It might not be your hormones: Five reasons to look at more biomarkers
Feeling tired, low in mood, struggling with concentration or noticing changes in your weight can make hormones an obvious place to start.
Hormones can be important, but they are only one part of your health. Similar symptoms can sometimes be linked with several different areas, including vitamin and mineral levels, thyroid function, blood sugar and general health markers.
Testing a wider range of biomarkers can give you more information than looking at hormones alone.
Here are five reasons you may choose to look at the bigger picture.
1. Vitamins and minerals can be worth checking too
Symptoms such as tiredness, poor concentration and changes in hair or mood are not specific to hormones.
Blood tests can also measure nutrients such as:
- Iron and ferritin
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin D
- Folate
These markers can provide useful information about your nutritional status and may be worth considering alongside hormone tests if you are experiencing ongoing symptoms.
2. Thyroid testing can include more than one marker
The thyroid produces hormones that are involved in many functions within the body.
A thyroid blood test may measure markers such as:
- TSH
- Free T4
- Free T3
Some thyroid profiles also include thyroid antibodies.
Looking at several thyroid markers together can provide a broader view of thyroid function than testing one marker alone.
3. Other areas of health may also be useful to explore
If you are experiencing symptoms such as tiredness or generally not feeling yourself, hormones may not be the only markers you want to check.
Blood tests can provide information about areas including:
- Liver function
- Kidney function
- Cholesterol
- Blood sugar
- Inflammation
- Blood cells
- Vitamins and minerals
These results do not tell you the cause of a symptom on their own, but they can give you useful information about different areas of your health.
4. Stress and lifestyle can affect how you feel
Sleep, stress, nutrition, activity levels and other parts of everyday life can all affect how you feel.
Some blood tests include markers such as cortisol, blood sugar, cholesterol, vitamins and inflammation markers.
Testing these markers cannot tell you whether stress is causing your symptoms, but it can provide information that may be useful when looking at your health more broadly.
5. A wider range of biomarkers gives you more information
A single blood marker only provides information about one small area.
For example, someone looking into tiredness may choose to test hormones alongside iron, vitamin B12, vitamin D, thyroid markers and general health markers.
This does not mean that more testing is always better. The most useful tests are those that are relevant to what you want to understand.
Looking at several appropriate biomarkers together can provide more context than relying on one result alone.
Why look beyond hormones?
Blood tests provide measurable information about different processes within the body.
If you have been focusing mainly on hormones, you may choose a broader blood test to look at other areas at the same time.
This could include:
- Vitamins and minerals
- Thyroid markers
- Blood sugar
- Cholesterol
- Liver and kidney markers
- Inflammation markers
- Full blood count
Your results should always be considered alongside your symptoms, medical history and other relevant information. Where appropriate, you can discuss them with a doctor or other suitably qualified healthcare professional.
Blood testing with The Phlebotomist
We offer private blood tests in Swindon, with clinic appointments and mobile visits available.
Your blood sample is collected by a clinically trained and highly experienced phlebotomist and prepared safely for laboratory testing.
Most blood tests purchased through The Phlebotomist include a doctor-reviewed report alongside your laboratory results. Please check the individual test page to see exactly what is included.
If you already have your own test kit, laboratory request or practitioner form, you can also book our professional blood draw service.
Looking at the bigger picture
Hormones can provide useful information, but they do not give the full picture of your health.
If you are experiencing symptoms or simply want to understand a wider range of health markers, testing several relevant biomarkers may give you more information to discuss with your healthcare professional.
The aim is not to test everything. It is to choose tests that provide useful information about the areas you want to understand.