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Saliva testing: A great tool in the hormone-balancing act
Nancy Utter
Testing saliva also can allow health-care practitioners to create a picture of how hormones change over time. This can be useful information to guide and focus treatment to rebalance hormones.
Hormones such as estrogen, testosterone, progesterone and cortisol are our body's messengers. They tell our organs and tissues what to do to maintain homeostasis or balance. When secreted appropriately in response to internal and external changes, they keep our bodies and minds on track, happy and healthy. When out of balance, they can cause physical and emotional havoc.
The good news is that these imbalances can be corrected once we know what they are. Hormone testing can pinpoint a problem.
Some hormone-related health problems are obvious, such as premenstrual syndrome, infertility and low libido. Be-cause every tissue in the body is under the influence of hormone messaging, there are many other symptoms that can be caused by hormone imbalances.
For example, migraine headaches, gas and bloating, depression, anger and insomnia can be caused by hormones out of whack. For women, some symptoms may be related to certain times in their cycle. For men, many hormonal problems can show up as part of the aging process.
There are three basic advantages of salivary hormone testing.
The first is that hormones measured in saliva are in the free, or active, form. This is helpful to know because free hormones are the only ones actually delivering their messages to the cells.
The second is that we can look at changing hormone levels over time with saliva tests. I often use a test kit which takes multiple saliva samples during a woman's 28- to 30-day cycle. This information will let me see how a woman's hormones are changing during her cycle so we can tailor treatment accordingly.
I also use a test that requires four separate timed saliva collections in one day. This is a test for the stress hormone cortisol, which should follow a specific pattern during the course of a day. The test results highlight specifically where cortisol levels are out of balance. With this information, I can see when a problem is occurring and create a treatment plan that is very specific.
The last advantage of salivary testing is that it is easy to do. I give my patients the test kits in the office, and they take them home to collect the samples and mail them to the lab.
If you are having health problems that could be related to hormone issues, help is available. Information is power, and salivary hormone testing can provide results that tell you what is going on inside your body and guide successful treatment.
drnancy@durangonaturalmedicine.com
Nancy Utter is a naturopathic doctor who completed a five-year training program at Bastyr University in Seattle. She works in Durango with people of all ages and varying illnesses. Green Medicine appears on the second Monday of each month.
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