SalivaTesting.com - How Many Hormones Should I Test For?

Taking a Saliva Hormone Test will assist you in assessing important steroid hormones which could be the cause of many of your symptoms. The three main hormones for all men and women to test are Estradiol - E2, Progesterone - Pg and Testosterone - T.

Estradiol: We always encourage the testing of estradiol - E2 estrogen. E2 is an estrogen that causes cell proliferation and is the strongest estrogen that your body makes. It is produced with each women's menstrual cycle and is the most common estrogen prescribed in hormone replacement therapy. A balance is usually maintained between estrone and estradiol of about 50/50 therefore we don't recommend testing for Estrone - E1 estrogen as it is likely to be identical to E2.

Men over the age of 50 usually will have escalating levels of E2 often in larger amounts than women of the same age. Men too need to test this hormone.

Progesterone: We always recommend that Progesterone - Pg should be tested. Progesterone is a neutral hormone with neither male nor female attributes. It is the balancing hormone to E2 - estradiol. This hormone needs to be found in adequate amounts in both men and women as it has been shown to protect the prostrate in men by inhibiting 5-alpha reductase, and to protect the uterine lining and breast tissue in women. Low progesterone levels contributes to estrogen dominance in both men and women. Adequate progesterone assists the body in building new bone an important component in the prevention of osteoporosis.

Testosterone: New studies suggest that testosterone can be of real help, and potential harm, to women. It is important to determine testosterone levels for women since high levels of testosterone can also triple heart risks for older women. This is a hormone that a women would only supplement if the saliva test shows it is deficient!

Men should always test testosterone levels since the decline of this hormone is at the core of male menopause (andropause). Often loss of energy, loss of sexual drive loss of ambition are written off as burnout or depression when in actual fact these symptoms could be related to low testosterone.

Additional Hormones To Test Would Be:

DHEA: This hormone is produced in the adrenals of both men and women from cholesterol. Nearly every cell in the body has receptor sites for this hormone. DHEA follows the pathway in the body converting to Testosterone and Estrogens. We know that DHEA declines steadily after early adulthood. When they test and find out they are deficient, both men and women generally feel marked improvements in well-being when they take a DHEA supplement.

AM Cortisol: Cortisol is made in the adrenal glands in reaction to stress. The effect of elevated Cortisol is often so subtle that we hardly pay attention to the symptoms - gaining a few extra pounds, a slight drop in sex drive and energy levels and a bit of trouble with our memory. Finding out if your stressful lifestyle is having an impact on your morning Cortisol can be determined through a saliva hormone test. If cortisol levels show to be out of range you will be motivated to do something about getting your stress levels under control.

Next Week: "Who Would Benefit From Saliva Hormone Testing?"

FDA Approved Home Saliva Hormone Testing Kits Available Here

What is Saliva Hormone Testing?

Saliva Hormone Testing is an accurate and simple way for the ordinary man or women to assess the current levels of steroid hormones (e.g. estradiol, progesterone, testosterone) - in their body without having to make an expensive visit a doctors office.

Scientific literature for almost 30 years has documented saliva testing of steroid hormones. Saliva testing is routinely used in scientific research settings and as standard textbook material for students of endocrinology and internal medicine (Williams Textbook of Endocrinology). The World Health Organization (WHO) approved this method of testing in the 1990's when it was found to be an accurate, convenient and noninvasive measurement of free hormone levels.

Steroid hormones in saliva reflect the portion of circulating hormones in the bloodstream that are unbound by serum binding proteins (free or bioavailable) and therefore are able to enter tissues throughout the body. The salivary hormone values, therefore, reflect the biologically active (the unbound) portion available to target cells. Blood hormone assays reflect both bound and free forms of hormones and do not provide information about the bioavailable fraction of hormone, which can vary depending on the level of blood hormone binding proteins.

Simply put, hormone saliva testing tells us the amount of hormones in our body that are actually usable by our cells; where as blood testing evaluates all circulating hormones regardless of their availability to our cells - and most importantly anyone can do this easy test.

Next Week: "What Hormones Should I Test?"

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Breast Cancer - Estrogen Dominance & The Imbalance Of Hormones

By Jackie Harvey

Estrogen Dominance is a term coined by the late John R. Lee, M.D., author of a number of books on the topic of women's hormones. The theory of Estrogen Dominance describes a condition where a woman can have deficient, normal or excessive estrogen but has little or no progesterone to balance its effects in the body. Even a woman with low estrogen levels can have estrogen dominance symptoms if she doesn't have any progesterone. Basically estrogen dominance reflects hormones that have gone out of balance. Out of balance hormones can affect women from 14 to 94.

How do we become estrogen dominant? Our food chain is laced with toxic pesticides, herbicides and growth hormones a sea of endocrine-disrupting chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body. If we are overweight, our body s store of excess fat can be converted into estrogen. Insulin resistance also leads to estrogen dominance. Then there is estrogen found in ERT, HRT and Birth Control Pills.

Estrogen dominance also occurs in men. As men age, estrogen gradually rises, while saliva levels of progesterone and testosterone gradually fall. We often find men of fifty having higher saliva estrogen levels than women of fifty! A sign of estrogen dominance in men is the tendency for some to develop breasts.

An imbalance of hormones in our bodies results in hormone-related health problems such as PMS, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, infertility, post-partum depression, weight gain, increased blood clotting, thyroid dysfunction, even breast and uterine cancer in women and in men breast cancer, prostate problems and prostate cancer.

Estrogen Dominance can be detected by taking a saliva test. This simple test can accurately reveal hormone levels. Men can also take this simple at-home test to determine if their hormones are out of balance.

A saliva test evaluation will either move a man or woman to take action to bring balance to their own hormones or cause them to sit back and reflect on their good hormone health. Those over 50 can take an annual saliva test to keep track of their hormone levels.

Men and women who experience hormone imbalance feel unwell bringing balance to their hormones is often a key to their wellness. There are safe natural alternatives available to drug therapies. Women and men must become more informed about their own hormone health.

This Article Is Copyright 2007 Jackie L. Harvey & SalivaTesting.com

Jackie Harvey is a nutritional speaker who shares her interest and information on hormonal health and women's saliva hormone testing throughout North America in her popular "Let's Talk About Hormones" seminar. Visit Jackie's informative website SalivaTesting.com for a schedule of events in your area and for more information about her Best Selling 1-hour DVD "Let's Talk About Hormones with Jackie Harvey".