration (the happiness hormone) is too low, listlessness, tiredness and depressed mood can result. Chronic stress can, for example, result in permanently elevated cortisol levels, which increases your risk of osteoporosis and is also associated with depression. You can measure your cortisol levels with the cerascreen® cortisol test
The sex hormones can also fluctuate alarmingly. If estrogen levels in women drop too low before menopause, it may bring menopause on sooner and menstruation stops early and in worst-case infertility occurs. A testosterone deficiency can lead, among other things, to reduced muscle strength and physical performance as well as erectile dysfunction. Too much testosterone, on the other hand, is manifested in women by a deeper voice, reduced sex drive and disturbances in the menstrual cycle, and in men by impotence, hair loss, and flatulence.
Hormone tests - Measuring hormone levelsSince the symptoms of a hormone level that has gone off the rails are often ambiguous, it may be worthwhile to test the levels. Too high or too low hormone levels also often give an indication of diseases and unhealthy habits against which you can take action.
With the cerascreen® self-tests you can measure the levels of the hormones cortisol, melatonin, serotonin, estrogen and testosterone. To do this, you take one or a few simple saliva or urine samples and send them to our specialist laboratory. You will then receive a detailed report with your measured values and tips on how to bring the level of the respective hormone into the green range. Melatonin fluctuations, for example, can be counteracted with supplements or light therapy, too little estrogen with a change in diet and too high cortisol levels with stress management and relaxation techniques.