You have a profile on all sorts of social networks, on online sales pages, on websites that offer tailor-made information about restaurants, concert tickets and beauty treatments… But have you ever thought of getting a hormonal profile?
Hormones are chemicals present in the blood that are necessary for processes such as hunger, sleep, sexual desire, fertility, stress and weight gain. Getting a hormonal profile shines a light on how we can focus our lifestyle on physical and mental well-being. They can be done using blood or saliva samples, but “the DUTCH dry urine test [Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones] is the most accurate for measuring the level of hormonal well-being,” says Ana González, founder and CEO of Glow Botanica (www.glowbotanica.com), a brand of topical supplements for hormonal balance. Urine samples are collected on an absorbent strip and, once dry, are stable and easier to send to the laboratory than liquid ones.
When do I have to take a DUTCH test?
The DUTCH test analyzes “progesterone, cortisol, cortisone, testosterone, estradiol and estrone”. Life situations such as having a lot of stress, not being able to get pregnant, gaining weight for no apparent reason, or having trouble falling asleep are connected to these hormones. Although it is an analysis that is usually prescribed to women, it can also give men clues about problems related to hormonal balance, such as erectile dysfunction or alopecia. For both genders, it reveals markers related to brain health, infertility, apathy, anxiety or depression, excessive sweating, acne, blemishes, and other skin disorders. “Most of us associate these tests with fertility. But having a snapshot of how the hormones are doing can hold the key to treating many diseases and hidden pathologies that cannot be identified by other types of tests.”
HE HORMONE TEST CAN HOLD THE KEY TO TREATING PROBLEMS SUCH AS STRESS, INFERTILITY, ACNE, GAINING WEIGHT FOR NO APPARENT REASON OR HAVING DIFFICULTY SLEEPING
Know EVERYTHING about yourself to age better
The DUTCH is not only useful for finding suspected diseases; for healthy people, it can also serve as a warning for prevention or early detection. In people with mood swings, fatigue without apparent cause, decreased libido, heavy, painful or irregular periods, weight fluctuations, hair growth or feelings of sadness, a hormonal test can provide information that can diagnose the root cause of these symptoms.
There are several degrees of analysis, with the most complete one also measuring levels of melatonin, the hormone that influences the appearance of spots on the skin or hair loss. What’s more, the test can reveal vitamin deficiencies and the degree of oxidation of the cells of our body. Ageing is inevitable from the moment we are born, but what if, knowing our hormonal profile, we could enjoy the best physical and mental versions of ourselves at every moment of our lives?