Ordering the Cortisol Test with ZRT
Cortisol is a hormone that is made by the adrenal glands, and the pituitary gland tells your adrenal glands how much cortisol to make in response to:
- Stress (cortisol is sometimes called the "stress hormone")
- Inflammation
- Regulating blood sugar and metabolism (how your body uses food for energy)
- Controlling blood pressure
In a healthy individual, cortisol levels increase and decrease at different times of the day. It's usually higher in the morning and lower at night unless a person works during late hours or has changing shifts.
Factors that can affect cortisol levels:
- Exercise
- Hypothyroidism
- Infection
- Injury or disease
- Medications such as hydrocortisone, prednisone or birth control pills, obesity, pregnancy
- Physical or emotional stress
Which Patients is the Cortisol Test with ZRT Best Used For?
Symptoms That May Lead A Practitioner to Order the ZRT Cortisol Test include:
High Cortisol Symptoms:
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Sugar cravings
- Feeling tired but wired
- Increased belly fat
- Bone loss
Low Cortisol Symptoms:
- Chronic fatigue
- Low energy
- Food and sugar cravings
- Poor exercise tolerance or recovery
- Low immune reserves
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