Why test saliva? Saliva hormone testing is done because thyroid hormones play an important role in the maintenance of health, knowledge of an imbalance or more hormones can help highlight the causes of health problems and provide a basis for treating the imbalance through diet, hormone supplement, or exercise at Healthy Remedies.
Are The Levels Of Steroid Hormones In Blood And Saliva The Same?
When the different glands produce steroids, they are released into the bloodstream attached to carrier proteins. Only a little fraction of the steroid hormones given breaks loose from the carrier protein in the bloodstream and is open to entering target tissues. This free hormone is what we would like to measure, as it is active or bioavailable to the target tissue such as the brain, uterus, breast, and skin. Many studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between the levels of steroid hormones and the bioavailable level of steroids in the bloodstream. The quantity of steroid hormone that goes to the salivary ducts and then to saliva represents the number of steroids in the bloodstream that is bioavailable to other tissues in the body.
There are many benefits of saliva and blood testing of steroid hormones. Collection of saliva is easy and maybe done anytime, anywhere, and at a very low cost. Testing of Serum hormone is stressful and the stress of blood draw can alter the result sometimes. Blood has to be taken out at a doctor’s office or a lab, and it is very difficult to get samples at the required times like early in the morning or late in the evening, or even many times throughout the day. There is an extra cost included in drawing blood, irrespective of the cost of the test itself.
Hormones in saliva are stable, allowing wide latitude in shipment and collection. Samples can be stored at room temperature for a week without loss of activity, so samples can be shipped to the testing facility by regular mail. Blood is to be kept on ice packs, the rising cost for shipping, and the likelihood of error because of improper handling.
How Can The Saliva Hormone Test Help You?
There are a lot of ways saliva hormone tests may help you and the patients to take responsibility for and optimize their health. The first one is to identify the causes of health problems. Depending on the particular hormones involved, the symptoms are usually present when hormonal imbalance occurs. For example, depression is not due to prescription drug deficiency but can be caused by an imbalance between progesterone and estrogen—low androgens like high cortisol, DHEA, and testosterone.
Genetics dietary factors or other environmental factors may cause this imbalance. Testosterone is an important hormone for both sees, in the maintenance of bone health and cardiovascular. Detection of a low testosterone level and treatment with diet, exercise, and hormone supplementation may help prevent the development of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.
Conclusion
Anti-aging medicine is in its infancy still, but hormone supplementation is an important aspect of anti-aging, maintaining hormone parameters at youthful levels and restoration is a strategy that may increase your health span. Hormone testing is important for this approach, as it is imperative not to cross levels that may lead to harmful side effects.
