Advanced Thyroid Function Blood Test

Thyroid Hormones (3 Biomarkers)

A gland at the front of your neck called the thyroid makes hormones that aid in regulating your metabolism.

Your thyroid may generate too little or too many thyroid hormones, and either situation can cause crippling symptoms. Lethargy, weight gain, dry skin, and hair are typical symptoms of an underactive thyroid, while nervousness and anxiety are typical signs of an overactive thyroid, as well as weight loss.

Once detected, thyroid disorders can be treated, but even then, it's crucial to keep an eye on your thyroid hormone levels to make sure they stay at their ideal levels.

TSH

The thyroid is a gland located near the base of the neck that regulates several metabolic processes, including substrate turnover, heart function, muscle physiology, and energy expenditure.

Thyroid dysfunction can cause either overproduction of hormones (overactive) or underproduction of hormones (underactive), both of which can lower athletic performance. The pituitary gland produces Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), which stimulates the thyroid gland to create the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).

As part of a neuroendocrine cascade, thyroid hormone synthesis occurs. Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) is released first in the hypothalamus, where it causes the pituitary to release thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH).

To release the hormones T3 and T4, this attaches to thyroid gland cells (thyroxine). Additionally, peripheral tissues convert T4 into T3, the thyroid hormone with greater activity.These hormones are essentially what regulate your body's metabolism.

Negative feedback loops typically maintain a tight balance between all of these levels. Thyroid hormone over- or under-secretion can be a sign of abnormal thyroid function. These disorders frequently have an autoimmune component, which can frequently be detected by looking at your thyroid antibodies in more sophisticated thyroid tests.

Free Thyroxine

One of the two hormones that the thyroid gland produces is thyroxine (T4). It accelerates the rate at which your metabolism functions.

The majority of T4 in the blood is bound to carrier proteins, but this test solely measures free, or unbound, T4, which is active in the body.

Free T3

The more active of the two thyroid hormones made by the thyroid gland is triiodothyronine (T3).

In the blood, the majority of T3 is protein-bound. The amount of T3 that is available to control metabolism and is free, or not bound to protein, is measured by free T3.

Inflammation (1 Biomarker)

When your immune system is triggered to purge your body of external invaders or irritants and to guard against tissue damage, inflammation results.

Inflammation frequently manifests as heat, redness, swelling, and discomfort. An acute or persistent inflammation might exist. Infection or injury are common causes of acute inflammation, which appears for a few days before going away.

Long-term diseases including arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, or asthma can lead to chronic inflammation. Certain proteins that are elevated in the blood as a result of inflammation can be tested to determine the level of inflammation and, in some cases, its underlying cause.

CRP-HS

The C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is a marker of inflammation that is used to determine whether there is inflammation in the body but not where it is situated.

A test known as High Sensitivity CRP (CRP-hs) is used to find low-level inflammation that may harm blood vessels and cause a heart attack or stroke. There is a great deal of inflammation at the site of a significant injury. The swelling around a twisted ankle is easy to picture. Your CRP-hs will increase with any damage of this nature.

But frequent exercisers also run the danger of developing chronic low-level inflammation, which can harm their performance.

We draw this picture using CRP-hs, CK, and your complete blood count (see the articles on the liver and complete blood count). When you are rested for the test, inflammatory markers like CRP-hs provide the most insight; otherwise, they may be increased from recent exercise.

Vitamins (3 Biomarker)

Your body requires vitamins as necessary nutrients to function properly. They must come from the food you consume because you cannot manufacture them yourself. There are two categories of vitamins: fat-soluble and water-soluble. Oily foods, whether animal- or plant-based, contain fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A, D, E, and K.

You don't need to eat them every day because your body stores them in fatty tissue and the liver.You must consume meals containing these nutrients more regularly because the majority of water-based vitamins, such as vitamin C, are not stored in the body.

A balanced diet should provide you with all the vitamins you require. But occasionally, dietary decisions or medical issues might make us vitamin deficient.

 Vitamin D

Together with calcium, vitamin D is essential for bone maintenance. It is crucial for both protein synthesis and muscle function.

Other non-musculoskeletal advantages, such as immunological regulation, defence against chronic diseases, and improved sports performance, have also been emphasised by more recent study.

Maintaining adequate amounts of vitamin D is crucial for athletes. When your skin is exposed to sunshine, it can produce vitamin D.

This is challenging in the UK, especially during the winter. Even if they exercise outside, people in the UK frequently have low vitamin D levels.

Vitamin B12- Active

The generation of red blood cells, which transport oxygen throughout the body, depends on vitamin B12.

Additionally essential for metabolism and the nervous system, vitamin B12 deficiency can harm nerves over time.

Although plant milks are increasingly frequently enriched with vitamin B12, vitamin B12 is still nearly exclusively found in meals derived from animals.

Iron Status (1 Biomarker)

Autoimmunity (2 Biomarkers)

When your immune system misidentifies your own cells or tissues as "foreign," it begins to attack them, which is known as autoimmune disease.

The parts of your body that are being attacked distinguish a number of autoimmune disorders.

Thyroid disease (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and Graves' Disease), systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), and rheumatoid arthritis are examples of common autoimmune diseases.

Nobody is quite sure what causes an autoimmune illness, but it is commonly known that more women than men are affected and that your risk of getting one is increased if a family member has one or if you have already had one identified.Numerous signs of autoimmune disease might either continually be present or flare up occasionally with periods of remission.

Depending on which bodily systems are impacted by the condition, the symptoms change. While other illnesses, like lupus, affect a variety of body tissues, in certain situations the tissue affected is highly specific, such as the thyroid in the case of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Thyroglobulin Antibodies

This examination searches for antibodies to thyroglobulin, a thyroid-specific protein. Normal conditions prevent it from entering the bloodstream, but if your thyroid is inflamed or being attacked by your body's immune system, thyroglobulin can be released and antibodies can be found.

The majority of cases of thyroid disease are brought on by autoimmune diseases, in which the body's immune system attacks the thyroid gland.

As a result, the thyroid gland may produce more thyroid hormone (as in Graves' disease) or less thyroid hormone as the thyroid gland's cells gradually degenerate (as in Hashimoto's thyroiditis).