This profile is used to evaluate the adrenal glands and hormone balance. In the event of adrenal exhaustion, underlying causes must be determined through additional lab testing and investigation into environmental and lifestyle factors; while also supporting the adrenals with nutritional protocols and lifestyle modifications.
When the body is under chronic stress, pregnenolone, the precursor to all other steroidal hormones, is diverted to produce cortisol (known as pregnenolone steal or cortisol escape). This is to the detriment of all other steroidal hormones (such as DHEA and its metabolites, including progesterone, testosterone, and the estrogens). As pregnenolone is diverted to cortisol, DHEA depletion begins. The result is an elevated cortisol to DHEA ratio.
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