Progesterone Resource
Center
Saliva
Testing of Hormones
article syndicated from ZRT Laboratory
Why test saliva?
Because steroid hormones play such a vital role in
maintenance of health, knowledge of an imbalance in
any one or more hormones can help illuminate the cause
of health problems and provide a rational basis for
correcting the imbalance through diet, exercise, or
hormone supplementation.
Are the levels of steroid hormones in blood and saliva
the same? When the various glands manufacture the steroids
they are released into the bloodstream bound to carrier
proteins. Only a small fraction (1-5%) of a given amount
of steroid hormone breaks loose from the carrier protein
in the bloodstream and is free to enter target tissues.
This free or unbound hormone is what we want to measure,
since it is active or bioavailable to the target tissues
such as the breast, uterus, brain, and skin.
Many studies in the scientific literature have shown
that there is a strong correlation between the levels
of steroid hormones in saliva and the bioavailable
(free) levels of steroids in the bloodstream. The amount
of steroid hormone that enters the salivary ducts and
then saliva, is representative of the fraction of steroids
in the bloodstream that are bioavailable to other tissues
in the body.
Advantages of saliva vs blood testing of steroid hormones
Saliva collection is easy, can be done anywhere, any
time and at a much lower cost. Serum hormone testing
is stressful, and the stress of a blood draw can sometimes
alter the result. Blood has to be drawn at a doctor's
office or drawing station, and it is more difficult
to obtain samples at the desired times (e.g. early
am), multiple times through the day or late evening.
There is also an extra cost involved in drawing blood,
independent of the cost for the test itself.
Hormones
in saliva are exceptionally stable, allowing wide
latitude in collection and shipment. Samples can
be stored at room temperature for at least a week without
loss of activity, so samples can be shipped to the
testing facility by regular mail. Blood, on the other
hand, must be kept cool on ice packs, increasing costs
for shipping as well as the likelihood of error due
to improper handling.
Finally, as outlined in the following section, saliva
hormone testing allows you to take more control over
your own health. Saliva testing may help you to gain
insight into health problems before you see your doctor.
It will also allow you to monitor an OTC hormone supplementation
program (eg natural progesterone cream or DHEA are
widely available at health food stores) if improvement
in quality of life, disease prevention, or anti-aging
is your goal.
How Can Saliva Hormone
Tests Help You?
There are several ways salivary hormone tests can
help you to take responsibility for, and optimize
your health.
The first way is to help identify possible causes
of health problems. Depending on the specific hormones
involved, certain symptoms or groups of symptoms are
usually present when hormonal imbalance exists. For
example, contrary to popular belief, depression is
not caused by a prescription drug deficiency, but it
can be caused by an imbalance between estrogens and
progesterone, low androgens like DHEA and testosterone,
or high cortisol. Genetics, dietary factors or other
environmental factors may cause this imbalance, in
turn.
Accordingly, depression might also be reversed by
supplementation with the appropriate hormone(s) and
attention to other factors; hormone testing can be
used to guide this therapy. If hormone balance is restored
but symptoms persist, then one has to look elsewhere
for the cause.
Hormone testing can be used to guide supplementation,
to determine if an oral hormone supplement such as
DHEA is being absorbed, and if the dosage is appropriate.
Bioavailability of oral hormonal supplements can vary
widely. The saliva test can also help you evaluate
if estrogens are well balanced with progesterone following
progesterone cream supplementation. Too much estrogen,
relative to progesterone, leads to excessive tissue
proliferation, whereas too much progesterone in the
absence of adequate estrogen can exacerbate estrogen
deficiency problems.
Saliva hormone testing can also be vital for rational
disease prevention and anti-aging programs. Testosterone,
for example, is an important hormone in both sexes,
for the maintenance of cardiovascular and bone health.
Identification of a low testosterone level and correction
with diet, exercise, and/or hormone supplementation
could help prevent the development of cardiovascular
disease and osteoporosis.
Anti-aging medicine is still in it's infancy, but
hormone supplementation is an important aspect of anti-aging;
restoration and maintenance of hormone parameters at
youthful levels is one strategy that may extend your
healthspan (span of healthy, productive years). Hormone
testing is crucial for this approach as it is imperative
not to exceed levels that might lead to adverse side
effects.
Article
syndicated from ZRT
Laboratory:
http://www.salivatest.com/testing.html
