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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The Birth Control Pill & The Breast Cancer Connection

There is only one drug in the world so well known that it's called "the Pill." For more than forty years, more people have taken the Pill than any other prescribed medicine in the world.

Sex, pregnancy, and contraception have been hot topics for millennia. It wasn't until the U.S. government approved the birth control pill in 1960 that possibilities for contraception changed dramatically. The majority of women -- and plenty of men -- welcomed the Pill .

The birth control pill was the first medication ever designed for purely social, rather than therapeutic purposes. At the height of the drugs popularity, U.S. Senate hearings focused the nations attention on potentially deadly health risks posed by the high-dose Pill. As a result of the hearings, pharmaceutical companies lowered the dosages and doctors advised women who were obese, smoked, had high blood pressure or a family history of blood clots against taking the Pill.

In the 1980s, the high dosage 10-milligram pill was removed from the market and biphasic and triphasic oral contraceptives were introduced. Today, women can get a prescription for a Pill containing 1 milligram of progestins, one tenth of the original dose, and containing as little as 20 micrograms of estrogen.

From the very beginning, a significant number of women complained of discomfort from the Pill and switched to other methods. When women wanted to discuss the side effects with their doctors, they often met with frustration. It was common for their complaints to be dismissed as exaggerated. In other cases their ailments were just considered the price that women had to pay in return for such an effective contraceptive. The problem was compounded by that fact that female patients were not always informed about the potential for strokes, heart attacks or blood clots while on the Pill. For the most part sharing the Pills risk has become a part of the information provided by health care practitioners who prescribe the Pill.

Today, the safety of the Pill is assumed. However, it is important to remember that the pill contains identical hormones to those found in Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). HRT has come under question because of the Women s Health Initiative Study showing an increase in breast cancer and heart disease for those women who were on HRT.

In October 20, 2004 headlines read Birth Control Pill Cuts Cancer, Heart Disease Risk: Study - A new study, yet to be published, suggests women who use oral contraceptives have lower risks of heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

This study has now been denied as accurate by the WHI. Analyses by the WHI have made it clear that the recent findings were not correct

The low dose pill today although deemed to be safe has never undergone a large government-funded study similar to the WHI study on HRT. According to Dr. John R. Lee in his book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer women up to age 21 who use the Pill increase their lifetime risk of Breast Cancer by 600%. Caution when considering the use of Birth Control Pill should still be used.

This Article Is Copyright 2007 Jackie L. Harvey & http://www.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 http://www.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".

Hormones and Breast Cancer: What is the Connection?

By Jackie Harvey

Breast cancer has become a major health issue for women in North America. The rate of breast cancer has increased by 1 per cent a year since 1940.

In our country, a woman dies of breast cancer every 12 minutes! It has become the most common cancer-related cause of death in women. World-wide about 1,670,000 women have breast cancer. Our risk of surviving malignant breast cancer is just about the same as it was 50 years ago, when the only treatment was mastectomy; about one in three. The incidence of breast cancer is steadily rising and the numbers are appalling. Between 1973-1998 the incidence of breast cancer rose by over 40%.

October is a month where women of all ages and stages of life will join together and wear pink ribbons to remind us of the seriousness of Breast Cancer and to remember those, whose lives it has touched. We become advocates for more grass roots education like self-breast exams as well as for more research to be done and a cure for breast cancer be found.

However, if I had my wish every pink ribbon would carry an additional message for women. That message would be that YOU can improve your breast health and reduce the risk of breast cancer right now!

We need to ask ourselves What am I doing to truly become aware about breast cancer and preventing it within my own body? Wearing a pink ribbon is simply not enough.

We are now learning that Breast cancer is likely a result of hormonal imbalances. Specifically they are a result of excess estrogen or Estrogen Dominance. 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

The Johns Hopkins University conducted a 20 year study, published in 1983 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, showing that women who had good progesterone levels had less than a fifth of the amount of breast cancer. The outcomes suggested that having a normal level of progesterone in balance with normal levels of estrogens protected women from nine-tenths of all cancers that might otherwise have occurred .. in other words hormones in balance.

The Million Women Study of whom about half used or had used HRT(synthetic hormones consisting of estrogen with a synthetic progestin), indicated for the first time that the increased Breast Cancer risk started between one and two years of HRT use, dashing any suggestion that increased cancer risk only developed after long-term use. But the risks grew larger the longer the HRT treatment continued.

What many women do not realize is that we don t just GET hormones as we approach menopause. Women suffer from hormone challenges in their teen years while women in their 70 s and 80 s can still be suffering hormonal challenges. Hormonal imbalance does not only produce cancer in women but can manifest itself with symptoms such as: PMS, Mood swings, PCOS, Endometriosis, weight gain, menstrual headaches, heavy bleeding or irregular cycles and infertility.

We may not be able to our genetic risk factors for Breast Cancer- that is true. However, a growing body of research is showing us that women really can make a difference in their breast health through becoming better informed about how our body makes hormones, understanding about hormonal imbalance and then learning some natural alternatives to deal with out of balance hormones.

Evaluating hormone levels using saliva testing is one way to know if our health challenges are connected to hormone issues. A saliva test kit is inexpensive and can be used in the privacy of our own homes. What a small price to pay to have the peace of mind knowing if your hormone levels are in balance! Taking the test results to our health care practitioner and asking them to work with us toward hormone balance would be a natural next step.

I feel that women need to have all the information presented to them on the hormone issue so that they can make a well informed choice as to which path they would like to travel down in order to bring balance to their hormones. It is my goal that in October 2006 women across this country will wear pink ribbons knowing that there are things that they can do to improve their health and reduce their risk for breast cancer. Knowledge is power!!

This Article Is Copyright 2007 Jackie L. Harvey & Saliva Testing.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".

5 Steps to Hormone Health and Weight Loss

By Jackie Harvey

Our hormone health effects our bodies in many ways but one specific way is an increase in weight. Hormonally challenged women gain weight around their middle between the armpits and the top of the thighs. Often their arms are normal, their legs are normal and from the neck up they look great! Hormonally challenged men gain weight around their waists and often are on their way to developing breasts!

Estrogen is produced in our fat cells. Estrogen increases fat cells. As a result more estrogen is produced and so on and so on.

Breaking the Estrogen cycle and then going on an excellent weight management program is exactly what needs to take place.

Step One

Evaluate your hormones. Find out the ratio of estrogen to progesterone presently in your body. If out of balance, we call that estrogen dominance, then you will likely have or currently be gaining weight around your middle.

Step Two

Begin an estrogen-lowering program. That will include of course increasing your progesterone levels with a bio-identical progesterone cream. But hormone balancing was never all about progesterone. Modulating and balancing estrogens if found to be out of balance to progesterone is equally important to your weight loss program.

An estrogen-lowering program will include:

- Increase your fiber intake. That happens two ways: 1. Eat as much as you can by choosing fruits, vegetables and whole grains as your high fiber carbohydrate choices and then add a fiber supplement (Fiber Source 7) to consume 30 to 50 grams of fiber daily.

- Increase the indoles (cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower) in your diet. That also happens two ways: Eat as much as you can and supplement with an indole-3-carbinol supplement (EllagiGuard). Target 3 servings a day.

- Increase the essential fatty acids (EFA s) in your diet. They are essential because the body does not make them. They help balance prostaglandin production in the body and thus help regulate estrogens.

- Increase your overall nutrition by taking extra vitamin C (Super C Crystals) and by taking a concentrated fruit and vegetable supplement (Fruit and Vegetable Essence).

Step Three

Eat 40/30/30. Incorporate a new way of approaching meals purposing to eat Carbohydrates Proteins and Fats in a balanced way at each meal. When we eat balanced meals our weight will normalize, our energy levels will increase and our hormones will be in balance. More information is available in the book The Formula by J & G Daoust.

Step Four

Get Moving. Develop a great exercise program with the help of someone who knows what they are doing. Tailor a program especially for you - one that you can do and are willing to make a commitment to keep. Most of us need to think in terms of keeping our bodies moving and staying active for the rest of our lives. Couch potatoes rarely are healthy.

Step Five

Celebrate!! Men and women whose hormones are out of balance feel unwell. Men and women who have balanced hormones feel well. Achieving hormone health will increase your overall health and wellness and assist you in losing weight. You will look younger and feel younger!

This Article Is Copyright 2007 Jackie L. Harvey & http://www.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 http://www.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".

Let's Talk About Hormones - What Every Woman Needs To Know

I have recently observed a number of women friends and acquaintances, who have had their HRT therapy - a combination of the pharmaceutical drugs Premarin (pregnant mares urine) and Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate) - discontinued by their physicians. Suddenly, women ranging from their 50's to late 70's are suffering from hot flashes, vaginal dryness, weight gain, fatigue and worse.

Another group are told not to worry about HRT as long as they only use it for three to four years. This confusing position has resulted from the information published in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study on HRT published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, (JAMA), July 17, 2002, Vol. 288, No. 3. For women who think that the risk factors that have shown up in the WHI-HRT study are new, I would encourage them to locate a women's magazine that dates prior to July 2002 and have a look at the back of the Premarin and PremPro ads that were often found in those magazines. Be aware that the print is very small. The topic "Dangers of Estrogen" is very prominent as is the topic "Side Effects".

The WHI-HRT study just validates that those dangers and side effects are real and actually effect women, women who are our friends and our relatives. In revisiting the WHI Study at www.whi.org a few interesting things came to light. The WHI study recruited 16,608 healthy women to participate in the study of Premarin and Provera. Forty-two percent (42%) on HRT and thirty-eight percent (38%) on the placebo group left the study before the end of 5 years! Those in the HRT group left because of side effects according to the study.

Others left at the two and one-half mark when a letter was sent to them encouraging them to stay in the study even though the results showed an increase in blood clots, stroke and heart disease at that point. Many believe that the results would have been much worse had these women continued in the study. "An incredible forty-two percent of those healthy women chosen to participate in the WHI fell out of the study in the first couple of years because they didn't like the side effects of the drugs. If all those women had continued, or if they hadn't limited the study to healthy women, there would have been a much higher rate of all adverse events (breast cancer, heart attacks, thromboembolism blood clots).... says Dr. David Zava, PhD., breast cancer researcher.

The JAMA call it a "large randomized trial". It could also be considered a well-controlled study of healthy women of our day. WHY? - because only healthy women were allowed into the study. They controlled the number of women who were over weight - the average body mass index being 28.5. They did not accept a representative number of women who had been treated for diabetes, women that had or were using hormones, women who had given birth during the higher risk years - before twenty or after thirty, women who had heart problems or a history of any heart problems. They even controlled the number of women who had relatives who had breast cancer. Remember, we are talking about women between the ages of 50 and 79 who participated in the study, not 35 to 40 year old women! How many women in that age group do you know who would qualify for this study? In fact this study represents less than twenty percent of the population.

According to Dr. David Zava " you can't extrapolate study results from a population of healthy women to the entire population. The results are actually much worse than they appear to be because of the selection bias. The downplaying of the risk of using HRT is a travesty. The late John R. Lee MD and author of "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer" suggested that it has become "unethical" for doctors to prescribe HRT to women. To suggest as some do to use HRT for only two or three years seems ridiculous in light of the fact that the study was only a five-year study. The study clearly shows that heart attacks, strokes and blood clots affecting women began from day one of the study and continued though out the study. That would mean that the risks would always be present for anyone who goes on short term HRT. While it is tempting to say that this is all the healthcare system's problem or that it is the fault of the profit driven pharmaceutical companies, the solution may lay closer to home.

It appears that we are being told what we are eager to hear and only being sold what we are eager to buy. A pill to solve our hot flashes, make us beautiful as we age and prevent our diseases all without effort on our part. We want shortcuts and we want them now! The WHI-HRT study was a good thing, maybe even a great thing. What it truly told us is that a large percentage of healthy women who use drug therapies to deal with hormone challenges will get sick...breast cancer, heart attacks, strokes, blood clots in their lungs just to name a few. Women who are not healthy... should not go near HRT because of the potential for life threatening drug induced disease.

The good news for women who decide to discontinue traditional (synthetic) hormone replacement therapy is that there are a number of safe, effective and natural alternatives to choose from. It is critical that women become informed and take control of their own hormone health. The decision is up to us and it may be the most important decision we will ever make!

This Article Is Copywright 2007 Jackie L. Harvey & Saliva Testing.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".